Editing Video while Retaining Correct Video Proportions (Aspect Ratio)
Converting the VOB file to Quicktime or DV:
As you have already learned in the iMovie tutorial, it's necessary to convert the VOB file to a format that iMovie or Final Cut can edit. Usually it will be either Quicktime or DV. When I was converting the clip within MPEG Streamclip, I noticed something interesting: The DV clip looked totally "squished" in the preview window. This is normal for DV files; as long as you've saved it in the 16:9 aspect ratio, it'll import into Final Cut or iMovie looking fine.
The core principle (for any video editing app, really) is this: Keep the aspect ratio with all clips you import into your editor consistent. Then, even if their aspect ratio isn't quite right in the editing program, you can always "force" ("squeeze") the video back into proper proportions when you save the finished video and export it out of Final Cut or iMovie. It's perhaps not the optimal way to do it, but it will work.
Importing video into your editing program:
iMovie 6 settings:
Importing 16:9 video clips (preferably converted in MPEG Streamclip) into iMovie is sinfully easy: Open a new project for DV, Widescreen. iMovie knows what to do from there. If your clips are 4:3, open a regular DV iMovie project.
Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express Settings: (Final Cut Pro 5 or below, Final Cut Express 3.5 or below)
In order to change Final Cut's settings, highlight the "sequence" icon (circled in fuscia below). Right-click and choose "settings." Then click on "Load Sequence Preset." Depending on whether you have Final Cut Pro or Express, you will be given a lot (or a few) choices.
If you have ripped your clips from the DVD using MPEG Streamclip (see tutorial), then you've probably made all your clips into MOV files, DV format, either DV or DVCPRO50 (only used for Final Cut Pro) and either PAL or NTSC. Choose the preset that most closely matches your clips' settings. In Final Cut Express, you would almost always choose DV PAL (or NTSC) 48 kHz Anamorphic. In Final Cut Pro, you probably would select DV50 PAL (or NTSC) 48 kHz Anamorphic.
A common preset for Final Cut Express.
Anamorphic (the settings with the red check next to them) indicates widescreen or 16:9. The settings with the green check next to them indicates 4:3 or fullscreen. Clips ripped from DVDs have 48 kHz sound, so always select 48 kHz.
Final Cut Express 4.0 and above, Final Cut Pro 6 and above:
To set up your project correctly in Final Cut Express 4 or Final Cut Pro 6 (or above) place a clip in your timeline BEFORE starting to edit your project, and before doing ANYTHING else. It should be the FIRST thing you do when you first open Final Cut with the intent of making a new video.
Newer versions of Final Cut should recognize the type of file you import into the timeline automatically. Create new video project. Create a subclip of your DV MOV file (remember, for Final Cut Express, it has to be plain DV, not DVCPro 50 or some other variant of DV) and plop it into the timeline. A message should pop up asking you if you want to set the "Sequence" (your project) to match this clip's settings, and you say yes! And that's it. Your project has been set up.
If, when you start putting clips in the timeline, you get "the red bar of doom" (a red line above a clip placed in the timeline) then something has gone wrong. Confirm that you are editing with a codec that is supported by Final Cut. (For Final Cut Express, it is a MOV file with "Apple DV PAL" or "Apple DV/DVCPRO NTSC" compression. For HD, Final Cut Express can edit Apple Intermediate Codec in HD sizes. Review the "Rip that Clip!" tutorial on how to make Final Cut-ready MOV files.)
Correct Project Setup vs. Incorrect Project Setup (unwanted black letterbox bars):
If your Final Cut projects look like the screenshot on the right (black bars at the top and bottom) then you know something went amiss when you were setting up that video project. If you're in the middle of a project right now, there is nothing you can do (besides starting all over again) to fix it. Proceed with finishing the video. But when starting your next Final Cut project, be sure to follow the correct "set up" procedure (as described in the above entries) to avoid having black letterbox bars where they don't belong. (Note: Some feature films are supposed to have black letterbox bars. Review the aspect ratio tutorial and take note of the "2.35:1" aspect ratio.)
