New Blue doesn't appear to have a 4:3 Template overlay. It HAS a proportion helper . . but you don't need that, you're beautifully proportioned already.....

G

Vic: "to import a 4:3 screen indicator? "Actually,Vic, what is that?

Cheers

Grazie

You could just use any graphics app to draw two vertical white lines in the appropriate place on a transparent background and put that on an upper track.

Many HD cameras do have a 4:3 safe area markers. When you're shooting is the time to think 4:3. If they don't sticky tape to the rescue.

I'm trying to work out what you're really trying to do. 16:9 content usually goes to air on 4:3 letterboxed so there's no need to worry about 4:3 safe area. If you keep everything inside 4:3 safe area it's going to look a bit odd in the 16:9 version I suspect

Bob.

I'm trying to work out what you're really trying to do. 16:9 content usually goes to air on 4:3 letterboxed

This is what I see: either letterboxed 16:9 SD in a 4:3 ratio in a 16:9 HD broadcasr (which can give black bars on all sides) or black bars to make it "full" resolution in the broadcast.

Double check with the TV station, but they might no do anything to 4:3 material, 4:3 material just automatically plays back with the black bars. If you're using 16:9 it might not matter either, they'll put the bars on top/bottom.

Perhaps the easiest way is to put a 4:3 generated media event on a 16:9 timeline, save that as an image & use that as your 4:3 in 16:9 reference.

Happy, Vic has already said he has a bunch of templates. Like to know exactly what is needed here.

G

Plenty of folks watch in 4:3 without letterboxing. My "sub" cable box (in the bedroom) is small and simple and does not letterbox. Many TV stations realize that a considerable percentage of viewers still watch on analog sets and try to still keep 'important' stuff (at least on local productions .. like news) in the center of the screen.

. . still need to hear from King Milto...


g

Seems like this would do the job: http://www.chienworks.com/media/4x3_inside_16x9_1080.gif

Been extraordinarily busy with large project (yayyy).

Alright here's my issue.
Having moved to Florida about 15 years ago, I gave up a lot of the "big time" stuff I was doing.

There is simply no market for $100k plus commercials outside of NY, LA and occasional other cities (even Miami, I'm told) - but by and large my "professional" endeavors have drifted to regional commercials, sales and training films with budgets about the same as we used to spend on food.

I had no choice (being a "film whore" and totally addicted to creating media. So I gave up 25 to 50 man crews and relearned to shoot with 2-5 trusy assistants.

But recently, I've been approached once again by national advertisers.
The issue is that all my production is now done in HD - 16:9.

But a lot of these national advertisers (primarily in Direct Response) take the master commercials I produce and send them to duplicators that put special tagged telephone numbers on them. And here, stateside, a LOT of regional broadcasters are still only showing 4:3 media. In fact one of the largest of these telephone duplicators still do all the numbering and titling on TAPE! (Can you believe it?)

SO - you darn well better have you primary action and titles in a 4:3 constrained box.
And YES I did make my own semi-transparent mask on a separate layer, which I flick on and off whenever I need to know what will be in the end movie. BUT - I made the template myself (and have no trust in my handiwork).

Thus I'd like a "professional" title safety template for 4:3 on my 16:9 editing screen.

And - oh yeah, while we're at it) I'd also LOVE a color bars generator built in to my edit system. That's gotta be, say what? - 10 lines of code?? Because there are STILL MANY people out there with old, trusty, and worn out CRT tv sets.

Does that answer your Q, Sir Grazie?

[I]"SO - you darn well better have you primary action and titles in a 4:3 constrained box.
And YES I did make my own semi-transparent mask on a separate layer, which I flick on and off whenever I need to know what will be in the end movie. BUT - I made the template myself (and have no trust in my handiwork)."[/I]

Your handiwork is as worthy of as much trust as anything.

There's no industry standard way to do this, in fact doing it is considered heresy by many, you could be burned at the stake for cutting off anything in Europe.
The reason is self evident, you cannot compose a shot for 16:9 AND 4:3. On the rare times this had to be done "pan and scan" was done i.e. the cut out 4:3 frame is moved within the 16:9 frame to get the best possible outcome and often with the original directors approval.

If all you're trying to do is shoot 16:9 and deliver 4:3 i.e. the original 16:9 will never see the light of day, then of course the process begins when you shoot the content and many cameras do have optional 4:3 markers...or people just use tape or chinagraph pencil marks.

Then once you've done the crop in Vegas the existing 10/15 markers are as good as it gets.

Bob.