Frame Size & imported jpg

[timjones]

I just upgraded from Elements 7 to Pro. In elements 7 I never had to resize my jpg's that i used in my projects. Am I missing something in setting up my Pro projects regarding my frame size. I've tried checking the 'default scale to frame size" box, but they are still oversized. thanks, tim

[Bob]

Hi Tim, welcome to Muvipix.

Scale to Frame Size works the same in Pro as in Elements with the exception that the default preference in Elements is to have scale to frame size enabled, the default in Pro is just the opposite. Checking the scale to frame size box in the preferences will make Pro behave the same as Elements.

Please note that changing the default will not affect items that are already on the timeline. For those, right click on the item in the timeline and select scale to frame size there. If there is more than one clip that needs to be changed, you can select all of them and then right click to change them all at once.

[timjones]

Bob, Thanks for the quick reply. I tried a new project and toggled the scale to frame size, everything looks fine except the black borders down the left and right side of the frame?? I'm using a panasonic HD video camara (AVCHD) and a Nikon D300 for my stills. I'm set to AVCHD 1080i30 (60i) 1080i anamorphic. This is over my head, but it's the only setting I've found that doesn't flutter or flake on playback after rendering. thanks again, tim

[Bob]

...everything looks fine except the black borders down the left and right side of the frame...

That's normal given the differences in aspect ratio between your video frame and your photo. Your project frame size is using a 16:9 aspect ratio and your photo is most likely using a 2:3 aspect ratio in portrait orientation (that's 3:2 in landscape). Scale to frame size will scale the photo to the largest size that will completely fit within the video frame. But, because the aspect ratios are different, one dimension will be narrower than the video frame. Where it is narrower, you will see a black border. Actually, it really isn't black, that's how transparent areas (where there isn't any image) are represented. If you place another clip (i.e. a motion background) or a colored matte underneath the photo on a lower video track, it will show through.

You have several choices. You can live with the black borders. You can crop the photo to the video frame aspect ratio. You can place the photo over a 16:9 video clip or a colored matte. Or, you can disable scale to frame size for the photo and manually scale and position the photo to fill the frame and show the portion you want to see (when keyframed, this is often called called pan and scan, or the Ken Burns effect).

In Elements, you create a project using a preset defining the framesize and video properties. In Pro, the preset is defined for the sequence. But, the idea is the same. The preset should normally match the source material.