Correcting Aspect Ratio in Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express:
Unlike simpler video editing programs, Final Cut allows you to customize and tweak each clip's aspect ratio. This is a very good thing!
When I imported these particular video clips and added them to the timeline, they automatically "filled in" the entire preview window. But, had the clips not filled in the Preview window completely, (and also looked "squashed" or "squished"—aka distorted and unnatural) there's a way to force them to do so. First go to Viewer, find the Motion tab, and then make some adjustments.
Under "Basic Motion," move the slider bar for "Scale" until the clip is large enough to fill the whole frame. If the aspect ratio isn't matching up with the frame dimensions, look in the "Motion" tab again, under "Distort," and fiddle with the "Aspect Ratio" settings until things are set right. (Note: It is not uncommon for an imported clip to say "-33" in the Aspect Ratio setting. Changing this number to "0" often solves the problem.) Tip: Go to the Canvas and turn on the Image Wireframe. That way you'll see the dimensions of your clip outlined (including any black letterbox bars that were added in the VOB file). It's much easier to see when you've finally got your clips adjusted correctly.
When (if!) you have to make any adjustments to the scale or aspect ratio of your imported clips, correct the first clip in the timeline. Render this clip. Then, with this "corrected" clip highlighted, press 
+ C (Copy). Now, highlight all the other clips in the timeline. Right-click and select "Paste Attributes." Check only the "Basic Motion" box. All the other clips in the timeline will automatically be given the same "adjustments" to frame size and aspect ratio as your first clip.
This is an overly simplified explanation of how to adjust aspect ratio within Final Cut Pro or Express. Fortunately, there are many other general purpose tutorials online for Final Cut (as well as a multitude of excellent books), which can instruct you far better than I can!
CAUTION: Only "distort" your clips if you are UN-DOING distortion! Do not adjust the dimensions of your clips just because you see black bars in the video and don't like them. You must know that the video is in fact distorted (unnaturally thin or fat faces) to use this fix. Otherwise, you are uglifying your video needlessly. Please review this video ("Aspect Ratio Fail!") which talks about how bad it looks when you attempt to "get rid of the black bars" when they actually need to be there.
In a nutshell:
I want to emphasize again: Even if the dimensions or aspect ratio of your video don't look quite right within Final Cut (or iMovie), do not despair. Keep the clips all CONSISTENT, continue editing, and then when you export the video out of Final Cut (or iMovie) save the file with aspect ratio-appropriate dimensions. In other words, you can "force" the video back into shape after you finish editing. This practice works best when you're using video from the same source (one DVD, or DVD set), and you converted the clips to an editable format (DV or Quicktime) using identical settings.
Exporting the finished video out of iMovie or Final Cut (Pro or Express):
iMovie only comes in two aspect ratio flavors: 4:3 or 16:9 (widescreen). If you used 2.35:1 video clips (like the Phantom of the Opera example seen on the previous page) your video will probably also have black letterbox bars at the top and bottom. The 2:35:1 clips will most likely be treated like 16:9 footage by your editing program—all the clips will have the additional "padding" of black bars at the top and bottom. (You can trim these black bars away when you make your finished video web-ready.)
If your video project was made with iMovie's regular DV settings (not widescreen) you're going to have to save the finished project as 4:3. If you made your iMovie project in the "Widescreen" DV format, you need to save your finished file as 16:9.
- Some commonly used frame sizes for 4:3 (fullscreen) are 768x576 and 640 x 480 pixels.
- Some common frame sizes for 16:9 (widescreen) are 1024x576, 720 x 406 pixels, or 640 x 360 pixels.
There are several options when exporting your finished video. You can export as Quicktime Uncompressed 10-bit, or Quicktime Animation, or Quicktime with compression set at "none" and colors at the highest setting. All these will create rather huge files (at least several GB). If you save as uncompressed, choose "custom" for frame dimensions, and type in the video's frame dimensions manually, using the numbers supplied above (720 x 406 for example).
Another alternative is to export the file as DV or DVCPRO 50. The file size will be a lot smaller than an uncompressed version, but there might be a quality hit. Only choose this option if you are trying to conserve disk space.
Next Page: Additional tips and tweaks for keeping correct aspect ratio >>