[This article was first published in the June, 2007, issue of
Larry's Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.]

Jacob Hodgman, of Corporate Communications, South Australian Police, writes:

Here's one that I'm not sure about.

The client wants to show a photo montage (Ken Burns-style), at a one-time-only exhibition, for which they have hired a 42 inch 1024 x 768 (PAL) television monitor.

Before I knew the resolution of the final display medium, I created the montage with all effects in standard 720 x 576 DV PAL with the plan of providing an SD DVD for use on the day. (This needs to be simple because they only want to use a DVD player and TV rather than a computer display.) While I can create a 1024x768 sequence in FCP, it's not supported once you get to DVDSP.

Since I can't create a 1024x768 DVD to match the monitor, what would be your approach?
It will never be broadcast. It needs to play on a stock standard DVD player.

As I'm only using photos, I'm not hassled by the fixed frame size of any video formats.
Quality over speed is my priority here.

Larry replies: I love puzzlers like this.

Since you are limited to a DVD player, you are also limited in your video options. SD PAL is your only choice - 720 x 576 for a 4:3 image.

However, since your monitor is 16:9, you can create your montage for this aspect ratio and it will look better. So, create your images at 1024 x 576, then import them into a DV PAL Anamorphic sequence.

If you were able to feed the screen with a computer, your options become much wider.

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

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