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Pixel Aspect Ratio problems
I have done something that I’m sure is basic to deal with, but I seemingly cannot…
I shot some footage on the DVX 100b. I started up FCP5… captured it. Now I’m trying to add some still photos to it (scans) and they’re getting pinched, stretched… I can’t figure it out.
Capture settings: DV NTSC 48 kHz Anamorphic
(This was automatic, and it looks great. I’ll have to add a matte, because the footage is letterboxed, but the file is 4:3.)Sequence settings:
720×480 NTSC 4:3
Pixel aspect ratio: NTSC – CCIR 601 / DV (720×480)
Anamorphic 16:9 is UNchecked.I took the scans I was given, went into photoshop and made files that are 720×480 and resized the photos. (I haven’t, but I should, add black bars to the top and bottom.) When I import them, they are vertically stretched.
If someone could tell me what I should do to get the images not to be stretched, I would be grateful.
I’m assuming this will mean:
1) I need to change my file size/shape in PS
2) I need to add black bars to my actual photo in PS
3) I need to change the pixel aspect ratio in PSBut, you know more than me, and I bow to you…
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9 Replies
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Mike,
You need to get the whole anamorphic thing down. You said several things that are completely at odds with one another.
First you said: [Mike Derk] “Capture settings: DV NTSC 48 kHz Anamorphic”
Then you said:
[Mike Derk] “I’ll have to add a matte, because the footage is letterboxed, but the file is 4:3.”
Anamorphic means widescreen, not letterboxed. So, if the material is indeed anamorphic, then you should have the anamorphic checkbox checked in Sequence Settings and on all the clips in your browser.
After you get that part straight then maybe we can help with the issue you’re having with stills, if that is still a problem.
Do you understand?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
EPK Colorist – UP IN THE AIR – nominated for six academy awards
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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All I can tell you is that the capture preset is Anamorphic, and the canvas is clearly 4:3.
I can see the dark gray/light gray checkerboard behind my footage at the top and bottom.
The footage looks right. It’s not pinched or stretched, but it doesn’t cover the whole canvas either.
So, I guess this isn’t actually anamorphic. What would you call it?
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I can add this: if I check the anamorphic checkbox, the footage gets stretched horizontally.
The files I’m importing from PS (with square pixels) look right.
I can only get one of the two things to “behave” the way I want it to. I think the workaround is to tinker with the photos, since they’re a minimal part of the video.
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Cancel that. I had the aspect ratio (under the Motion tab) set to 9 — a left over fix I was trying.
When I set it back to 0, and check the “anamorphic” box in the sequence settings panel, the photo looks too wide…
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For reasons that are unclear to me, if I remade the images at 8×4.5 inches, 300dpi and reimported them, they worked just fine.
Is it possible that the problems I was having had nothing to do with the images themselves, but because I was editing them in PS *after* I’d put them into the sequence? Recreating and reimporting them got around that and solved the problem?
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Ok, so I read this thread and I’m a little confused.
Are you positive you shot 16:9 with your DVX? If so, then yes, you need to capture as anamorphic. If you shot with the letterbox setting, that is 4:3 and you do not need to capture as anamorphic.
Whatever you shot, i suggest you make a new sequence and change all the setting to match your footage. Changing your capture settings doesn’t necessarily mean your sequence settings are going to match, and if you just change the settings in your current sequence, the footage in that sequence doesn’t always conform (at least, that’s been the case with me in the past).
As for the images, 300dpi isn’t going to do anything for you – screens only need 72dpi. If you shot 16:9, the Photoshop document should be 720X480 and the pixel aspect ratio is “D1/DV NTSC Widescreen (1.2).” If you shot 4:3 then the Photoshop document should be 720X480 with a pixel aspect ratio of “D1/DV NTSC (0.9).”
Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com -
I don’t have the camera sitting here so I can’t double-check how I shot it. (Helpful, I know.) So all I can do is tell you what the capture settings were when I captured the footage.
I know the 300dpi wasn’t necessary. The thing is that it was working, so I didn’t want to mess with it.
More odd: the pictures only came out right with square pixels.
Anyway, the project is done. Nice to know that I didn’t do anything right!
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“More odd: the pictures only came out right with square pixels. ”
Yes, that is because computer screens use square pixels. Once you make an image with non-square pixels, they look bad on a computer screen, but they look correct on a broadcast reference monitor. This is one of many reasons why it is essential to use a reference monitor. So keep that in mind for your next project
Rob Grauert, Jr.
http://www.robgrauert.com
command-r.tumblr.com -
Good to know. Thanks.
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