Making 4:3 footage 16:9 in post?

[MatthewC]

I'd like to shooot my footage at 4:3 then cut it to 16:9 in post. How can I go about doing this? Do I import it into a widescreen project then stretch the video?

Also, what are the main benefits of shooting in 4:3 and changing in post, besides being able to swing both ways, as compared to shooting in letterbox instead, shouldn't the picture come out the same?


Any info would be great.

 

[overnighttolondon]

Start a 16:9 project. Your imported/captured footage should still be 4:3 (if it looks stretched, right click > Interpret Footage > DV 4:3 (0.9) ). Drop it on the timeline and scale it up until it reaches the left and right edge (and gets its top and bottom cut off).

I don't know why anyone would ever want to shoot letterboxed. There's no gain in resolution, you can always letterbox in post, and you get the addded bonus with 4:3 of being able to adjust the position and reframe vertically if you want.

There is a slight resolution gain by shooting in squeeze mode, however, since the uprezzing is happening on the hardware level instead of software. Personally though, the flexibility of vertical reframing outweighs the image quality gain of squeeze.

An anamorphic lens is the best solution if you can afford it.