Following a question on the Edius forums, I put together this simple tutorial on how to crop your standard 16:9 widescreen films to 2.35:1 without having a ‘letterbox’ or black bars top and bottom. I upload to both Vimeo and ExposureRoom and it is possible with both of these sites to upload a film without the borders. ExposureRoom actually has a feature built in that will allow you to choose your crop when you upload – but I still prefer this method as it means I can use the same source file for all uploads.

To begin, mark your in and out points on the timeline. Then either hit F11 or select Print to File from the timeline:

Choose the Quicktime exporter plugin:

Hit Export and choose a filename. Then click the setting button which brings up the Quicktime exporter settings:

In the Video options at the top, choose settings and adjust your compression settings. This will vary depending on your use. I tend to use H.264 set around 5000 kbits/sec for HD video and will choose multi-pass for best quality exports or single pass for speed.

Next up choose the Size setting and make the following adjustments – select a custom size. My source file is 1920 x 1080, so to crop for 2.35:1 you need to make a simple calculation. 1920 ÷ 2.35. Which equals 817. That gives us a final dimension of 1920 x 817. If you have a different size video then simply make the same calculation by dividing the larger number by 2.35. You also need to check the dropdown for Preserve Aspect Ratio using Crop:

Quicktime Exporter - Size Settings

Finally, make sure you choose the audio compression you want. I tend to use MP4 at 48khz:

Audio Settings