I've just shot a theatre show in HDV. The show took place in 2 locations in the theatre.
I filmed 2 consecutive shows with locked off frames for each of the locations. I shot it wide so the sides of the frame were empty, with the intention of cropping it to 4:3 size and split screening the footage from each location. I'm not quite sure how to crop the 16:9 to 4:3 in
vegas while retaining the ability to split screen. I've tried cropping but it gives me black bars on each vertical side of the new 4:3 image, but, when I try to lay both images side to side, these black bars overlap. Should I render each out lossless as 4:3 then lay them on a 16:9 solid colour, could I use the cookie cutter, or should I use after effects to achieve this(which I have access to but am unfamiliar with)?

Cheers,
Glen

If your final output is 4:3, start with a 4:3 project.

After adding the clips to the timeline, go into Pan/Crop, right-click the image, and choose "Match Output Aspect". Then play with it and see if you can get it to do what you want.

My final output is 16:9, but I want each of the two resized boxes in the 16:9 master frame to be squarish. I'm not too concerned if they're 4:3 exactly.

OK, now I understand.

Change the project properties to 4:3 and do the "Match Aspect" part. Then change the project back to widescreen.

Now use Pan/Crop to crop as desired.

Next use Track Motion to resize and position the PIP.