new user questions: importing DV PAL Widescreen (camera & iMovie) & sound

Question

Level 3

955 points

new user questions: importing DV PAL Widescreen (camera & iMovie) & sound

I've seen a number of discussions about how to im/export DV widescreen in FCE HD, but don't really find what I'm looking for...

I've got a Panasonic GS400 camcorder that I usually use in Widescreen (16:9) mode. How do I capture footage shot in that way? Is there an "Easy Setup" profile that I must use, and if so, which? Or else, how?
I tried opening a DV Widescreen iMovieHD project, thinking this would "just work". What I get is a Canvas window that's got 4:3 dimensions, and black bars above and under the preview. Is this what one would expect?

Concerning sound: I'm unpleasantly surprised that the sound from iMovie projects is not imported. However, the individual clips do retain their sound tracks... Has anyone figured out a work-around for this, that would for instance allow to create a sound track from the video timeline?

Thanks,
René

15² PillowBook 1.5Ghz 1/80Gb w/o hyperdrive, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Jan 5, 2007 7:46 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Filman7

Level 2

205 points

Jan 5, 2007 7:59 AM in response to RJV Bertin

DV Widescreen in iMovie will always letterbox the footage right after you've captured it.

In FCE try using the easy setup titled, "DV-NTSC" or "DV-PAL" depending on if you use NTSC or PAL. One of these settings will most likely work, if not, post back.

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Answer 2

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 5, 2007 8:06 AM in response to Filman7

Oops, I should have mentioned that I do this with iMovie HD (of course...). Which doesn't letterbox to my knowledge.

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Answer 3

SteveKir

Level 3

565 points

Jan 5, 2007 8:37 AM in response to RJV Bertin

Have a look near the end of:

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3554191#3554191

which mentions various deiplay settings for 16:9

G5/2.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1 GB RAM, 150 GB HD, Sony DCR-HC96 mini DV, FCE HD 3.0 DVD SP 3

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Answer 4

Filman7

Level 2

205 points

Jan 5, 2007 8:47 AM in response to RJV Bertin

Yes you did mention that and you are correct, to some extent. If you are editing HD with iMovie HD then it does not letterbox. However, when you edit Widescreen DV, it does letterbox. I may be mistaken, I'm not too familiar with iMovie HD, but I am very certain.

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Answer 5

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 5, 2007 9:04 AM in response to Filman7

iMovie HD has a setting for DV Widescreen when creating a new project. There's absolutely no visual evidence of letterboxing during the editing. I've yet got to export to iDVD.
There is something with the clip.dv media files though. QT Player opens them at the same size as it does with 4:3 DV clips.

<http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3554191#3554191> refers to DVD SP - what's that? It mentions adjusting the settings on individual clips in Final Cut, but I see only an "item properties" option, which doesn't allow me to edit anything.

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Answer 6

Filman7

Level 2

205 points

Jan 5, 2007 9:56 AM in response to RJV Bertin

When iMovie captures the 16:9 DV content, it will automatically place black boxes at the top and bottom of the frame to keep the aspect ratio. iDVD is incapable of making a true widescreen DVD to my knowledge. When you open QT are they letterboxed or Anamorphic?

DVD SP, or DVD Studio Pro is a professional DVD making app. Far more powerful than iDVD.

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Answer 7

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 5, 2007 10:10 AM in response to Filman7

of the frame to keep the aspect ratio. iDVD is
incapable of making a true widescreen DVD to my

We'll see how that works out, then... :-/

knowledge. When you open QT are they letterboxed or
Anamorphic?

Anamorphic, that is, the full content is visible in a window as large as used for 4:3 DV content. The info dialog says "DV, 720x576 (768x576)"

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Answer 8

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,371 points

Jan 5, 2007 10:11 AM in response to Filman7

You can Anamorphicizer or myDVDedit to allow iDVD to produce 16:9 output from anamorphic material.

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Answer 9

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 5, 2007 10:33 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks, but at this point I'm more interested in getting DV Widescreen footage into FCEHD.

So DV Widescreen == anamorphic DV? Some sort of kludge to get higher-resolution 16:9 material into a file format that wasn't meant to handle that initially?

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Answer 10

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,371 points

Jan 5, 2007 11:06 AM in response to RJV Bertin

Capture in FCE. USe the DV PAL Anamorphic setting. That's assuming your material was actually shot in 16:9 and is not a letterboxed widescreen look. Some cameras will do that. If your camera shot the material in letterbox, then it's 4:3 and there's not much you can do about it. It will never become true widescreen without a kludge.

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Answer 11

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 5, 2007 11:33 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

No, AFAIK, the Panasonic GS400 shoots real 16:9 material.

So wtb iMovie HD DV Widescreen projects? Are they imported correctly? (Which would assume that what the clip properties say about clip sizes is not correct - 720x576 ...)

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Answer 12

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,371 points

Jan 5, 2007 11:48 AM in response to RJV Bertin

That is the correct size for DV PAL. That's the ONLY size DV PAL shoots in. To create 16:9 the material is squeezed anamorphically to fit into the format.

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Answer 13

Filman7

Level 2

205 points

Jan 5, 2007 2:59 PM in response to RJV Bertin

I have a Sony HDR-HC1, which shoots HDV AND DV. The DV is Anamorphic just like yours (except that it is NTSC here in America) Use FCE to import and edit, it will be much easier than iMovie HD. Use the settings in FCE that Tom recommended.

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Answer 14

RJV Bertin Author

Level 3

955 points

Jan 7, 2007 8:09 AM in response to Filman7

Thanks!

What then are the various DV PAL anamorphic set-ups for?

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new user questions: importing DV PAL Widescreen (camera & iMovie) & sound