can you change the aspect ratio in the s4000

[johno]

a friend of mine, brought over his new sony camcorder , his footage is in hd and in 16:9, is it possible to change it into 4:3 when it's in the s4000?

[CasablancaExpert]

Hello Johno -- do you mean you wish to import the HD 16:9 video and export it as a 4:3 video? What is the intended delivery medium - are you needing to export to SD DVD as 4:3 or to export the video for your friend to use as a 4:3 on tape?

If you have Effects Pack 8, you can use the Cine-Converter (found under Special in the Edit Menu). This allows conversion between the different aspect ratios, also you could use the (also found under the Special button - this effect is included in the OS with Smart Edit 6+ and all Bogart OS versions).

The tricky thing is that when you convert from 16:9 to 4:3 you have to choose between letterbox (black lines at top & bottom) which does allow viewing of the full video OR center punch or crop the 16:9 so you are only showing the center of the wider screen. This is an editorial/creative decision that must be made.

Hope that helps!

Regards,
Chet