How can I import 4:3 aspect ratio?

Question

I'm trying to import older videos and they are in 4:3 format. When I import them into iMovie, the content gets stretched to 16:9 format. Can I maintain the 4:3 ratio even with the black bars on each side?
Thanks for any direction.

Answer 1

In Project Properties, you can set up your project in 4:3 ratio. When you import, iMovie should automatically recognize that your footage is 4:3.
Yet sometimes it does not. I think the reason is that the oldest mini-DV cameras always shot 4:3. Then, later on, the mini-DV cameras shot anamorphic 720x480 (which is 3:2). So you could shoot either 16:9 or 4:3 with the 3:2 miniDV. This was accomplished with shooting in 3:2, and then attaching an anamorphic flag to the footage. If the flag was set to 4:3, the player would use squarish pixels. If the flag were set to 16:9, the player would use rectangular pixels.
So my guess is that your footage does not have the anamorphic flag set correctly.
To correct this, I suggest that you use a free app called MPEG Streamclip.
As a step by step process....
1) Import into iMovie as always.
2) Right-click on your event clip. Choose "Reveal In Finder".
3) Drag this Finder clip into MPEG Streamclip.
4) In MPEG Streamclip, use FILE/EXPORT TO DV.... In the Dialog Box, set the Aspect Ratio to 4:3.
Save it to a different folder, but keep the same name (because the name may include date and time metadata).
5) Repeat this until you have all your clips. If you have a large number of clips, MPEG Streamclip has a batch mode.
6) Now you can import these new clips into iMovie using FILE/IMPORT MOVIES...  I suggest you import them into a new event so you don't get confused with the original clips.