1:1 grid in Avid

[Thomas Singh]

Many of our clients want their films in 1:1 for social media, and what we usually do is to crop and scale to fit in Adobe Media Encoder when delivering the encoded files. Now I want to add a 1:1 grid or a letterbox on both sides in Avid to be able to reposition the clips. I know I can use the 16:9 mask and change the scaling values, but that wouldn't be accurate enough. Any idea how to do this?

[Bruno Mansi]

Hi Thomas,

not quite sure what you're asking, but since version 8.4, you've been able to create projects with custom frame sizes. I would have thought the best way to achieve what you need is to create a project with 1:1 dimensions, link to your footage and then use Source Settings/Frameflex to move/scale your media as desired.

As far as Avid's grid is concerned, you can go to Settings and adjust the grid's settings to add things like tick marks and points to give you a finer graticule to work with.

[Thomas Singh]

Most of our projects are delivered in 16:9 only, but sometimes they ask us to do several version of the same spots in 1:1. When working in 16:9, we sometimes apply a 2:35 letterbox or similar and use the conceal effects to re-position the images behind the mask up and down to be able to choose the section of the frame we want. I'm actually looking for the same thing now, just a way to apply a vertical letterbox that are 1:1 accurate so that I can reposition the images. I know my initial question was a bit confusing because I mentioned the word grid. An 1:1 accurate vertical letterbox is actually what I ment to ask for.

[Abby Bader]

Import a square 1:1 image (1080x1080), apply a horizonal letterbox and change the width parameters to match the image. Or do the paper trick; measure and mark the height of your composer window, and ajdust the width to match the same length.

[Bruno Mansi]

1 hour ago, Thomas Singh said:

An 1:1 accurate vertical letterbox is actually what I meant to ask for.

So if I'm understanding you correctly, you're staying within a 16x9 project, but having a pillarbox effect applied over all your clips to achieve the square ratio. You then want to be able to re-position your images within this area.

I still think you can achieve this using Frameflex . In the source settings (under the Frameflex tab), check that your raster dimensions and image ratios are correct for your material, then change the Frame Aspect Ratio to 'custom' and set it to 1:1. You should see the result in the bottom preview window (make sure the 'Reformat' setting at the bottom says 'Centre, Keep Size'). You can now use the Frameflex controls or cursor box (in the upper preview window) to re-position the image, then click OK to apply.

If the clips are already on your timeline, you won't see  the changes until you refresh the sequence (Clip-Refresh Sequence-All)

[Anton Meleshkevich]

I don't use AVID, but what about a .png picture with alpha?

Edited November 17, 2017 by Anton Meleshkevich

[Thomas Singh]

Many great suggestions here, thank you. I know I can add a pilar box effect and change the parameterd, it's just that I have to set the aspect and measure myself instead of simply go to a drop down menu choosing a square defaulted letterbox.