Parent Motion Aspect

kairosmatt wrote on 7/27/2008, 3:59 PM
Hi All,
I posted this in another thread but it was towards the end and a little different, so it got overlooked. I'll ask again in a fresh thread to see what you guys think.


To begin with, the project properties is the HDV 720 template. 16x9.

1. Go to pan/crop, match output aspect, no problem.

2. Go to track motion, and it is already 16x9. Good to go.

3. Make a child track, then go to parent motion, and its a box. 720x720. Match output aspect nothing happens. Manually set the width to 1280, and it stretches the video.

Why is this?

The reason it seems to mater: if you have a keyed out background, and you want to move in on the subject and background at the same time, you can use the parent/child relationship. But if you render out for TV aspect ration and want a letterbox, then that part of the timeline where you zoomed will come right out of the letterboxing.

Thanks,
kairosmatt

Comments

TheHappyFriar wrote on 7/27/2008, 5:52 PM
interesting! I never noticed!

but there is no "match output aspect" in my parent motion. looks like it uses the height for it's size. But it looks liek you're thinking of it wrong. You're not stretch the video, you're zooming in (I can't get the height/width to unmatch). When you render it should still be 1280x720 (how are you rendering letter box?).
kairosmatt wrote on 7/27/2008, 6:31 PM
TheHappyFriar,

I'm not at the editing computer right now, but I know there is a way to either 'unlock' aspect ratio or to click off 'maintain' aspect ratio. I can't remember which one does which, but they're both in pan/crop box, and only one is in the parent track motion (that I've found).
If I render to a file with the same PAR no problem, but to render a file that will have to be letterboxed (like MPEG2 for DVDA) that's when the problem is. Even the widescreen templete makes a zoom in break through the black bars at the point.
My work around has to been to render out to Raylight or Cineform that segment at the same PAR, bring that in and replace, then render out to MPEG2.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 7/27/2008, 7:58 PM
so you send DVDA a 4:3 letterboxed video file (bars on top/bottom)? I see what you mean though: if you render in 4:3 via 16:9, it includes area not viewable in the 16:9. (DVD players will automatically letterbox 16:9 on a 4:3 display)

Found the aspect ratio button. It was only a button, I was looking for a yes/no dialog on the left side of the track motion window. :D

I played with it & if you use any track motion (track or parent) & then render in a different AR it doesn't matter: The video window switches to 4:3 & then you can see "outside" the 16:9 area. Makes sense: You're moving the whole track. If you "zoom out" to see it as a 4:3 with "bars" on top/bottom, you'd see what's outside the viewable 16:9 area. But this only seems to happen with a 16:9 project (tried DV & HD)! If you have a 4:3 project it seems to work correctly no mater what you render! (4:3 rendered to 16:9 stretches everything, doesn't expand/clip render)

simple solution: make your own black bars on the upper most track & use a 4:3 project.

Again, the video is stretched because with parent track motion, it's basing on a square (project height x project height), so if you stretch the square you stretch the video. Again, no clue why it's a square vs real project AR.
kairosmatt wrote on 7/28/2008, 3:29 AM
nice 'simple solution'-I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

I think at the end you boiled it down to a simple question:

Why is it a square and not project (or render) AR?
TheHappyFriar wrote on 7/28/2008, 5:42 AM
I think at the end you boiled it down to a simple question:

I agree. It doesn't really affect anything, but you'd think it would be project size & AR vs a square.