Best method for masking 16:9 in post?

[Nrk]

I have been searching on Adobe forums for advice on masking but have found very little. Ideally I would like to use key-frame masking but I reckon my computer will have a hernia doing so. Is a there a way for me to mask each individual shot rather than just do a bulk mask of the project?

thanks

[carllooper]

For best results the masking (or rather cropping) should be done when transferring the Super8 to a 16:9 digital format. You simply ask the transfer facility to leave out the top and bottom of the Super8 frame so that the Super8 fills the entire width of the 16:9 output format.

Ensure that the digital format to which it is transferred is compatible with your editing software. Or that that you have software for converting from the transfer format to one that your editing software understands.

For example, Adobe Premiere (which I use for editing) can read a number of 16:9 HD formats so if using that editing program you might want to tell the transfer facility to transfer the Super8 to one of those formats.

Carl

[Nrk]

I had been hoping to be able to do the cropping myself - is it "cropping" or "masking?" I always called it cropping but then I kept reading about masking.

Anyway, ideally I would like to choose which area of the shots to crop as it may be the case that i don't want to crop them all in the exact same position, is this not realistically going to happen, am I being naive? Is there any reason in particular aside from convenience why I should leave it to the transfer house to do the cropping?

[carllooper]

Of course, if you have framed shots in terms of 4:3, then you would have to mediate every shot as it went through the transfer - racking up/down every shot - which would become hugely expensive.

If you have a 4:3 transfer you can do the rack in post.

Adobe Premiere is not very convenient for this sort of thing. You are better off using something like After Effects.

Either way you set up the aspect of the output format, (eg. 16:9) in advance. You then tune your shot to that output format - scaling the shot to exactly fit the width - and then racking it up/down to suit the content of the shot. So if the head of your actress goes off the top of the screen then you rack the shot down to put her head back into the frame.

[carllooper]

In Premiere, when importing material that is different from the output format, ensure that the aspect ratio of the imported footage is maintained. By default Premiere will strectch/squash your image to the output format you have selected.

Two things to check.

1. First make sure Premiere is interpreting your input footage correctly (eg. as 4:3). Right click on the footage in the Project View and select Properties. If it is incorrectly interpreting the input format then right click on footage in Project view and select "Modify> Interpret Footage".

2. Make sure that "Maintain Aspect Ratio" is on for the shot (when it's in the timeline).

After that you can scale the image up to fit the width, and rack - but I can't recall how that is done in Premiere. It will be in the available effects.

[carllooper]

Just had a quick look in Premiere. The appropriate effect is Distort >Transform

Adjust the Scale Width and Scale Height by the same ammount (must be the same ammount) until the image fills the width of the output composition.

Adjust the Position (the second value, known as "y") until the actress comes into view.