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Outputting 16:9 to Digi Beta from FCP
I need to output to Digi Beta master tomorrow. So if anyone can advise asap i would be much obliged.
My programmes will be seen on 16:9 monitors….there will be 3 monitors (widescreen). 2 programmes have been shot on 4:3 and edited on a 4:3 timeline. To turn these into 16:9 I will need to enlarge and crop to fit into the new aspect ration. Loss of quality accepted.
The 3rd is shot in HDV 16:9.
Now here’s the problem: i don’t know whether i’m meant to keep the 16:9 setting on and outout to Digi Beta ‘as is’. Or if i’meant to output it with 16:9 unclicked (squeezed) and it be ‘unsqueezed’ at the other end (by the monitor).
This may be a very silly question. My instinct tells me I should output it as is but I don’t really know for sure.Many thanks for any comments in advance.
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3 Replies
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First off, what kind of monitors?
Second, my advice for the 4:3 programs would be to letterbox the 4:3 content in FCP or AE and let the monitor on the other end do the scaling.
For the HDV project, you should downconvert “squeezed” or anamorphic and again let the monitor do the stretching. That monitor will yield the best results, but this is all dependent on what monitor is on the other end.
Jeremy
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minoun,
I hate to dispute what Jeremy said, but… Allowing the monitor to scale your 4×3 program will insure that one of two things happens, 1. the material gets distorted and everyone has block heads, or 2. there is no distortion but the top and bottom are cut off, likely including a good bit of your lower third IDs.
The proper way to create a full screen 16×9 Digibeta of a 4×3 program is to create a new 16×9 anamorphic timeline, and drag your textless sequence to the timeline as a nested sequence. Load the video into the viewer by double clicking, and scale up until the sides of the video fill the frame horizontally (approximately 33%). You will notice that FCP automaically masks the top and bottom of your video, centering the 4×3 video in the frame. Now you must go through and raise or lower shots or sequences of shots that are too high or low in the frame. Split the video track at the appropriate points using the razor tool and repsotion appropriately using the motion settings in the viewer.
Once you have repositioned all necessary shots in your timeline, copy your titles from your original timeline and paste onto a layer over your video. You may notice minor edge artifacts caused by scaling, which may or may be acceptable to you. I they are not you will neeed to recreate them in a program other than Boris 3D titler that will allow you to create titles at 863×486.
I just completed a project for television using this method myself. The loss of quality is quite minimal.
Good luck,
DRW -
Cool. THis method allow for FCP to do the scaling. That’s why I was asking which monitor minoun is working with. On some of these corporate gigs they have massive switchers that are shown on a 16:9 screen through huge projectors. the scaling that is achieved with some of these switchers is unbelievable. That’s why i suggested to letterbox the 4:3 to get a 16:9. The switcher will scale much much better than FCP will. If in fact he is showing it on some sort of plasma or lcd, your method will work much better David.
Jeremy
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