Problem exporting frames from anamorphic footage

[fernando.andreh]

Hello,

I have a sequence with anamorphic 1.5x footage which I already interpreted as this (DVCPRO HD 1.5) and it's all fine while working inside project and exporting as video. But when I try to export a frame - the photographic camera icon tool below the preview screen - I end with a non-interpreted frame as anamorphic, de-squeezed like the print attached.
How can I export frames to be exactly as the sequence shows?

Thank you.

[Averdahl]

I cannot test now, but if i remember correctly exports done from a timeline were the Pixel Aspec Ratio (PAR) is set to 1.5 will export frames this way. Test to go to Sequence > Sequence Settings and change the PAR from 1.5 to 1.0 and close the dialog and do the export of the frame now. If it works you can then set tha PAR back to 1.5. A workaround i think will do the trick.

Try it and report back! 🙂

[fernando.andreh]

Hello, thanks for your response. I did it and, despite it corrected the squeeze aspect, the frame appears to be 16:9 and not anamorphic. The frame is cropped.

[Averdahl]

I need more details:

• Version of Premiere Pro (Help > About)
• Sequence Settings (post screendump)
• What app/s do you use to watch the exported image?
• How does the exported image look inside Premiere Pro?
• How does the video look if you export it using File > Export > Media?
• Are the source footage from a Panasonic camera or not?

Hello, thanks for your response. I did it and, despite it corrected the squeeze aspect, the frame appears to be 16:9 and not anamorphic. The frame is cropped.

By @fernando.andreh

[fernando.andreh]

• Version of Premiere Pro (Help > About)
  24.6.3 (Build 4)
• Sequence Settings (post screendump)
  
• What app/s do you use to watch the exported image?
  space key for preview in macOS finder, double click or importing in Photoshop
• How does the exported image look inside Premiere Pro?
  Looks fine, correctly interpreted.
• How does the video look if you export it using File > Export > Media?
  Video file looks exactly as I see in the sequence.
• Are the source footage from a Panasonic camera or not?
  Not, it is from a Blackmagic Pocket 6k.

[Averdahl]

Thanks!

What happens if you set the PAR for the timeline to 1.0 instead of 1.5? (3840x2160 is always PAR 1.0.)

• Sequence Settings (post screendump)

By @fernando.andreh

[fernando.andreh]

When I set PAR to 1.0, the frame becomes 16:9 - no longer anamorphic. 😞

The strange thing is that in this PAR, when exporting a frame, the squeeze is corrected and remains identical to what the playback screen shows in Premiere. In other words, it does what is expected to be done, exporting a frame identical to what is seen inside Premiere. But when I set it to 1.5, the same does not happen.

[Ann Bens]

A still (jpg, png or whatever) cannot be anamorphic. PAR always needs to be 1.0.

[Averdahl]

O.k, so it seems that you at least can export a frame that looks correct if you change the PAR from 1.5 to 1.0 prior to exporting. Cumbersome but possible...

I am actually unsure how it really is supposed to work since it was ages ago i worked with anamorphic footage. Maybe worth to try with another version of Premiere Pro such as any version of 25. All 24-project you open with will be untouched if you open them in Pr 25.

@Ann Bens: Exported images from Pr can have a PAR of let´s say 1.5 if you export them from a timeline with a PAR of 1.5. See the attached image.

When I set PAR to 1.0, the frame becomes 16:9 - no longer anamorphic. 😞

...it does what is expected to be done, exporting a frame identical to what is seen inside Premiere. But when I set it to 1.5, the same does not happen.

By @fernando.andreh

[Ann Bens]

Image will be stretched.

IMO is to export from AME, PAR 1.0 and do the math for the resolution to make it look like anamorphic.

We used to do this for SD footage.

[Warren Heaton]

Nest the PAR 1.5 Sequence into a PAR 1.0 Sequence to export stills from the containing Sequence.

Or,

Start a new, PAR 1.0 document in Photoshop and use File> Place Embedded, save the resulting PSD, and File > Export to save a corrected still..  You can place multiple PAR 1.5 stills in the same PSD file and then use File > Export > Layers to Files.  An alternative approach is to open the PAR 1.5 files directly and resave after changing the PAR to 1.0 and adjusting the Image Size. 

If you have already exported several stills that are squeezed, any image editing application that allows you to change just the width of the image to 150% and then save should work to show the picture with the 16x9 display aspect ratio.  

[fernando.andreh]

Well, I really appreciate all the help I've received. I don't understand how it can be so difficult to get a frame that is identical to what is already being seen in the video. Because if it is possible to get it as a video, what mystery prevents it from being obtained as a frame?
Thanks Averdahl, Ann Bens and Warren Heaton for the insights for solution.
I voted on all the comments trying to help me. Thank you very much.

[Ann Bens]

It's not a mystery: stills (1.0) are not the same as anamorphic video (1.5).

Some years ago we had exactly the same ' issue'  when shooting on mini dv, SD or HDV (both anamorphic)

[fernando.andreh]

Excuse my ignorance, but why can't the algorithm treat a still in the same way it treats every single still in the film as a video?

[John_Bertoncini2276]

Same issue brother. Wondering the same exact thing haha. Why is this so hard?! Pulling my hair out!

[Warren Heaton]

Hi, @John_Bertoncini2276:

Sorry to hear that pixel aspect ratio (PAR) and pixel aspect ration correction (PARC) is causing you trouble.

Have you already saved some still images that have a non-square pixel PAR value?  In other words, do you have still images with a PAR of something other than 1.0?  If so, Photoshop may be the easiest place to correct for the pixel aspect ratio and save the stills with a 1.0 PAR value, but this can also be done in Premiere Pro or After Effects.  Once the PAR is 1.0, the stills should look proportionally correct anywhere they are viewed.

For future video projects:  The easiest way to avoid non-square pixel PAR footage is to make sure you're shooting footage that's 1.0 PAR.

[Warren Heaton]

Hi, @fernando.andreh:

I see that no one replied to your question "why can't the algorithm treat a still in the same way it treats every single still in the film as a video?".

Sorry that happened.

Pixel aspect ratio (PAR) and pixel aspect ratio correction (PARC) are treated the same way for video and stills in Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop.

The PAR value tells the software how much to stretch or squeeze the picture so that it looks proportionally correct.

A video or still with a PAR value of 1.5 needs to be scaled 150% along the width of the picture to appear proportionally correct.  If that correction doesn't happen, then the image will appear squeezed.  If a freeze frame is exported from 1.5 PAR source footage or a 1.5 PAR Sequence, the resulting still image will also have a 1.5 PAR.  If this file is opened in an application that does not detect the PAR and correct it, the image will appear squeezed.

My reply on above on January 4, 2025 explains how to convert 1.5 PAR picture (150% scaling along the width needed to appear proportionally correct) to 1.0 PAR picture (no scaling needed to appear proportionally correct).

- Warren