Letter box or Sqeeze?

[Johnny Random Productions]

I'm shooting a short film shortly and I need to know what settings to use to get 16:9. Should I shoot in squeeze? When I have that footage how to I convert it to 16:9. I'm using a DVX 100b and Final Cut 6.

Another thing, is it best to shoot with 24pA if using the new final cut? What settings for the timeline do I use to get the best quality? Any suggestions to threads or tutorials would much appreciated, THANKS!

 

[David Jimerson]

Always squeeze. Never letterbox. Always squeeze.

Squeeze is already 16:9, no conversion needed.

With FCP, always shoot 24pA if you want to edit as 24p.

 

[Revsta]

is there a fix for the viewfinder yet to make the squeeze image appear unsqueezed....

 

[David Jimerson]

There is for the LCD on the 100B.

 

[Revsta]

not the A though =\

 

[Zim]

I started using letterbox but now only use squeeze.

 

[Johnny Random Productions]

Where is the switch on the LCD monitor for the 100B to get it unsqueezed? Is it in the settings menu? Or is it on the side of the camera?

 

[gco]

Owners Manual--pages 34, 68, 71 & 76.

 

[TiDo_dvx]

All the while, I shot all my footages in letterbox, then uprezzed using PhotoZoom to make it widescreen, a little hassle though especially if your final render is above 10 minutes long.... Anyways, I read about David Jimerson's squeeze mode on all my shoots now...it's just awesome...BTW, mine is a DVX100A...

cheers to David and the dvxuser guys......:happy::happy::happy:

 

[Johnny Random Productions]

The owners manual is beautiful thing, thanks for the advice. I set my DVX to SQUEEZE and my monitor to 16:9, I LOVE THE DVX!
Now,
When I dump the footage into FCP will I have to change any settings or will it automatically take care of the aspect ratio?

 

[Alex H.]

Open your capture settings and set it for anamorphic, or you can use the browswer to manually check "Anamorphic" on all the clips after capture.

You'll also need to set your sequence presets to anamorphic.

 

[Johnny Random Productions]

I went to audio/video settings and chose the NTSC anamorphic. My new question is how do I select the anamorphic setting while keeping the 24p timeline? I'm shooting in 24pA, what settings do I use to get both the anamorphic and 24fps timeline? I ask this because FCP says to choose the NTSC 24 if you're shooting 24fps (which I am), but there is no anamorphic 24fps combo setting. What do I do?

Also I went to sequence settings and it gives you the option to change the Frame size and Pixel aspect ratio. Under the Frame size, the only options for 16:9 are HDTV 720p or 1080i, or DVCHD 720p/1080i. Do I change this or do I simply check the 16:9 box that's under Pixel aspect ratio.

Sorry if these questions are lame, I really just want the best results and have very little knowledge of FCP. THANKS