4:3 to 16:9?

[Brian Jeffries]

I just upgraded to CS4 and I am still getting used to the new layout and look of everything, so bear with me here.

I have some recently imported footage shot 4:3, I want to edit it in 16:9. I prefer that look better.

What is the best way to get it there, stretch or crop? I would prefer to stretch it to 16:9 so I do not lose anything, I did not film it other wise I would have taken not of it being 16:9 before hand.

Would stretching look the best? If so what wold be the best way to do that?

Thanks

[Roger Rosales]

Your best bet is to letterbox your footage as opposed to stretching it horizontally to fit the 16:9 aspect ratio.

Stretching will make the footage look...stretched. You don't want to crop because you'll lose alot of information.

Letterbox is your only option.

[Marty Baggen]

To avoid potential confusion, when 4:3 goes to a 16:9 frame, it's "pillarboxing".

If you seek to fill a 16:9 screen, then my choice is cropping. Stretching never looks appropriate.

If there are critical areas of info near the boundaries, then you will need to pan the image as needed.

[Brian Jeffries]

I figured the easiest was was letter boxing in the title maker. I already had the pre-layed out template so I just dropped it in.

Thanks for the feedback
Brian