Shot 16:9 composed for 4:3 need workflow for FCP?

J

jesse

Member
We shot a project on the HVX200 16:9 720p for a 4:3 SD full screen final result (not letter-boxed).

The footage consists of clips with these properties:
960x720 (1.33)
DVCpro HD 720p60
23.976 fps

In FCP we need to set up two sequences 16:9 & 4:3

The 16:9 settings as follows:
Frame size: 960x720 (HD (960x720) (16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: (HD 960x720) anamorphic unchecked
Compressor DVCpro HD 720p60
23.98

Can anyone recommend optimal 4:3 settings for a FCP workflow?
We want to preserve the highest res for editorial and compositing. We know this can easily be conformed in after effects. But we would like to Edit in FCP preserve the 720 height and crop the width without affecting the clips at all. 960 x720 is 1.33 so at a square res it would be 1280x720. A square 4:3 comp would be 960x720 but when we set up 960x720 square the clips auto letterbox. ou can remove attributes but then it squashes. You can resize the clip in motion window which seems to work but causes loss. And down the rabbit hole we go. Does anyone know the standard way to do this?
 
Why create a 4:3 sequence at all? Why not do your edit in FCP with the 720p footage in a 16:9 DVCPro HD sequence and then use frame controls in Compressor to crop to 4:3 when you export an SD version from FCP using Compressor? I recently used this workflow to create an SD DVD from 720p footage. Of course, this wouldn't work if you wanted to pan and scan the portion of the 720p image that is visible in the SD version, but it works fine if you want to simply crop to the center of the 16:9 clips.

Kevin
 
4:3 is for frame composition. Optimal clip workflow for VFX?

4:3 is for frame composition. Optimal clip workflow for VFX?

That's a good suggestion I guess I didn't specify my logic. I want to see the 4:3 frame composition in editorial. While also preserving the ability to move a bit on either side if needed. (Not pan and scan for final, but just to have the source available if needed.) So its for creative reasons. Yes I could always just crop on final output. I could also work at 16:9 and render a black bar crop bar over all the clips in editorial. But it seems like a lot of extraneous rendering. With the black bar you will be rendering every edit change. Since the HVX200 has a setting the provides 4:3 crop marks but shot at 16:9 we went with that knowing there are many post solutions.

This is an effects heavy project. Once an edit is locked we will be comping the source clips. So First, I am trying to set up a workflow that allows you to see an edit at 4:3 while preserving the source clips (and not a lot of rendering a black border). And second, we are trying to determine what project settings should be in composite packages. Should I work in a square space vs. the HDV 1080/DVCPRO HD pixel aspect ratio? This changes the frame size etc. You want to be comping at a ratio with the least loss etc. I am looking for the most efficient solution.
 
I would suggest posting this question in the FCP forum so that you will get the benefit of the FCP gurus there.

My thoughts are that you are going to have to either mask the DVCPro HD footage or create a custom preset if you want to work with the original footage in 4:3 aspect ratio, either of which would require rendering in your timeline since the sequence settings will not match the footage or you will be comping layers, although FCP may be able to display at least some of your edits in real time. You could also export a lower resolution version of your clips for purposes of editing, and then substitute the higher res original footage for your final output, but if you are going to be adjusting the portion of 16:9 footage that is visible in the 4:3 version, those edits will also require rendering at some point, as far as I can tell. Also, you used to be able to put higher res footage into a lower res timeline in FCP and only a portion of the footage would be viewable and the clip could be moved to adjust what was visible. I haven't tried this in FCP 6 and am not sure how it would be done, with FCP 6's mixed format timeline, but I imagine there is a setting somewhere. Of course, this likely would also ultimately require rendering.

I should warn you that I am not an FCP expert--maybe Noah K or one of the other experts in the FCP forum will be able to come up with a better solution.

Good luck,
Kevin
 
Right now vertical letterbox mask seems like the best option. We tried and couldn't get a custom preset to work. I was thinking if we did that the screen size would crop the sides without requiring rendering. What worked Thank you for taking the time. I appreciate it. I will post to FCP.
 
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