(Final Cut Express 4) Downsizing HD footage

[MyDesktopBroke]

I'm a noob with video editing, FYI

I'm editing some footage for a friend that's shot in 1920 x 1080. When I make a new sequence, it's default frame size is 720 x 480. How can I make a new sequence with a different resolution?

Also, when I drop footage from the 1920 x 1080 clip into the new sequence, it suffers a loss of quality, even though it's being downsized. It gets pixelated even when viewed its new native resolution. What are some general guidelines to avoid such a drop in quality?

I have to eventually downsize the 1920 x 1080 footage to 640 x 480 because some of images I need to superimpose over it are that size. How should I start a new sequence so that I can end up with a 640 x 480 video that hasn't won't look pixelated after it's been downsized? I understand going from HD to 640 x 480 necessarily means a drop in quality, but the 640 x 480 shouldn't look pixelated when viewed in its native resolution, right?

Thanks for any help.

 

[cgbier]

You have to tell FCE what resolution your sequence has to have. Change your Easy Setup appropriately.

640x480 pictures: If they aren't too highly compressed, you can resize them in Photoshop, Pixelmator or GIMP. Don't resize them in FCE. Final Cut's interpolation algorithm is not the best.