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Letterbox mask for 4:3
I need to put 4:3 images & video into a letterboxed timeline… is there a letterbox mask template?
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9 Replies
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[Jerry Jacob] “I need to put 4:3 images & video into a letterboxed timeline… is there a letterbox mask template?”
Do you mean put a 4:3 image into a 16:9 timeline, because letterbox is simply 16:9 with black bars on top and bottom, so if you put a 4:3 image into a 16:9 with letter box it would end up being a 4:3 image surrounded on all sides with black.
There are two ways a 4:3 image will go into a 16:9 timeline. The first is have the entire image show with black bars on the sides. The second way is to scale the image up and cut off the top and bottom of the image.
There are no “technical solutions” to your “artistic problems”.
Don’t let technology get in the way of your creativity! -
Actually a letterboxed image is 16:9 video in a 4:3 timeline. The most common viewing of this is how a DVD displays 16:9 footage on a 4:3 TV.
With FCP you get a letterbox image when you drop a anamorphic asset into a 4:3 timeline.
So if you have a 4:3 video you apply a Letterbox mask which will cover up the top and bottom of the image giving you the 16:9 looking image. Under Effects>Matte>Widescreen.
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[Michael Sacci] “Actually a letterboxed image is 16:9 video in a 4:3 timeline. The most common viewing of this is how a DVD displays 16:9 footage on a 4:3 TV. “
YES I know I was explaining what a 4:3 image would actually be like if it was letter boxed. It would look like my explanation because it would be placed on a 16:9 timeline first.
There are no “technical solutions” to your “artistic problems”.
Don’t let technology get in the way of your creativity! -
but a letterbox timeline is not a 16:9 timeline, it is a 4:3,
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[Michael Sacci] “but a letterbox timeline is not a 16:9 timeline, it is a 4:3,”
Yes but the post was about “letterboxing” a 4:3 clip, for for it to be “leterboxed” it would have to first be put onto a 16:9 time time, that that 16:9 timeline would have to be put onto a 4:3 timeline.
Personally I don’t think the original post was all to clear about what exactly he is trying to accomplish.
There are no “technical solutions” to your “artistic problems”.
Don’t let technology get in the way of your creativity! -
I think you’re reading too much into the request Michael.
He only asked if there was a Letterbox Mask template. I don’t think there is (but i could be wrong as i never use letterbox – what a waste of pixels)
He has a 4:3 shot and wants it letterboxed – so all he needs do is stick black bars over the top/bottom of his shot.
However, an easy way would be to nest the entire timeline then use the crop filter to trim off the top /bottom of the shot – revealing black beneath (unless there is another layer of video below)
adam
Editor/Mixer
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK -
Have you looked at the Nattress film effects matte filter at nattress.com? Would that do the trick?
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Effects Tab > Filters Folder > Matte Folder > Widescreen
Winston A. Cely
Editor/Owner | Della St. Media, LLC“If God could do the tricks we can do, He’d be a happy Man.” – Peter O’Toole – “The Stuntman”
Mac Pro 3GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
4 GB RAM | Final Cut Studio 5.1.4 | Aja Kona LHe -
[adam taylor] “He has a 4:3 shot and wants it letterboxed – so all he needs do is stick black bars over the top/bottom of his shot.”
That is exactly what I told him how to do. The is a filter that makes the widescreen letterbox effect to full frame 4:3 video.
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