After importing .MOV File into FCP 7 It Shows Up as "Narrow" with Black Space on Either Side

Question

After importing .MOV File into FCP 7 It Shows Up as "Narrow" with Black Space on Either Side

Good day friends (newbie here) trying to play nice.

I have a .MOV file recorded from Gotomeeting.com "Codec: AAC, H.264, Linear PCM"

When I open it from my desktop it plays in Quicktime in full screen, so far so good.

Final Cut Pro 7 won't import it as is. I am using MPEG Streamclip to convert the video.

When I "Import" the .MOV into Final Cut Pro 7, regardless of how I convert it in MPEG Streamclip (tried quicktime/mpeg4/"hdtv 1080i"/4:3 frame size/16:9 frame size) the video shows up as a "narrow video" with black space on either side of the video.

How do I convert it into FCP and have it still fill up the whole frame like my other video? I'm sure there is a way to trim it in FCP, but with this video in particular I need to show the whole frame I can't trim anything off the top.

THANK YOU!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Aug 2, 2014 10:32 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Aug 4, 2014 9:43 AM in response to PeaceStrengthLight

First off, you need to choose an EDITING codec to convert it to. ProRes 422 is the default. Second, you need to make sure it is 1920x1080, or 1280x720.

Third...what are the dimensions of the original video? And do they have black space?

Reply

Answer 2

RatVega™

Level 4

2,005 points

Aug 4, 2014 10:17 AM in response to PeaceStrengthLight

For best results, you need to convert the to the ProRes422 codec. The absence of the correct aspect ratio (the 'narrow' issue) is not your biggest problem, getting into a format FCP7 likes, is because H.264 and MPEG-4 (they are related) are not supported in FCP7. Use Compressor - it is designed for the job.

"quicktime/mpeg4/"hdtv 1080i"/4:3 frame size/16:9 frame" size should be

"Apple ProRes 322 for Progressive Material" unless you want is to be interlaced for some reason.

BTW, the reason for the 'narrow' problem is that you asked for a 4:3 frame size to be preserved in the 16:9 (widescreen) timeline.

hope this helps

Reply

Answer 3

Aug 8, 2014 10:59 AM in response to RatVega™

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I CONVERTED IT TO PRO RES 422 USING MPEG STREAMCLIP USING SETTINGS OF "1480-800 16:9" WHICH IS THE ONLY MPEG STREAMCLIP FILE TYPE THAT "FILLED MY ENTIRE SCREEN" WITH THE IMAGE WHEN I UPLOADED IT TO YOUTUBE. Thank you!!!!

Reply