How do I LETTERBOX?
 

Hey guys, I searched the forums for this, but I didn't find anything right off the bat.

How do I render my files, so that my footage is "Letterboxed" when I burn it to a DVD and play it on my television?

I shoot in 16:9 with a Sony A1U. I just don't know how to get it to burn to a DVD in a Letterboxed look.

Thanks for any help you can give me, guys.

Are you wanting to output to a 4:3 format? Why not just burn the DVD as wide screen? If the TV/DVD player are set up correctly, it will automatically letterbox when playing on a 4:3 set anyway.

hi,
Ed just beat me to it I think...

I might be wrong about this but if you drop 16:9 footage into a project set at 4:3 doesn't Vegas automatically LB it for output? An easy way (if it doesn't) is to set a 4:3 project, import your footage (16:9) then drop it on the timeline. If it doesn't automatically LB it, then hit the pan/crop tool on the footage and from the drop down at the top choose '4:3' and it should scale it to fit - letterboxing it in the process. I'm gonna check this right now on my edit machine but I think it's right. If you're rendering out a 16:9 project to dvd, then most dvd players will have a 'output screen' setting somewhere in their menu. If you set THAT to 4:3 then the DVD should automatically LB your 16:9 video to display it properly - just as it does with commercial movies.

Cheers,
DW.

Hey Edward,

Thanks for responding.

I'm shooting a short film. When I go to burn the DVD it doesn't ask me if I want to letterbox it or not...it just seems to take up the whole screen of whatever television it is on (be it flatscreen or CRT).

I just think it must have something to do with "project properties", and I just don't know the right ones to apply.

I want it to "letterbox" no matter what kind of television it's showed on

Just rendering......in the "render as" ensure the 4th box at the bottom is UNCHECKED.

Note:
My lcd wide screen tv has a menu option of how to handle the different formats....scretch or letterbox.

Hope this helps.

Hey Michael, I just did that and it's rendering as you read this. Thanks!

Fred,

I don't think it will letterbox on a widescreen, the way I described...only on a 4:3 display.

IF you want it letterboxed, refer to David's comments, that may work out better for you. I would even try the project in widescreen then crop timeline footage in the cinamatic aspect. Then render with box unchecked as described in my first response (If i understand you correctly, you want it letter boxed even on a widescreen set like when you see some cinamatic movies shown on the tv)

Folks have given you some tools in this post, recommend playing with it until you get what you want. If you still aren't getting what you're looking for, post with your workflow, project properties, and render as info and we can help ya.

Good Luck,
Michael

Bottom line, it's hard to guarantee anything. If you have widescreen footage playing on a 4:3 TV, it ought to letterbox automatically. The DVD PLAYER should do that (*IF* it's properly set up). Even then, TV's have so many zoom modes it may be set to zoom in and cut off the left/right edges.

One way to guarantee it would be to edit a 4:3 project and then mask out the top and bottom. Then you'll have letterboxing no matter what kind of TV it's played on (even if stretched out full width on a widescreen).

Fred.
I apply a 2:35 matte to my footage if I'm going for that aspect ratio. This will give you the black bars on the top and bottom for anamorphic renders. Basically I apply a template I built in photoshop onto a seperate video track and extend it the length of the timeline. BOOM! :)

The resolution for 2.35:1 in 1080p is 1920x810 or 80. In video event pan/crop for each clip, turn off "Lock aspect ratio" (in the pan/crop only) Then type in a horizontal resolution of 810 or 800.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I think I got it.

It never ceases to amaze me how helpful this site is.