Letterbox
Also known as: black bars, cinematic bars, letterboxing
Black bars added above and below a video to give it a wider, cinematic aspect ratio, or to fit wide footage inside a taller frame.
Updated
What it means
Letterboxing places horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the frame. It has two uses. Technically, it fits a wide image, such as a 2.39:1 film, into a 16:9 screen without cropping. Creatively, editors add bars to normal 16:9 footage to suggest a widescreen cinema look.
The opposite, pillarboxing, adds vertical bars at the sides, for example when a vertical phone video is shown in a horizontal frame. Both come down to differences in aspect ratio between the footage and the display.
Cinematic bars are popular in travel and action films because they instantly feel more like a movie, even when the footage comes from a small action camera.
How it works in practice
If you add bars for style, use a common ratio such as 2.35:1 or 2.39:1 and keep the bars perfectly black and consistent throughout the video. Frame shots with the bars in mind, since they hide the top and bottom of the image.
A cleaner alternative is to export at the wider ratio directly, so the bars are not part of the image. Players then add the bars only when needed, and the video fills wide screens properly.
For vertical platforms, letterbox bars waste a lot of space. Crop or reframe for the tall format instead.
What to watch out for
Bars on footage that will be watched mostly on phones shrink the image further, making action harder to see. Consider your audience and their screens before adding them.
Mixed bars, where some clips are letterboxed and others are not, look like a mistake. Apply them to the whole video or not at all.
Platforms may add their own bars on top of yours if the export does not match their expected format, creating a small picture surrounded by black on all sides. Export at the intended ratio and check the safe zones.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip delivers your highlight in standard 4K and 1080p without letterbox bars. Add cinematic bars in your editor afterwards if you like the widescreen look, starting from your finished highlight.