best way to get film aspect ratio in final cut

http://www.digitalcinemasociety.org/downloads/AspectRatiocharts.pdf

Film aspect ratio is 2.35:1.

You could use the crop controls in QuickTime Player or Compressor, depending on what format your movie currently is

academy aspect is 4:3, standard widescreen is 1.85:1, and cinemascope is 2.35:1.

if you're doing it for online, you'll need to crop and pad for those dimensions. Compressor can do it.

Message was edited by: RedTruck

Sorry, Cinemascope is 2.66:1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspectratio(image)

Actually, it was 2.66:1 when it first came about, but when an optical soundtrack was added to the format the AR was reduced to 2.35:1. This was altered later to 2.39:1, which is the current standard. People often use the ratios 2.35:1, 2.39:1, and 2.40:1 interchangeably. Unless talking about a movie made between 1958 and 1970, Cinemascope means 2.39:1.

Padding is the area at the sides, or top and bottom that is filled out with black because the pixel dimensions of the material you have do not fit exactly into the frame size that you are using.

Go to the Inspector and click the Geometry tab to access the crop controls.

The format you choose to compress to is determined by what you intend to do with the end result.