Looking for a free letterbox template for your footage? You’ve come to the right place.
I’ve created what I believe to be the most comprehensive professional-grade letterbox package and I’m releasing it for free today. It includes every standard aspect ratio for film and television, with some extra letterboxing added for good measure.
Many video editing platforms don’t have a built-in preset letterboxing effect, so if you want to add black bars to an image to make it wider (or narrower), you usually have to create the effect from scratch, which can be time-consuming.
Even software platforms with mailbox defaults (e.g. FCP), usually does not include all standard aspect ratios, usually only a small subset of them.
So I created this free kit to help you experiment with different aspect ratios, formats, and framing options – no matter what software you use.
Whether you want to add retro 1.33:1 (4:3) movie aspect ratios, widescreen 2.76:1 anamorphic looks, or even ultrawide experimental 4.00:1 aesthetics, this free kit has you covered.
17 included letterboxes/aspect ratios
Here’s a list of every mailbox you can access in the download:
- 1.00:1 – Square
- 1.33:1 – 4:3 / Academy Ratio
- 1.37:1 – Original College Standards
- 1.43:1 – IMAX standard
- 1.61:1 – golden ratio
- 1.66:1 – European standards
- 1.85:1 – 35mm film
- 2.00:1 – Global Vision
- 2.20:1 – Standard 70mm film
- 2.35:1 – Wide screen cinema standard
- 2.39:1 – Widescreen/anamorphic standard
- 2.55:1 – Original widescreen ratio
- 2.76:1 – 70mm anamorphic lens
- 3.00:1 – Ultra wide screen
- 3.55:1 – Ultra wide cinema
- 3.66:1 – Ultrawide IMAX
- 4.00:1 – Jushi
As you can see, I tried to cover the widest possible range of formats, from square to extremely wide.
If you’re not sure which aspect ratio is right for you, be sure to check out my recent article Article about choosing the right format for your project.
The letterboxes I create are all exported at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), but can be easily scaled up or down in editing software to use HD timelines, 6K timelines, or any other resolution.
Mailbox workflow
With this pack, it’s very easy to apply letterboxing to your footage to create black bars on the top or sides of the frame. The included letterboxes are .png files with transparency, so they will fit into your timeline like any other image.
After downloading the free kit, simply drag and drop any letterbox file into your editing software and stack it on top of your footage in a 16:9 timeline.
Here is an example in FCP X –
You can now drag the edges of a clip to extend the length of your letterbox, covering your entire project or just a single shot – you choose.
Assuming you’re using a 16:9 timeline (1920 x 1080, 3840 x 2160, etc.), you should be done at this point!
If the letterbox is not applying correctly, you may be using a timeline that is not set to 16:9. In this case, you can create a new timeline with a 16:9 resolution and copy your project into it.
It’s also worth noting that sometimes you may apply letterboxing and see something like this –
If you’re encountering this issue, it’s possible that you’re using a timeline with a higher (or lower) resolution than the letterbox archive (4K).
The image above shows what it looks like when you put a 4K letterbox into a 5K timeline, which doesn’t cover the edges.
In this case, there is a simple solution.
All you have to do is change the zoom settings of your mailbox file in the video editor. Each editing platform uses different terminology, but the idea is the same – you want to “scale to fit” your mailbox to fit your editing canvas.dit.
For example, in FCP X you can do this by selecting “Fit” from the Inspector’s Spatial Conform menu –
The bar should then click into place like this –
In many cases, you won’t need to perform this step as your editing software may automatically scale the letterbox to fit. But if you do run into a problem, it’s easy to fix.
Free Download: Letterbox Bag
To download the Letterbox Pack (which includes all 17 aspect ratios listed above), simply drop your email address into the box below for instant access!
Plus, you’ll sign up for my Sunday newsletter, where each week I share an exclusive filmmaking article I think you’ll enjoy.
here you go!
Download: Norm Kroll Mailbox Mat
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