widescreen problems in FCP 7

[Joe Batt]

Hey guys, I'm sorry i was so unclear. I'm not starting with dv material. I'm starting with 1920x1080 footage. but I'm trying to crop it even more. Here are two examples guysfull is 6.66:1 and guyswide is 2.35:1. My original problem is in my original post (first post). thanks again for taking the time to look.

[R Geoff Baker]

If you want to create the look of an even widerscreen format than you shot, do your entire edit, then lay a mask over the final timeline. Create the mask yourself, to whatever dimensions you want. Place the mask on the timeline on a track on top of everything else. If there are shots that need to be 'recentred' as a consequence, use the Motion dialogue or the 'image+wireframe' on the problematic shots.

If you need to see the mask lines during the editing process, just enable the track that has the mask.

This assumes you don't really want to crop -- what I'm suggesting is a letterbox mask over the 1080 dimension. But if you do in fact want to crop, I'd still follow the same process I've outlined, then crop in the output phase. Presumably you have already sorted out the dimensions of your export, and the format, as they won't work in traditional Blu-Ray discs, for instance -- so if you want to crop out the mask you've applied, just use the appropriate commands in Compressor -- the preview function will show you if you are cropping enough to eliminate your mask.

HTH
GB

[Joe Batt]

Thanks everybody, lot's of help

[Pete Cofrancesco]

"Quite so, as many of us do now -- so you would avoid 'anamorphic' unless you shot an HDV format which is a sort of 'junior anamorphic' -- all the AVCHD formats use square pixels and so are not anamorphic at all."

That explains the confusion, I first moved to Widescreen DV and then to HDV, so that's all I've ever really know.

[Derek Heeps]

Originally Posted by R Geoff Baker

I think what you really want to do is start with a sequence setting that is 16:9 -- you will have to tell FCP this, as it prefers to match your sequence setting to your source material. Now when you place a 4:3 clip on the timeline, you use the scale instruction to choose how the widescreen view is applied to the material -- do you pillarbox, do you scale up and crop (by simply leaving it outside the canvas area) top and bottom, do you crop more from the top or bottom, et cetera.

HTH
GB

This is what I need to sort out as a workflow .

Just this week , I got a pair of JVC GY-DV500 cameras which shoot 4:3 , although there is a 16:9 'safe area' indicator in the viewfinder which I can use as a guide when shooting . My camcorders are PAL 720x576 resolution .

I came from using a Sony VX-1000 which had a 16:9 mode which imported as a 16:9 image .

I now need to crop my 4:3 material to 16:9 when I import it . Currently using FCP 6.0.6 on a Powermac G5 .

I already tried the 'widescreen' filter , but this only letterboxes a 16:9 image within a 4:3 canvas .

Early days yet , but I will figure it out .

[William Hohauser]

I am very familiar with the GY-DV500 camera. It can shoot letterboxed 16:9 within 4:3. This in effect throws a lot of resolution out the window, this is not anamorphic. In my opinion, don't use these cameras to shoot 16:9 unless you are willing to find optical anamorphic lens adapters. Very expensive, cheaper to buy new HD cameras.

[Derek Heeps]

I can't grumble since I was given the two 500's ! However I had to source a couple of lenses since I got only the bodies . Since they had been used in a studio , one had only 29 drum hours and the other 38 so practically new .

We already have a couple of 500's at work , as well as a 5000 ; the 5000 has the letterbox 16:9 mode but not the 500 ( at least not the PAL versions we have here in the UK ) . I have in the past shot a fair bit of 16:9 cropped from 4:3 sensors and whilst you do obviously throw some resolution away , you can get away with it - again with PAL we are starting off with a few more lines than you guys over the pond , but your point is still valid .

I was looking to buy into HD since my old VX-1000 died recently , but having been given the pair of DV500's I am going to try them out and see how I get on .

I agree anamorphic lenses would be prohibitively expensive so not an option .

[William Hohauser]

I do work for a studio that replaced their 500s with HD cameras and they can't give the old cameras away specifically because they are unable to do real anamorphic.