Avid creates Custom Project?

[Adriana Câmara]

Hi!

I have to create a project for a video with the following aspects:

1920×817
Square Pixels
23,98
Codec H264
Audio 48KHz 16bit

Final Cut let’s me create a project the matches those aspects. But I didn’t find a way for Avid to do this. If I create a 1920×1080 video size project, my video of 1920×817 gets distorted. Do you happen to know how can I create a custom project in Avid so that it fits the aspects of my video?

Best regards!!!
Adriana Camara

[Shane Ross]

You can’t create custom project settings in Avid MC. Avid is designed to work with standard film and video formats. What you have isn’t standard. 1920×1080 is standard.

Where did you get 1920×817? Very odd format.

Shane
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Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Adriana Câmara]

Hi, Shane,
Thank you very much for your answer.
It’s a short movie that was recorded in a Canon 5d with the aspec ratio 1920×1080. Then, it was edited in Final Cut to be screened in the movies with the aspec ratio 2.35:1 (cinemascope), which is 1920×817.

[Ricky Barrow]

Is this something you can edit in Avid and run through AE? Or even edit in AE?

Ricky

[Adriana Câmara]

I need to add subtitles. I’ve never used After Effects. I guess can try. 🙂

[Job ter Burg]

You can import 1920×817 into Avid. Tell it to “Do not resize smaller images” in the import settings. Then it will be letterboxed within 1920×1080.

If you’re doing AMA rather than traditional import, choose Bin->Choose Columns, and display the Reformat column, then click it to select “Pillarbox/Letterbox” (rather than the default setting which is Stretch).

[Adriana Câmara]

Hi, Job,
Thank you very much for your answer.
Letterbox is not very good for me because it creates a back area above and bellow the video and, so, when the video is projeted in the movie screen, the black area will be projected to.
Is there any other way?
Best regards,
Adriana.

[Job ter Burg]

Aside from the fact that theatres are masked for that, so it should not be too much of a problem, you can still perform whatever you need to do in MC, then export, then crop back to 817.

You simply cannot work in any non-broadcast canvas size in MC.

[Adriana Câmara]

Ah, ok.
But do you happen to know how could I crop the video for 817?

[Job ter Burg]

Export a QT Ref, then in QT Pro, export, and set the size to 1920×817, choose Preserve Aspect Ratio, and choose Crop.