creating anamorphic 4 X 3 video

[MrLatte23]

I need to edit 4 X 3 video that will be stretched to 16 X 9 when viewed. Is there an easier way than manually squeezing the raw footage using distort/Aspect ratio in Final Cut Pro and then editing and exporting a 600 X 480 video. I tried all anamorphic settings in FCP 6 to no avail as they just displayed as 16 X 9 on my desktop. I need to create tall, vertically stretched files so that when they're played back, they're widened back to normal.

Thanks.

 

[AVR2]

I need to create tall, vertically stretched files so that when they're played back, they're widened back to normal

You're aware that the only ways to make 4:3 video appear in the correct proportions on a 16:9 screen are to either zoom it so that the left and right sides of the 4:3 image touch the sides of the 16:9 frame (which means you lose definition as well as a lot of picture information from the top and bottom), or pillarbox it with black bars left and right?

And how is the final material going to be viewed? On a widescreen TV, or on a computer monitor?

 

[MrLatte23]

viewed on 16 X 9 video screen...

You're aware that the only ways to make 4:3 video appear in the correct proportions on a 16:9 screen are to either zoom it so that the left and right sides of the 4:3 image touch the sides of the 16:9 frame (which means you lose definition as well as a lot of picture information from the top and bottom), or pillarbox it with black bars left and right?

And how is the final material going to be viewed? On a widescreen TV, or on a computer monitor?

All video will be stretched in a video switcher to 16 X 9, so there's no need to do so in editing, that would make for doubly wide video. I want to export it so that when it is stretched everything looks normal. Currently, if I have something round in 4 X 3, when it becomes 16 X 9 the circle becomes a wide oval. When editing or just during export, I'd like to (horizontally) SQUEEZE the video so that when it is horizontally stretched it will return to normal.

 

[AVR2]

When editing or just during export, I'd like to (horizontally) SQUEEZE the video so that when it is horizontally stretched it will return to normal.

One way that springs to mind would be to connect a 16:9 monitor to your FCP, and then resize/adjust your clip using the controls in the Motion tab so that it looks correct on that monitor - you'll either have to zoom the image (which will lose resolution and crop the top and bottom of the frame quite significantly) or centre the 4:3 image within the 16:9 frame with black bars on either side.

Once you've done that, you can choose one of the 4:3 export options and it should just work.