Whether you want to create final masters of your project in different resolutions or simply increase your speed of interactivity by working in a resolution lower than that of the final version, the Reformat tool can facilitate your work by simplifying the steps involved.
You can change the metadata resolution parameters of unlinked clips using the Reformat tool. For example, you can reformat a clip to another specified frame size, framerate, or scan mode. You can then recapture media of the specified format and relink it to the clip. For instance, assume your project was shot in HD 59.94i (16x9), down-converted to NTSC at 16x9 aspect ratio and then brought into Smoke. You perform your online editorial with the SD material and in the middle of the project, you learn that you need to deliver an HD version. The Reformat tool allows you to select all the SD source clips and change the metadata into HD clips. Soft effects are scaled automatically to the new format. You can then recapture the material using the HD tapes and link the HD material to the reformatted clips.
If the clip that you are unlinking is based on a timeline that contains some segments that are not unlinked, the media of these segments will also be reformatted and, if needed, timewarped. You can specify the fit method for this media. Usually you can use this reformatted media as a guide only, replacing it with a version created at the appropriate resolution at a later time.
In general, use the following workflow when reformatting unlinked clips.
| Step: | Refer to: |
|---|---|
| 1. Verify whether or not the clip contains module-processed segments. If so, decide on the method you will use to replace the material for these segments. | Handling Clips with Processed Effects. |
| 2. Unlink the edited clips. All the editorial decisions, layers, soft effects, and transitions are conserved in the metadata. | Unlinking Media from Clips in the Clip Library or Unlinking Media from Selected Timeline Segments. |
| 3. Reformat the clips to the appropriate resolution and framerate. Apply a fit method to existing media on the timeline. | Reformatting Unlinked Clips for Recapture. |
| 4. Recapture the clips using the appropriate material. | Recapturing Media. |
| 5. Relink the newly captured media to the existing metadata. | Relinking Media to Clips. |
| 6. Capture the source material for module-processed segments at the appropriate resolution, reapply the setups, reprocess, and replace the low-quality version. | Handling Clips with Processed Effects. |
You have many options for changing the resolution, including setting a custom resolution. The following table lists some typical resolution conversions you can make to the metadata.
| Convert from: | To: |
|---|---|
| NTSC 4x3 | NTSC 16x9 |
| NTSC (4x3 or 16x9) | HDTV 720P |
| NTSC (4x3 or 16x9) | HDTV (23.976p) |
| NTSC (4x3 or 16x9) (24p) | HDTV 59.94i (with pulldown removal) |
| NTSC (4x3 or 16x9) (24p) | HDTV (23.976p) |
| PAL 4x3 | PAL 16x9 |
| PAL (4x3 or 16x9) | HDTV 25p / 50i |
| PAL or NTSC | Film 2K (scanned files) |
