oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

S

skankib

Active member
Sorry... yet another squeeze versus letterbox mode question...sure i'm not the only one who is confused though...and yes I have read all the other postings.

I'm shooting a music vid in exactly a week...things have been manic enough what with preprods and friggin stylists who pull out at the last minute... but now I'm suddenly beginning to worry about the overall quality of my final footage...

I was intending on shooting it all in letterbox mode as I cannot deal with setting up my shots in squeeze mode. I want that cinema look ie. pseudo 16:9 and its going to a tv station to be broadcasted.

So...What exactly do I need to take into consideration?

Is letterbox accepted by television stations?(is there any special settings I need to remember)

should i reconsider letterbox mode?

or can i just carry on as planned...?

Oh the chaos...but great news I've just met an old lady who is willing to lend me her wheelchair....!

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
:a:

oh anamorphic adapters are out of the question for this shoot.
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

I am not in a broadcasting deal but the footage you will be giving them in the format of letterboxed 1.33:1 will be correct. I can not tell you if they will or will not take it, but it will be compatible with regular tvs. If the footage you give them is squeezed meaning letterboxed stretched into 1.78:1 "widescreen" format than in theory there should be issues when trying to squeeze wider aspect into a square tube. I have asked how would squeezed footage result on a 4:3 tv and never got the answer, my assumption is if the chip is 4:3 and footage is abnormal than it will also be abnormal on 4:3 tvs but this is just a raw idea since i can not test on anything at this moment. Would the 4:3 tv push down on horizontal lines(height) in here?  Help us ! mhew


We tapped a chair from a black lady once, we came back next day and took it again. Make sure you are running on some padding and nice leg supports at the bottom or you will make it a work out for yourself.
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

You want to shoot letterbox for that circumstance.

Squeeze is only useful if you're intending to show it on a 16:9-shaped television.
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

Skankib, as another UK member I suggest you should be very careful how you proceed. You don't say which broadcaster its going to, but BBC, ITV and MTV etc have very specific requirements for delivery in 16:9. The letter box is just a masked 4:3 frame not real full-frame 16:9. Of course you can re-frame in post but that can be long and tricky even with FCP.
I suggest you talk to the broadcaster and find out exactly what they will accept,make sure its one of the engineers and not some intern.
I've said it before, but you should really consider shooting 4:3 and having it professionally ARC'd by a good post house.

Also go to the BBC site and read their production delivery requirements for independant producers, they are pretty much standard for UK transmission.
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

If you use Final Cut Pro 4.5, you can shoot with the anamorphic lense, and edit all your footage in an anamorphic timeline. You'll have a true 16:9 original footage.

For NTSC 4:3 letterbox broadcast, simply export your final production as a self contained QT DV file. Then import that file in a non anamorphic timeline and it it will display letterbox. Just print to tape.

very easy.

But If you dont use the anamorphic adapter, then i'd suggest to use letterbox. It looks better than squeezed.
good luck !
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

DOH! Guilty of thinking skankib's question was US-centric... don't know why, just thought he was talking about US broadcast. Yes, definitely listen to your fellow UK citizens!! Sorry!
 
Re: oh no-another squeeze vs letterbox question

Thanks for the advise...

Jonathan its going onto skuz tv (a hybrid show of Kerrang)...I've been trying to get hold of them but have had problems...spose its best to speak to them to get exact requirements rather than speculating...

thanks all again....

:a:
 
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