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versioning 4:3 and 16:9 from SD
A bit of a general question here but since we are working on Blackmagic hardware perhaps this is not a bad place to ask it…
We have a show that will be delivered to two different broadcasters. It will be shot in SD. One wants 16:9 anamorphic the other wants 4:3. I wonder if others have dealt with this situation and what workflow might be in use.
A few issues. Overall I am trying to resist doing the two different versions for obvious reasons; I’d rather just do the one 4:3 version. but if i have to i wonder if it is feasible to shoot 4:3 and then crop for the 16:9 version.. it is supposed to be anamorphic so I’d have to stretch the image.. Not ideal .. but I wonder if anyone is doing that and what the results are like. Any other scenarios? Any other tips or pointers?
We are onlining on a decklink extreme system and mastering to Digibeta via SDI.
Thanks,
jason
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5 Replies
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It’s a pity you are shooting in 4:3 as to make the anamorphic you are going to have to enlarge the image as opposed to cropping it. If it’s not too late I would strongly recommend switching to a 16:9 acquisition format.
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It’s not too late at all because the project is still in the planning stages. But were I to shoot anamorphic how do I do the 4:3 version? Seems to me that I have to then crop the widescreen version and blow it up.. not very good at all, no?
Jason
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Why would you have to blow it up? You just need to cut off the sides.
I think you are thinking that widescreen is letterboxed. It’s not.
If you want to produce a letterboxed version then go ahead and shoot 4:3 and crop the top and bottom. -
Yes that’s right not blow it up.. just unsqueeze it and crop it. It’s still a loss of resolution over native 4:3. Perhaps not enough to matter?
jason
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If you want full resolution 4:3 then shoot 4:3 and letterbox for your other version.
The loss of cropping off the sides if you shoot 16:9 is negligible so really you could go either way.I guess one advantage of shooting 16:9 is that you future proof the material for use later on.
(if that’s of any concern)If you do decide to shoot 16:9 make sure the camera shoots native 16:9 and not a digital conversion
like the XL1, DVX-100 or the PD-150/170.
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