I put two .jpgs in the timeline: pic1 is 518 x 328, pic2 is 640 x 474. I go into each one separately, and pick "Match Output Aspect" (my project is standard 720 x 480 NTSC DV). Now each picture completely fills the preview window with no black bars on the sides or top and bottom.
Now I go back in to pan/crop for pic1, and set the Position: Width value to 300. The height is automatically set to 220 then because "Lock Aspect ratio" is on. Now I see pic1, zoomed in, still with no black bars anywhere - the picture occupies the entire preview window.
I now select pic1, and pick Copy. I then paste event attributes to pic2. Now, if I go into pan/crop for pic2, I see width is now 300, height is 220, just like pic 1, and in fact, the event/pan crop frame with the big "F" in it looks the same shape and dimensions as it does in pic 1. However, now pic2 show up in the preview windo with black bars on the sides - it does not fill up the window, even though it shows that it should in the event pan/crop window.
If I try to fix pic2 by using Match Output Aspect on it again, nothing happens. In fact, if I hit Restore, and then Match Output Aspect, it does NOT make it fill the frame like I think it should - it keeps displaying the picture with bars on the side. There is nothing I can do to get rid of the bars except to put the picture back in the timeline again, and then pick "Match Output Aspect".
I cannot think of any possible reason why this behavior would ever make any sense. Please help me get a "mental model" of what is going on so I can predict what will happen when I use pan/crop.
Now I go back in to pan/crop for pic1, and set the Position: Width value to 300. The height is automatically set to 220 then because "Lock Aspect ratio" is on. Now I see pic1, zoomed in, still with no black bars anywhere - the picture occupies the entire preview window.
I now select pic1, and pick Copy. I then paste event attributes to pic2. Now, if I go into pan/crop for pic2, I see width is now 300, height is 220, just like pic 1, and in fact, the event/pan crop frame with the big "F" in it looks the same shape and dimensions as it does in pic 1. However, now pic2 show up in the preview windo with black bars on the sides - it does not fill up the window, even though it shows that it should in the event pan/crop window.
If I try to fix pic2 by using Match Output Aspect on it again, nothing happens. In fact, if I hit Restore, and then Match Output Aspect, it does NOT make it fill the frame like I think it should - it keeps displaying the picture with bars on the side. There is nothing I can do to get rid of the bars except to put the picture back in the timeline again, and then pick "Match Output Aspect".
I cannot think of any possible reason why this behavior would ever make any sense. Please help me get a "mental model" of what is going on so I can predict what will happen when I use pan/crop.