Is there a way to 'crop' a portrait video to get rid of the black bars either side?
Hi,
You don't need to crop, just go to Size/Position and change the width to whatever is the width of your project; the video will fill the screen but cut off top and bottom. Then, while holding down shift, drag the image on the preview monitor up or down until you have the part that you want. Shift limits movement to vertical.
Of course, you will lose some resolution.
Alternatively, you can use the Edge Effects to fill the borders using one of the templates, made specially for this problem.
Whoever filmed this, undoubtedly with a cell phone, needs to be scolded and instructed to turn the phone sideways when taking video - ALWAYS! Ask them if their TV screen is turned vertically (portrait mode). No? Then why did they think that taking video in portrait mode was a good thing? This is one of my pet peeves.
John CB
If don't want any side bars (black or otherwise), use the "Section" effect.
First, go to File>Settings>Movie (or hit the E key). This brings up the settings for your current movie/project. At the bottom, in the Video Settings dropdown list, choose the setting for your final output then click OK. It might be 16-9 NTSC 1920x1080 29.97FPS.
If you get a message about changing the aspect ratio of the monitor, click Adjust. The monitor shape will change to the movie settings you just set up.
Second, on the timeline, click on your video so it turns yellow ie it's been selected. On the monitor, you will see it's vertical shape with the large black areas on each side.
Third, click on the Effect tab and scroll down and click on Section (aka crop). In the drop down list, choose 16-9 Landscape or Like Movie if you have set a weird movie shape such as 1:1.
The selection box on the monitor will now show your movie shape and you can drag it up and down to set it on the desired area for your final movie. You can decrease the size of the selection box by dragging the the corners (which in effect will zoom in on your video).
To preview what your final output will look like, click the Preview button at the top right of the Effects box.
The above method will give you a fixed area of your video.
If you want to pan up and down as your movie is playing (say to follow an object that isn't being tracked very well by the wobbly cameraman, use the "Camera/Zoom" function and keyframes. It functions in a similar way to Section: drag and size the selection box to where you want to start the pan on your video (say top left corner). You will notice that a keyframe is created. Then move the play marker along to the point where you need to move the selection box, then drag the selection box to the new position on the video (say bottom right). A new keyframe will be created. To preview, click Preview and drag the play marker through your video. For example, the final movie will pan down and across your original video.
Thanks guys! All much appreciated!