24p 16:9... To Squeeze or not To Squeeze

C

CritUnitB

Member
Okay, I just got my shiny new DVX100BP and this is already driving me nuts. I am about to launch a series of web videos whose end-format will roll out in both large, torrent-worthy files and tiny ipod downloads. I am editing on FCP 5.1.

So: I know I want to shoot 24p and I know I want it to be widescreen. I have been told (perhaps falsely) that squeeze mode is bad and the resulting image will be not-so-hot, and further, that it is better to shoot normal and resize the image to 133.33% so that it will fit in a 16:9 frame. What I don't want is a simple matte that is just blank, wasted video information. In testing, however, it looks like squeeze mode is in fact much prettier. Anyone have advice about this?

Secondly, when I export from the timeline in squeeze mode I get a 4:3 squeezed image again. How do I export so that it appears the way it should (16:9) for download and web play?

Also, I've been experiencing something strange where no matter whether squeeze mode is selected as I shoot 24p (and I know my capture settings are correct, with anamorphic deselected) it will try to stretch out the video to 16:9. This is annoying and potentially fatal. FATAL.

Lastly I apologize if all of this has been asked/answered before, I'm just in a bind for time. Thanks in advance...
 
I'll wait for the experts but I think since it's a native 4:3 I think it would be good to shoot 4:3 and mentally bear in mind widescreen and then do widescreen in post.

I think this gives you better resolution.
However I'm not 100% sure if you do lose resolution when you letterbox...
 
I would shoot 4x3 and preserve my widescreen framing. Resizing the image in post yields the same results as shooting squeeze, maybe better. And since it's 4x3 you have the option of moving the image a bit for better framing. Make sure you use thin line detail.
 
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