-
Mixing 4:3 and letter-box video in DV editing
I am starting a project where I intend to mix 4:3 scenes with others being letterboxed 16:9.
As I have already seen this done quite a lot, I wonder which is the best way to proceed, avoiding using video effects to convert 16:9 video to 4:3 by zooming, or desanamorphizing 16:9 onto letterbox tomix 4:3.
Let’s hope I’m making myself clear on what I intend to do.
How should I do it? I am shooting this with a Sony Z1, which allows capturing in 16:9, in side-cropped 4:3 and in letterboxed 16:9. But I wonder if that’s the best way to proceed.
Opinions are welcome.
-
2 Replies
-
Loaded question to which I respond with more questions.
Number 1 and absolutely the most important, what are your delivery specs?
If 4×3, just do everything in 4×3 and be happy.
If 16×9, you have several choices. Do the delivery specs call for anamorphic or letterboxed?
Here is the major difference between the two. If you work anamorphic, you maintain more vertical resolution at the sacrifice of horizontal resolution. Due to how TV and the human eye work, this is better visually.
In other words, anamorphic throws out info and adds it back horizontally. Letterbox throws out vertical resolution replacing it with black. If you view on a 16×9 set, the difference is very apparent.
Also, once in letterbox mode, you lose any options without further degradation of the signal. In anamorphic, you can still pull a 4×3 center cut master that will have the same resolution as the master.
As for workflow, If you choose 16×9 anamorphic, you will be blowing up your 4×3 material. This will cause some visual degradation. If you choose letterbox, you are just cropping the 4×3 so you don’t lose resolution but you do lose part of the picture.
So, letterbox will be friendlier to your 4×3 material, and anamorphic will be friendlier to your 16×9.
In the end, it really comes back to question number 1. Most 16×9 delivery requirements now are for an anamorphic master. From that the end user can easily pull a letterbox master if they want. If they ever want to uprez to HD, the anamorphic master will produce far better results as there is more vertical resolution there.
Terence Curren
http://www.alphadogs.tv
http://www.digitalservicestation.com
Burbank,Ca -
[Quote]Number 1 and absolutely the most important, what are your delivery specs? If 4×3, just do everything in 4×3 and be happy.[/Quote]
This problem starts because I am not happy with the 4:3 shape, but most TV channels over here still demand that format. So I can be happy by mixing up with letterboxed 16:9. And that might be a compromise that might get accepted.
For the same reason, it can’t be a 16×9 project, because in South American countries that is not a standard yet. By that I mean an anamorphized 4:3 that can be shaped back in 16:9 at the TV.
[Quote]So, letterbox will be friendlier to your 4×3 material, and anamorphic will be friendlier to your 16×9.
In the end, it really comes back to question number 1. Most 16×9 delivery requirements now are for an anamorphic master. From that the end user can easily pull a letterbox master if they want. If they ever want to uprez to HD, the anamorphic master will produce far better results as there is more vertical resolution there.[/Quote]
Yes, I might do everything into a 16:9 project and deliver it as a letterboxed 16:9 or a side-cropped 4:3. Both would demand some kind of zooming, in or out, and quality loss from the video. That’s why I am considering mixing both.
This will demand compromises in framing too, which I still have to shoot about 2/3 of yet. So I am still on time to get things right.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up