Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 - Manual (Page 163)

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Using assets with various aspect ratios
Premiere Pro automatically attempts to preserve the frame aspect ratio of imported assets, sometimes changing the pixel aspect ratio, the frame
dimensions, or both so that the asset does not appear cropped or distorted when used in a sequence. Some assets contain metadata that allows
Premiere Pro to make the calculations automatically and precisely. For assets lacking this metadata, Premiere Pro applies a set of rules to
interpret pixel aspect ratio.
When you capture or import NTSC footage with the ATSC frame size of 704x480, the D1 frame size of 720x486, or the DV frame size of 720x480,
Premiere Pro automatically sets the pixel aspect ratio for that asset to D1/DV NTSC (0.91). When you capture or import footage with the HD frame
size of 1440x1080, Premiere Pro automatically sets the pixel aspect ratio for that file to HD 1080 Anamorphic (1.33). When you capture or import
PAL footage with the D1 or DV resolution of 720x576, Premiere Pro automatically sets the pixel aspect ratio for that file to D1/DV PAL (1.094).
For other frame sizes, Premiere Pro assumes that the asset was designed with square pixels and changes the pixel aspect ratio and frame
dimensions in a way that preserves the asset image aspect ratio. If the imported asset is distorted, you can change the pixel aspect ratio manually.
When you drag an asset into a sequence, Premiere Pro centers the asset in the program frame by default. Depending on its frame size, the
resulting image could be too small or overcropped for the needs of the project. If so, you can change its scale. You can do this manually or have
Premiere Pro do it automatically whenever you drag an asset into a sequence.
It is always a good idea to make sure that files are interpreted correctly. You can read asset frame dimensions and pixel aspect ratio near the
preview thumbnail and in the Video Info column of the Project panel. You can also find this data in the asset Properties dialog box, the Interpret
Footage dialog box, and the Info panel.
Fix aspect ratio distortion
The sequence settings preset you choose when you create a sequence sets the frame and pixel aspect ratios for the sequence. You can’t change
aspect ratios after you create the sequence, but you can change the pixel aspect ratio that Premiere Pro assumes for individual assets. For
example, if a square-pixel asset generated by a graphics or animation program looks distorted in Premiere Pro, you can correct its pixel aspect
ratio to make it look right. By ensuring that all files are interpreted correctly, you can combine footage with different ratios in the same project. Then
you can generate output that doesn’t distort the resulting images.
Correct individual aspect ratio misinterpretations
1. Right-click the still image in the Project panel.
2. Select Modify > Interpret Footage.
3. Select an option in the Pixel Aspect Ratio section, and click OK.
4. Select one of the following:
Use Pixel Aspect Ratio From File Uses the original aspect ratio saved with the still image.
Conform To Lets you choose from a list of standard aspect ratios.
Note: When using Photoshop to generate images for use in video projects, it’s best to use the Photoshop preset named for the video format
you’ll use. Using the preset ensures that your images are generated with the correct aspect ratio.
Correct recurring aspect ratio misinterpretations
Premiere Pro automatically assigns pixel aspect ratios to files according to a file of rules. If a specific type of image is consistently misinterpreted
(distorted) when you import it, you can change the relevant rule.
1. Open a text editor.
2. From within the text editor, go to the Premiere Pro Plug-ins folder.
3. Open the file named Interpretation Rules.txt.
4. Edit the rule that you want to modify, and choose Save.
Common pixel aspect ratios
Pixel aspect ratio When to use
Square pixels 1.0 Footage has a 640x480 or 648x486 frame
size, is 1920x1080 HD (not HDV or
DVCPRO HD), is 1280x720 HD or HDV,
or was exported from an application that
doesn’t support nonsquare pixels. This
setting can also be appropriate for footage
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