Maintaining aspect ratios using Ulead Media Studio pro

[n1koolkat]

I have about 20 video clips averaging 4 minutes each of different frame rates. Some are 16:9, others are 4:3. In order to avoid certain problems i am decompressing both the audio and video part of the clips and importing them into the timeline seperately and then applying the transition effect, however the final result is a video with some clips that appear as if they have been stretched and others that appear as if they have been squashed.

The clips have to be imported in a certain order so i can't process clips with similar properties. I am using ulead as i want to be able to add transition effects and text to the film. It has been suggested that i right click the video clips and select "media source options" where i can select " keep aspect ratio", however this option is greyed out and i may be wrong but i suspect the option is for the final created video rather than the individual clips. Does anyone know of any better way of doing this? Thanks

[thecoalman]

As I said before it's finicky when those options are available, you would think that you could just use them any time. You can try this though..... If I start with the regular 4:3 template and import a 16:9 clip it displays full screen no matter what I do short of using a moving path filter (another way of getting it to display correctly). Now if I start with the 16:9 template import the clip and switch the template in the project settings too a 4:3 ratio you should now have the option of either stretch to full screen or maintain the aspect which will add black borders top and bottom. Why this option isn't available when you select a 4:3 ratio to begin with is beyond me, probably a setting somewhere I'm not aware of.

The other way to do it is to apply a moving path filter to the video. From the production library switch to the moving path filters>pictur in picture> and drag the center filter onto the video. Adjust the horizontal size to 720 and the vertical size to 405 for 16:9 on 4:3..... make sure you do this for both keyframes, by default there is one in the beginning and at the end. You can then save this filter as a custom filter to apply to any clip in the future.

[n1koolkat]

Thanks coalman. I could'nt get get the first option to work but using moving paths worked perfectly and saving it as a custom filter saved a heck of a lot of time. Clearly there is a lot more to this application than i thought.

[thecoalman]

Thanks coalman. I could'nt get get the first option to work

That has me baffled as well, probably one of those DUH! reasons.

Clearly there is a lot more to this application than i thought.

It's loaded with stuff, should be for the price. There's another thread in the Nebie section about the differences for higher priced applications and as I suggested there it's options..... For all intents and purposes you can do whatever you can think up and more. Just a matter of exploring and experimenting, don't forget to try out the infinity and paint components as well. You can produce some outstanding affects with either.