Final Cut Express HD 3.5.1 Help with canvas/setup

[dejavu88]

Hi

I've been trying to create a music video using Final Cut Express and am having problems with the canvas or setup of the movie or both. The video file i'm using is a .mov file. The resolution of the file is 656x264 and the codecs are Integer (Little Endian) H.264

Here is a screenshot of what i'm trying to describe:

I don't know whether there is a way of removing the black border or making the video footage to fill the canvas more. When trying to preview what i've created so far i'm rendering each bit i add on but still the black border is still there so if there is a way of changing the settings would help

Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[spinnerlys]

First, H264 is not a proper editing codec, it's used for delivering video content.

So in order to use H264 encoded videos without rendering all the time in FCE just because you moved the clip one frame to the right, use MPEG Streamclip to convert it either a QuickTime file (.mov) with the DV codec (if video is SD) or a .mov with Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) if the footage is HD.

Second, you have to match the sequence settings as much as you can with the original footage (resolution, fps, audio bitrate, .... - the FCE manual will enlighten you).

As I can see the video you want to use doesn't really match* any of FCE's presets (or other more advanced editing applications).
Therefore the black bars around the image.

You can zoom into the picture if you want with the help of the effects editor (or whatever it is called - again, the manual will enlighten you).


* the resolution is not really compatible with the standard SD presets. the aspect ratio is almost 2.5:1, normal SD footage is either cut in 4:3 or 16:9.