Changing aspect ratio of a Premiere Elements project after..

[Guest]

Archived from groups: adobe.premiere.windows,rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I just assembled my first Premiere (elements) movie. My two sources
were 16:9 DV and 4:3 DV. I created a DVD and the 4:3 clips are full
screen (4:3) and the 16:9 clips are letterboxed into a 4:3 frame.
That's fine for the 4:3 version of the film.

However I also want to make a 16:9 version of the same film, with the
16:9 anamorphic and the 4:3 either clipped at the top and bottom or
"letterboxed" on the sides (I don't yet know what choices I have with
Elements).

But it looks like I'm not likely to find out anytime soon, because the
help file says once I start a project in a certain aspect ratio (4:3),
it can no longer be changed (to 16:9).

Arrrrgh!!!!! Do I have to start a new project and reassemble the
entire film clip by clip and edit by edit? There has to be a shortcut
or a way to change the film I already edited! I'm comfortable editing
text config file and even tweaking binary data if it will save me
re-doing the same 10 hours worth of editing!
Any tips much appreciated!!!!

Cheers,
Fred

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: adobe.premiere.windows,rec.video.desktop (More info?)

<yonkiman@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106719883.552574.219200@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> I just assembled my first Premiere (elements) movie. My two sources
> were 16:9 DV and 4:3 DV. I created a DVD and the 4:3 clips are full
> screen (4:3) and the 16:9 clips are letterboxed into a 4:3 frame.
> That's fine for the 4:3 version of the film.
>
> However I also want to make a 16:9 version of the same film, with the
> 16:9 anamorphic and the 4:3 either clipped at the top and bottom or
> "letterboxed" on the sides (I don't yet know what choices I have with
> Elements).
>

No matter what route you take the 4:3 is never going to be output as 16:9 as
you have described (clipped top & bottom or letterboxed). The most likely
thing to occur is that the 4:3 will end up stretched to 16:9, or if you use
the "Maintain Aspect" within Elements 4:3 may end up with black on the right
and left. I have never actually tried this, since I have never had the need
to mix aspect ratios within a single project, so I cannot say with certainty
what will be the outcome. Though the frame resolution of 4:3 and 16:9 appear
as the same, the pixel aspect ratio is completely different.

4:3 video would have to be clipped by you at the top and the bottom to
approximate the 16:9 aspect ratio and possibly you would have to output each
single clip individually to 16:9, thus replacing the original clips one by
one on the timeline of a 16:9 project. When you trim off part of the picture
top and bottom the remaining image is them stretched and fitted to the frame
resolution, which in your case I would hazzard a guess is 720x576. The
clipped 4:3 will not have the same image quality of the original 16:9 and
getting the actual amount of the original image to trim of the top and
bottom will be your best guess. When viewed on a widescreen it will not look
very good in 16:9 and you will most likely be very disappointed.

> But it looks like I'm not likely to find out anytime soon, because the
> help file says once I start a project in a certain aspect ratio (4:3),
> it can no longer be changed (to 16:9).
>
> Arrrrgh!!!!! Do I have to start a new project and reassemble the
> entire film clip by clip and edit by edit? There has to be a shortcut
> or a way to change the film I already edited! I'm comfortable editing
> text config file and even tweaking binary data if it will save me
> re-doing the same 10 hours worth of editing!
> Any tips much appreciated!!!!
>
> Cheers,
> Fred
>

Though I have not used Elements I would assume it is much like all the other
Premier version where you can import a previous project into a new one.
Start a new 16:9 project and import the 4:3 project. Check the "Maintain
Aspect Ratio" for each clip individually. If you are using Encore 1.5 for
your DVD work that program allows both 16:9 and 4:3 in the same project.
When played back on 4:3 televisions the 16:9 will letterbox and the 4:3 will
full screen. On a widescreen the 16:9 will fill the screen while the 4:3
will do what the user of that screen will tell it to do, either show in 4:3
with black on left and right or stretch it so fill the screen.

Save yourself the headache in the future by creating a 4:3 project for only
4:3 material, and 16:9 for 16:9 material. Use Encore and create a DVD that
just plays the way it should in the respective aspect ratios.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: adobe.premiere.windows,rec.video.desktop (More info?)

Thanks for the background and suggestions. Unfortunately I don't see
any way to "import" a previous project, and searching the help files
for the word "import" doesn't turn up anything.

I'll probably still try messing with the project file before I give up
and re-assemble the movie from the clips.

So close.... :-(

-Fred

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: adobe.premiere.windows,rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I downloaded the trial version of Elements to see if I could find anything
you might have missed, and if fact did not. Of all the other versions of
Premiere Adobe has produced I cannot understand why import (or add) of an
existing project file is not in Elements.

Looks like you have some work ahead of you. Sorry for that. I know it is
frustrating. Now you know and you won't make the mistake again. I know it's
tough. But, look at it this way. You now know your way around Elements alot
better than before, so it should be easier after that to get the outcome you
want.

How is the mixture of 4:3 and 16:9 laid out on the timeline? Is it
intermixed a great deal or mostly one ratio after another?

Also, what DVD authoring software do you have? Maybe there's a way around
some of this with a little creative software dodging. By highlighting areas
you could maybe output the sequences in their respective ratios and then
recreate the way you have it playing back on the timeline of Elements from
within a DVD projects. You could do that by having one video's end action
lead to the next from ratio to ratio, if you DVD software will support both
with a single project.
--
Larry Johnson
Digital Video Solutions
webmaster@digitalvideosolutions.com
http://www.digitalvideosolutions.com
877-227-6281 Toll Free Sales Assistance
386-672-1941 Customer Service
386-672-1907 Technical Support
386-676-1515 Fax

<yonkiman@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106807993.301071.206000@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for the background and suggestions. Unfortunately I don't see
> any way to "import" a previous project, and searching the help files
> for the word "import" doesn't turn up anything.
>
> I'll probably still try messing with the project file before I give up
> and re-assemble the movie from the clips.
>
> So close.... :-(
>
> -Fred
>