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Using 4:3 footage for 16:9 project
First of all, I would like to thank you all for creating such a helpful community for Final Cut Pro, it sure is nice to have a place to turn to when having trouble. And speaking of trouble…
I couldn’t find a post on this forum that directly answers my question, so I was hoping someone here might have the answer.
I found someone else with the same problem, but no one answered his Dec 9th post, so I thought this might be a good chance to compile solutions for all of us faced with the same challenge.
The Problem:
I have a project primarily shot in 16×9 on a Cannon XL-2, but unfortunately our DP hit the 4:3 switch and we are trying to make the 4:3 footage work in our 16:9 timeline.I’ve been trying several different methods of making the 4:3 footage work, but without stretching or blowing up the image, I have been unable to find a solution.
I’ve captured the footage both in anamorphic and regular NTSC but I can’t seem to get rid of the side bars without compromising the resolution.
The only option I have found that might work is to edit in a 4:3 timeline, thus the 4:3 footage works, and put a widescreen matte on the 16:9 footage. I would prefer not to do this, but do I have a better option?
Thanks for taking the time to help out,
Will Keir
pr********@***************ie.com -
3 Replies
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As far as I know (and I’ve been involved in this conversation a few tmes), there are only 2 ways to make 4 x 3 video fit a 16 x 9 monitor and you’ve tried them both: stretch the image horizontally or blow the image up and crop it to fit. Both methods degrade the footage.
Can you make it seem like a stylistic choice? If you have b-roll that was shot 4×3, make the entire project 4×3 and then insert the 16×9 footage of A-roll as letterboxed widescreen, for example. Just a thought.
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Looks like the problem is as I feared. I was hoping there was something I didn’t figure out that someone else out there might know.
Seems like 3 options:
1) The Worst – Scale the 4:3 footage to 133% to work in a 16:9 timeline.
2) Second Worst – Stretching the 4:3 footage in a 16:9 timeline.
3) Thirt Worst (Or best I got) – edit in a 4:3 timeline, shoot the DP, and drop letterbox on the 4:3 footage.I would really prefer not to shoot my DP, is there really no other way to make it work?
Will Keir
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I know how you feel. I edit medical videos and my Producers went out and shot a case in 16×9 but got thrown a curve ball and had to use a 4×3 secondary source, without realizing the aspect ratios would case a problem later in post.
The options you posted would work (at least in my opinion) depending on what project you are working on. In my case, I could not perform a matt on the 16×9 footage since the client wanted the ability to play this in a 16×9 plasma monitor, I couldn’t re-scale the 4×3 footage, cause it would have killed the quality beyond being useable, and I couldn’t re-shoot cause well.. an open heart surgery is not something you just redo.
The solution we came up with worked for us since this is mainly corporate video. But basically we set the project up for 16×9 and then brought the 4×3 in, leaving the black bars on the side. I justified the footage to the right and our graphics department created a subtle jump-back to go in behind it. We then used this space for text based bullet points when needed. When not, the client logo remained up like a bug.
It wasn’t ideal, but it kept the video quality where we wanted it, the client got their 16×9 video, and we avoided unsightly black bars on the sides.
All in all, I guess it really just depends on what your trying to do.
Josh
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