Maintaining widescreen from FCP to DVD

I shot footage in HDV 16:9. I would like to produce a DV NTSC 16:9 DVD and maintain the proper aspect ratio throughout including the final 16:9 DVD.

What ratio selection do I use in FCP for my DV 16:9 footage?

My DVD must have a 16:9 menu and a 16:9 video track even though the video is DV.

Hope this is clear.

Thanks for your assistance.

Why are you working in 16:9 DV? You're losing a lot of quality. Capture as ProRes HD. Then use Compressor to convert the HD master to an anamorphic 16:9 MPEG-2.

Your profile says you're still using FCP4.5. If that's true, ProRes isn't an option for you. But you should still work with either DVCPro HD (available in FCP4.5) or AIC (I think that only came with FCP5, but check).


www.derekmok.com

Or capture as HDV then render out as ProRes (switch your sequence codec to ProRes and set to render everything in high precision). Then when you're done, Export> Quicktime movie, current settings.

But to answer your question, go the Compressor route as D mentioned.



www.strypesinpost.com

once you get the footage into DVDSP,
you have to tell it that the menu and track should be displayed 16/9.
there are controls in the inspector for that.
choose 16/9 letterbox

if it's iDVD you're using.. well i don't use that so can't really advise.

i know iDVD didn't used to recognise clips from FCP as anamorphic,
and there was a workaround (google "anamorphicizer"
but that might not be an issue these days?


nick

Also, if you're going the iDVD route, don't go via Compressor.



www.strypesinpost.com

Thanks for the guidance guys.

I will begin implementing the information today using FCP and DVD Pro.

Once you are done encoding. This is how you get a DVD without menus:

[strypesinpost.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

O.K. I appreciate all of your help but still to no avail.

1. I am running Mac 10.5.8 Intel
2. FCP 5.1.4

About a year and a half ago I shot footage in HDV, captured it as SD, edited it in widescreen and made a Quicktime composite that ran 45 minutes.

From there I added the QT composite to DVD Studio Pro, constructed 5 different menus in widescreen and maintained the widescreen format all menus as well as for the video track. The DVD SD played successfully in the widescreen mode for menus as well as the video track.

For whatever reason, I cannot duplicate that tracksheet for a new video. When using that same tracksheet my presently captured footage is elongated and not the proper aspect. It must have to do with my method of capturing but I am unsuccessful in determining the proper video capture.

I never went through all the various means of capture as previously mentioned in this thread. It is essential that the final DVD is in SD and widescreen. If I lose a little quality using this method that is not a problem.

I have even researched FCP manual as well as Larry Jordan's book but still not successful.

Thanks in advance for your guidance. I

>my presently captured footage is elongated and not the proper aspect

Is your footage captured in an HD format like HDV or AIC? Are you editing in an HDV or AIC sequence? Are you encoding with the DVD presets in Compressor like we are telling you to? What tracksheet?

Look at the picture at the bottom of my write up. Select the track in DVDSP, go to the track inspector bottom right hand corner of your screen and make sure that option that I highlighted in that picture is exactly the same.

[strypesinpost.com]


>About a year and a half ago I shot footage in HDV, captured it as SD

If you intend to work with DV, fine. Exactly what is your clip setting in the browser? Is the anamorphic column checked? What is your sequence settings (go to sequence settings), what is your frame size, and is the anamorphic checkbox checked? What exactly is your workflow between Final Cut Pro and DVD SP?

Frankly I don't care how you did it before, because if you're getting oranges when you're expecting apples, something is wrong with your workflow.


>It is essential that the final DVD is in SD

DVD-Video is an SD only format.



www.strypesinpost.com

The sticky part is that you're at the end of the pipeline -- which means if any single step in your chain was wrong, it can cause this problem. No choice but to go backwards one step at a time.

Step 1: Check DVD Studio Pro project
Do you still have the DVDSP project file that was successful the last time? One great way to maintain your settings is, rather than create a new project file, duplicate the old one, rename it and save it somewhere else. That way you can be sure this project has the same settings as the old one. Now put your new media into this new copy. Does it look right? If so, then you know these settings are correct, and that was your problem with the new DVDSP project file -- you had missed a setting somewhere, or several.

