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Letterbox Matte plug-in
hey all,
a little while back i posted the text for an FX script to make a basic letterbox matte generator.
well it turns out that I should really have tested it first. Doh!so I’m posting it again below, on the grounds that handing out broken plug-in code doesn’t really help the greater good! anyway ….hopefully its working this time. if anyone has a moment to test it please let me know if its working or not for you.
open up the FXBuilder [Tools>FXBuilder], then cut and paste the text below into the Editor window… create it [FXBuilder>Create Plugin…] give it a name, and save it into your /Library/Application Support/Final Cut Pro System Support/Plugins folder.
cheers
Andy// —————-
// Plugin Text follows
// —————-scriptid “Andy’s Letterbox” //DO NOT LOCALIZE
generator “Andy’s Letterbox”, 120;
group “Matte”;
AlphaType(kblack);input fillcolor, “Color”, color, 0, 0, 0, 0;
input letterboxWidth, “Size”, slider, 25, 0, 100 detent 25;
input letterboxOffset, “Offset”, slider, 0, -100, 100 detent 0;
input invertAlpha, “Invert”, checkbox, 0;code
exposedbackground=1;float width, height;
point poly[4], centerpoint;boundsOf(Dest, poly);
centerOf(poly, centerpoint);
dimensionsof(dest, width, height);scale(poly, centerpoint, 1, (100-letterboxWidth)/100);
offset(poly, 0, (height * letterboxWidth * letterboxOffset) / 20000);image matteBars[width][height];
channelfill(matteBars, fillcolor.a, fillcolor.r, fillcolor.g, fillcolor.b);fillpoly(poly, Dest, kwhite);
channelCopy(Dest, Dest, KAlpha, KNone, KNone, KNone);if !invertAlpha
InvertChannel(Dest, Dest, 1, 0, 0, 0);
end if;channelCopy(matteBars, Dest, KNone, KRed, KGreen, KBlue);
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12 Replies
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[Andy Mees] “a little while back i posted the text for an FX script to make a basic letterbox matte generator.
well it turns out that I should really have tested it first. Doh!”What’s the difference between this and the Letterbox Matte Generator in FCP?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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hi Walter
the letterbox matte generator ?
i know theres a widescreen “filter” which you apply to clips to letterbox them … if theres a letterbox matte “generator” then i’m surely wasting everyones time and bandwidth, not least of all my own!if you’re meaning the filter, then the difference is that between a filter and a generator … you’d apply this to an empty track. it just adds a letterbox matte which you can resize as needed. then you can use the basic motion controls on the lower layers to adjust resize/offset the letterboxed clips. its very basic warts and all plugin, but can be useful depending on your workflow.
if there is already a letterbox matte generator, please point me in the right direction.
thanks
Andy -
[Andy Mees] “the letterbox matte generator ?
i know theres a widescreen “filter” which you apply to clips to letterbox them … if theres a letterbox matte “generator” then i’m surely wasting everyones time and bandwidth, not least of all my own!”No, I’m talking about the filter. I was just trying to find out the difference between what you have and simply creating a nest of your timeline and applying the Letterbox Filter to the nest. Then you can still scale / position all video relative to the letterbox through the original timeline.
Whenever I use the Letterbox Filter, I never apply it directly to individual clips as generally the entire timeline will be letterboxed. So it makes more sense to simply apply the filter to an entire nested sequence.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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thanks for the clarification Walter, i was pretty sure you did mean the filter.
and, yes, of course, nesting the sequence and applying the filter to the nest is a totally valid workflow.
but still, if i’m working inside the nested sequence, its not straightforward when making clip placement adjustments with respect to the letterbox filter applied to the nest … of course, I can drag off a floating canvas window for the nested sequence etc etc but the timeline playhead isn’t ganged between the nest and its sequence so clip by clip placement is clunky.i think to understand why the generator method could be useful, then you’ve got to put yourself in the mindset of the producer/editor who is working with subtitled footage. in this case the subtiltes need to be removed for promo work and the letterbox is a means to masking the subtitles without necessarily having to blow up the image and then deal with degradation in image quality that that brings. every shot needs to be adjusted dependent on the composition of the shot AND the subtitles that may or may not be present, sometimes that means masking, moving and resizing.
i’m certainly not trying to suggest that people should use this rather than any other method … there are many many ways to skin a cat, and this is just another one. for those who have to deal daily with the situation i just outlined above, then thay might find this plug-in useful.
cheers
Andyps i’d hate to be that poor skinned cat … fcp seems to have a hundered ways of doing everything!
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great plugin. i use the mask shape filter on a slug to create such mattes, but this is of course quicker. how about a drop down for 1.85, 1.78, 2.35 and so on?
/matt
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Hi Matt
I did think about using a drop down, or just make the slider snap to particular values … its just for my own personal needs, i’m rarely tring to conform to a standard, but just to get the best compromise for cleaning subtitles
still, for reference, I ran a quick test and came up with the following numbers for my otherwise arbitrary scale:
19 = 1.66:1 (35 mm European widescreen standard, also Super 16 mm)
21 = 1.70:1 (VistaVision)
25 = 1.78:1 (video widescreen standard 16:9)
27 = 1.85:1 (35 mm US and UK widescreen standard / HDTV Standard)
43 = 2.35:1 (35 mm anamorphic)
47 = 2.55:1 (CinemaScope)
55 = 3.00:1 (Cinerama)and fwiw my plug is just an adaptation of the mask shape filter anyway 🙂
cheers
Andy -
Thanks for posting your plug-in. It works beautifully.
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Hi Andy,
Thanks so much for that FX Builder script. I’m cutting my first real project on FCP–coming from 12 years on Avid, and yours, as well as other tips on CreativeCow have been a fantastic resource. In Avid, you just drop the Matte Key on an empty video layer above the footage you want to be matted–your script approximates that usability perfectly. Even better, I like the DIY nature of scripting your own effects. I was in the process of making alternate versions per your values–adding:19 = 1.66:1, 21 = 1.70:1, as you stated. I just wanted to confirm the values I’m changing to create my other versions. Please let me know if I’m going about it correctly. Basically, I’m only changing one number in the script, and the name of course, i.e. this line: “input letterboxWidth, “Size”, slider, 25, 0, 100 detent 25;” And in that line only the bolded number: “input letterboxWidth, “Size”, slider, 25, 0, 100 detent 25; …is this correct? Please advise. Thanks again!
Javier Alvarez – freelance editor/owner Bayse7en
http://www.BaySe7enEdit.com -
Hi Javier
You have it exactly … changing that value changes the default value for the slider that controls the letterbox size.
Cheers
Andy -
I’m having some trouble creating your plug-in. I followed your directions exactly, but had to create the “Final Cut Pro System Support” folder. I’m running FCP 6.0.6, could the lack of a folder have something to do with my version? I also created a “Plugins” folder within my “Final Cut Studio” folder inside “Application Support”, assuming that this could be the appropriate folder in the newer version of FCP. Do you have any ideas about what I may be doing wrong?
Thank you,
Joe
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