I've got a 1080p 23.976 show I want to export as a 30fps SD 480X360 QuickTime (If those specs sound familiar they are what Withoutabox requests for a Secure Online Screener, so, yes, I am sending out an SOS). I feel I have tried, I think, every possible combination of exports to achieve this and I cannot get it letterboxed. This despite the fact there is a "Preserve Aspect Rasio Using Letterbox" button under "Size" in the "Custom" export settings. Is there a way to do this without creating a 4:3 project, importing and modifying the sequence and then applying a Letterbox Reformat to it?

Of possible great relevance is the fact that my system has a Matrox Mini box. I mention this because it provides its own driver which overides Avid's Video Output Tool. Don't know if that's relevant.

This should be simple to do right in your current 23.976 project.  You may want to make a duplicate of your sequence.

 

1.  From the "Format" tab of your project, choose 23.976 NTSC as the project type, and 4:3 as your aspect ratio.  In your timeline, the video should now be stretched.

 

2.  Add an additional video track to your sequence (i.e V2)

 

3.  On this upper track, add a "3D Warp" effect from the "Blend" category.

 

4.  Make the scaling X=100 & Y=75.  This should make the video 16:9 again, (but will show the original stretched video behind on the original layer.) Enable "Background Color" - which will default black.  You now have an NTSC 4:3 image w/ a letterbox.

 

5.  In the export tool options,"Format Options..." make the frame rate 30 FPS and a custom size of 480x360 & "Fit Within Dimensions".  Also, on the main Export window, make the Width x Height 480x360 and choose "Size to Fit" radio button.

 

6.  Export.  This should get you what you're looking for.  I tested it on my end and it worked fine.

 

7.  When you're done, revert your project back to a 1080p/23.986 project.  The Aspect Ratio should automatically revert to 16:9

 

Good luck.

 

- AC

 

Ah, I don't know which part of that I didn't do on my own, but those were perfect instructions. Thanks so much, AC; that did it. Much, much appreciated.

Now I've just got to figure out how to get it to load on Withoutabox.

Since I never have MC do any kind of conversion during export, I generally will export a Same-as-Source QuickTime, then use QuickTime Pro to make the smaller file, checking to use a letterbox to constrain the aspect ratio.

One issue with Avid's export dialog is that you can scale or reformat, but not both at the same time, so you end up with weird results.

That's all worth considering too, Kevin. I might try that approach when I get home tonight. I had tried to do most of the conversion outside Avid, but was having trouble getting the results to upload to withoutabox. Thought I'd try reformatting inside then recompressing outside.

When I need to letterbox a 16:9 project into standard def 4:3 frame, I use a variation of AC's method:

Drop on a resize filter and set Y=75.   This will give you a stretched image in MC, but don't worry about that.    I don't change the format in MC.  

Do a video mixdown and export the seqence as a QT reference.  

Import the QT ref into Sorenson Squeeze, which gives more control over the enconding parameters--changing frame rate, bit rate, etc.   Just make sure you set the Width/Height in Squeeze to 480x360 (or any variation of 4:3) and check "Unconstrained.  

Sorenson will create a 16:9 letterbox inside the 4:3 frame, and the image will not be stretched.

Terry Snyder:

When I need to letterbox a 16:9 project into standard def 4:3 frame, I use a variation of AC's method:

Drop on a resize filter and set Y=75.   This will give you a stretched image in MC, but don't worry about that.    I don't change the format in MC.  

Do a video mixdown and export the seqence as a QT reference.  

Import the QT ref into Sorenson Squeeze, which gives more control over the enconding parameters--changing frame rate, bit rate, etc.   Just make sure you set the Width/Height in Squeeze to 480x360 (or any variation of 4:3) and check "Unconstrained.  

Sorenson will create a 16:9 letterbox inside the 4:3 frame, and the image will not be stretched.

Also good.