If it doesn't look right, then you can rule out the DVDSP project's settings as a culprit, because your old project had looked fine.

Step 2: QuickTime export
Check the QuickTime movie "composite" as you call it in QuickTime Player. What are its dimensions? If your footage is now SD but had originated in HD, then you should have an anamorphic 16:9 720x486 or 720x480 movie file. If it's any dimension other than those, you've got the wrong format.

Step 3: Editing timeline
Check your Sequence Settings. Check the image on an external monitor played back from your timeline.

Step 4: Captured clips
Check your clip settings. You said you captured HDV as SD, so you have three possibilities:
a) You captured as anamorphic 16:9. This is the correct approach.
b) You captured as letterboxed 4:3. Not good for your final DVD, but a viable approach if you were looking for a letterboxed final product.
c) You captured as center-cut 4:3 ("Crop". This is the worst option unless it's what you had intended from the beginning.

You gotta check all these things step by step.


www.derekmok.com

>You should have an anamorphic 16:9 720x486 or 720x480 movie file. If it's any dimension other
>than those, you've got the wrong format.

Not really. I remember there was a bug with the anamorphic flag in Quicktime a while ago, and QT player would play it skinny by default. If it's skinny but 720x480, it's fine. As long as the anamorphic flag is added in DVDSP, you're good to go.

Also, it's 720x480, unless you captured off a Beta source and you have 720x486, then you have to crop 2 lines off the top and 4 lines off the bottom in Compressor or your image will look fat.



www.strypesinpost.com

are you saying that you are setting the track to be 16/9 i the DVDSP inspector, and that nothing happens?

because that's what you have to do.
you can turn a 16/9 file into a 4/3 DVD by not setting that in the inspector.


nick

Thanks again guys. I will try all of your suggestions in the morning.

I greatly appreciate your input.

I am narrowing the problem down but still require assistance.

Mac Intel 10.5.8
FCP 5.1.4
Timeline set to DV NTSC 48khz Anamorphic

This particular timeline was used successfully in a previous 45 minute video. When I drop a video clip from the old video footage it looks fine in the widescreen aspect as intended, however, when I capture a new bit of footage and drop it in the timeline it is a small image with black around all four edges.

I have attempted various capture settings from my Sony HDV HVR 10U deck but nothing seems to work.

Any suggestions? As always thanks for your guidance.

>it is a small image with black around all four edges.

Is the footage letterboxed in camera?



www.strypesinpost.com

> when I capture a new bit of footage and drop it in the timeline it is a small image with black
> around all four edges.

That would lead me to believe your footage isn't actually anamorphic, but was captured as such. Looks to me like you captured your HDV while using a letterbox feature.

Remove the anamorphic checkmark from the clips in the Browser, then open in the Viewer. See what it looks like. I'm guessing it's going to be letterboxed 4:3.


www.derekmok.com

When I place the original tape back in the camera and view it, it looks normal in all respects. That is to say that it is widescreen. I will follow your suggestion and remove the check anamorphic check mark from the clips in the Brower and see how it looks in the Viewer.

The footage was shot in the manner that I always shoot it which was HDV using the Sony HDR FX1 in the widescreen mode. This is the first time that I have encountered this problem. I checked my camera and the settings are normal.

I also checked the Sony deck settings. The build-in screen on the Sony HVR M10U shows the image in the widescreen mode as well. It's only when it hits FCP that the image is too small.

I am wondering if the settings on this particular deck have to be changed with the iLink cable disconnected.

This is frustrating since I am producing a short 5:45 pro bono fund raising video for a good cause and the DVD release date is rapidly approaching.

Thanks again for your guidance.

P.S. I just went to the Browser but cannot locate a method for turning off the anamorphic check mark.

Hey guys! Problem solved!

I gave up on capturing from my deck and went to an iLink from my camera to FCP and Mac.

The problem is with the configuration or the malfunctioning of my deck.

Many thanks for hanging in there with my.

All the best,

PG