Letterbox and Squeeze modes versus Normal...

J

jesped

New member
I wonder what are the benefits of using the Letterbox and Squeeze modes versus the Normal 4:3 mode if you are gonna edit the resulting footage in a PC or Mac...

I mean, does any of these widescreen modes have more resolution than using the normal 4:3 mode and adding upper and lower black bars later in any editing software?
 
Re: Letterbox and Squeeze modes versus Normal...

Hopefully I can explain this as good as Barry but he will probably have to back me up.

Squeeze mode and letterbox essentially have the same resolution which ends up being about around 360 lines of resolution. For comparrison of a film blow up 28 Days later only had around 240 lines of resolution, so your getting alot more from Squeeze or letterbox.

Normal gives you the chips full resolution, but if your ever going out to film it will have to be cropped, unless you go for the pillar box look which looks really bad IMHO.

With the editing workflow I like squeeze mode the best, it fits my needs alot more. If you do letterbox you can edit in a 4:3 project and it will easily transfer over to watch on 4:3 tv's. In my opinion though if your going to DVD and/or film squeeze makes the editing workflow easier because you do not have to squeeze the image yourself in post. All you have to do is edit in a 16:9 timeline and when you export to dvd then it letterboxes it for you on 4:3 tv's as well as outputs the full image on a 16:9 tv due to the way the software will flag the video.

I hope that answers the question.

Ryan
 
Re: Letterbox and Squeeze modes versus Normal...

Well, let me see if I got it right... so when using letterbox or squeeze modes you don't get any extra resolution for the viewing area compared to a 4:3 letterboxed in post edit, right?

What I mean is that for me is much better to have a full 4:3 original filmed footage than widescreen IF using widescreen does not give any extra resolution. I don't care if I have to add letterbox black bars or croping in post, as I always use steadyMove plugin to digitally steady my hand filmed footage in After Effects, and in this process the borders are VERY important. Having more vertically visible image means that the plugin stabylization will need to crop less from the borders.
 
Re: Letterbox and Squeeze modes versus Normal...

Letterbox means you get 4x3. But with a pre-made black matte to trick it looking to 16x9. Even on a wide screen, you're still gonna see a 4x3 box with black bars on normal mode.

I would rather use squeeze if I intend on watching any footage on a widescreen. That way in the end, you can fill up the entire wide screen.

If your client has a normal tv and don't plan on watching it on other than a TV... then just do 4x3.
 
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