Creating a Wide Screen DVD from 4:3 clips

[mitchell65]

I am doing a job for a friend (why do we take these on?). For the first time I am working with avi files captured from a camcorder via a firewire connection. No probs this far. This is what I have done to produce a widescreen DVD from the 4:3 clips. Working with VS x2 I set the project properties to 16:9. Insert the avi clip into the timeline, use the distort clip facility to "fit to screen" then save the file as "Same as project properties AVI file". Open this file in a new ibstance of VS x2 and edit as normal, then Share create video file same as first clip, then author as usual.Question: Is this a reasonable way of producing a Wide Screen video from a 4:3 Clip?

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

That’s about the way I do it.
But use the Keep Aspect Ratio as well as Fit to Screen.

Don’t think you need to go through the multiple rendering processes, you may find that editing the first project then Create Pal-DVD would create a file suitable to burn a DVD without further rendering.

I have a Quick Guide

may help

[mitchell65]

Many thanks Trevor, cutting down on one of the renderings sounds good. Will do that as I think I am going to get a few of these to do. Will try to introduce my friend to VS as I think he has been videoing for a number of years and has a drawer full of tapes. The firewire capturing is certainly impressive, never having used it before and the firewire card and cable were only about a fiver so good value
Thanks again
Will enjoy some of this sunshine and save the rest of the editing until the rain starts
John

[sjj1805]

Its all about square pegs and round holes.
Either you have to shave off the round edges to form a square, or you have to add a border to the square to make it round.

With video you can either stretch the video sideways (making your wife look fat)
OR
cut off the tops of their heads and bottoms of their feet
OR
add black borders down the two sides.

It is a matter of choice.

[mitchell65]

Hi Trevor
I completed the first one using your recommended procedure. Worked very well, am pleased with the result. The whole point of me doing it is to produce as good a result as I can so that it may encourage my friend to have a go himself.
Thanks again!
Appreciate your input Steve as you say it is a compromise. I haven't come across any clips with people in them yet but will take special care to not make the ladies look too fat, though I have to say that nowadays it doesn't need a distortion of a clip to do that!

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

Glad to hear you are successful in producing the DVD.

Video Studio has no problems with DV-Avi and are probably the best files to edit.
Using ‘Distort,’ or the ‘overlay track’ allows you to resize the frame, by also using ‘keep aspect ratio’ will please the ladies.
The top and bottom of the frame is lost due to the re-size, where heads are cut you can compromise by dragging the whole frame down a little. Then you loose more from the bottom, as I say a compromise.

If you are using multiple files, using the overlay track may be best as you can ‘Copy and Paste Attributes’, (maybe X3 allows this in the top track, I don’t know).
This is very useful as you only have to set the first clip, then copy paste to the rest.