4x3 or 16x9

theraggededge1

theraggededge1

New member
I was wondering what you all would consider the best option for shooting. Right now I have been shooting in 4x3 with crop marks pasted on the monitor and VW and then going into post and cropping so I can tighten and reframe the shot if I so desire. Is it better to shoot 16x9 or 4x3 and do as I stated.
 
Thats what I have been doing and so far that option has worked great for me. I love the ability to reframe shots that the camera man didnt quite frame properly since it gives me the Director the reassurance that the shot will come out the way I want it to look. Thanks for the input.
 
Recently I started to do the same. I converted myself from 16:9 to an even more resolute 4:3. In post we can do miracles. Sometimes it's a bit hard to frame properly wide shots rather then tele ones... Especially becos I m trying to output a 2:35 frame!
 
I am probably buying the anamorphic adapter this spring... I wonder if the output in the LCD/viewfinder will be 4:3 ?? Then if that is so will it look something like the squeeze mode?

If the above is the case and you can not see your 16:9 I think it will be hard to make perfect framing. You will lose that WYSIWYG feeling.

As an artist, not being able to perfectly frame your shots will be a clear disadvantage.

On the other hand if you have dreams of getting your projects blown up to screen, then losing resolution is a no go.. :undecided
 
No, the dvx100a will not compensate for the anamorphic adapter on lens, so it won't be wysiwyg. I would argue that the extra few lines of resolution aren't worth the money or the extra mental time required to understand the image, but that's another thread.

I'll add my vote for matting a 4:3 frame in post. While there are advantages to shooting in letterbox, they can be gained with electrical tape on the lcd without the loss of edges. I'd also say that a full 4:3 frame can be a lifesaver when doing special effects.
 
If you use the DVX100a + an anamorphic adapter AND buy an external LCD, can you see the 16:9 image or will it still be squeezed til you drag it to post?
If you can't at least see it on an external lcd then I see no point in the adapter at all.
But since I want to create stuff for the big screen I really want that extra resolution...

Reading posts a lot the last week make me feel the HVX just might be for me after all.... but it's kinda sad when I would only be able to afford it if I fly to New York and smuggle it into my country... here I heard prices quoted that would be MORE than double.... :cry: -- not to mention if I squeezed out a HVX I would still need the P2 cards and all the extras.... *sigh*

LLD
 
how does the 4:3 give more options than 16:9 in post? curious cause if i was to be filming but another person doing most post production work how does 4:3 make their job easier?
 
It gives you a slightly more ample chance of framing it just right. It basically comes down to "the more screen you have, the more you have to work with".

If you shoot in the squeezed or cropped modes you're going to lose some of the resolution anyway. What's the point of losing a whole section of the screen too?
You could need to focus on something important in your shot in post and you're losing the resolution anyway.
Most of the stuff I've seen cut to 2.35:1, especially with 35mm adapters, looks fantastic, even on my friend's 32" Sony LCD.

Because of the nature of the DVX100/A/B's chips most people choose to go 4:3 and I'm the first to say I don't mind joining them.
It's a big pain in the arse, but it eventually looks fantastic and gives me an advantage in what I want to show on the screen and what I don't.

I'm not sure who said it first, but they were pretty accurate;
"Films are made on the cutting room floor".
This helps maintain that truth a bit.

Daniel Miller
http://formulaic.net
 
This is an interesting thread to me.. and this may sound like a silly question, I use PP for my NLE... you must choose up front for transfer whether its 16:9 or 4:3, so if I filmed in 4:3, transfer in that ratio... then want to crop to 16:9.. do I transfer that cropped portion to a widescreen project or just make it as is with the black bars top and bottom...

December I delt with a portion being filmed in widescreen and a portion in 4:3, cropped the 4:3, but in the end had to make two dvd's (4:3 was interviews with high school football players, 16:9 was used to film the games) so It wasnt a total loss.
 
In premiere you need to create a title file with solid black rectangles aproximating the letterbox effect. Put this over the video clip you want to make "widescreen". You can now move the clip up and down within the new frame.
 
hey,
so if i shoot in 4x3, which seems to be the better option, how would i know how much of the lcd to mark off so i can get the framing right for 16x9 or 2.35:1? like how much tape or whatever would i add to the top and bottom of the lcd? or what else besides tape could i use to crop out the lcd screen?
 
alright that all makes sense why letterbox is pretty much useless. how does squeeze mode compare? You still just want it at the 4x3 if you can't get true 16x9 for reframing purposes?
 
"hey,
so if i shoot in 4x3, which seems to be the better option, how would i know how much of the lcd to mark off so i can get the framing right for 16x9 or 2.35:1? like how much tape or whatever would i add to the top and bottom of the lcd? or what else besides tape could i use to crop out the lcd screen?"

These are a must if you want a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

http://www.aspectcorrect.com/

Makes framing much easier.
 
Missing the point

Missing the point

In quickly scanning this thread, I didn't see anything about the fact that if you shoot in squeeze mode, you have true 16:9 footage which is the only practical way to show your project on HD (16:9) TV's, which are being sold by the millions now. If you shoot 4:3 and crop in post, you still have a 4:3 image with bars on a 16:9 TV! This looks rediculous... bars on the side and bars on the top... this is not a professional way to produce anything.

In short:

Project showing on 16:9 TV's or 16:9 and 4:3 TV's on DVD? Shoot Squeeze as the DVD player will add the bars when going out to a 4:3 set. (The resulting DVD is known as an anamorphic DVD, which basically all Hollywood produced DVD's are that you buy at the store!)

Project showing on the old standard 4:3 TV's ONLY? Shoot 4:3 and crop in post.

Project going to film out? (waist of time 99.9999999% of the time) Shoot 4:3 and crop later.
 
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