How to Create Letterbox in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2018)

Adding a letterbox to your footage instantly gives it a cinematic look. Those black bars at the top and bottom of the frame restrict the viewing area, drawing the viewer’s focus toward the center of the action. You see it in almost every major film. It signals to the audience that they are watching something with a cinematic quality.

The most common letterbox aspect ratio is 2.39:1 (sometimes called CinemaScope or anamorphic widescreen), which is wider than the standard 16:9 (1.78:1) ratio that most cameras shoot. Today I am going to show you how to create this look in Premiere Pro and save it as a reusable template.

How to Create a Letterbox in Premiere Pro

Creating the Black Bars

1. Import your footage into a sequence.
2. Zoom out the Program Monitor to about 25% so you have room to work with.
3. Select a shape tool from the toolbar (Rectangle Tool works fine). Click and drag to create a small rectangle. This generates a new graphics layer on the timeline. You can delete the shape itself since we just needed the layer created.
4. Now draw a new rectangle that covers the entire frame from edge to edge.
5. Switch to the Selection Tool and position the shape so it snaps to all four corners of the frame.

Cutting Out the Center

6. Select the graphics layer in the timeline and go to Effect Controls.
7. Expand Shape and find the shape layer. Click on the 4-point polygon mask tool to create a mask.
8. Turn on Safe Margins (View > Safe Margins) for a visual guide.
9. Drag the mask points to define the visible area in the center. The top and bottom edges of the mask should sit where you want the letterbox bars to end. Using the safe margin guides helps you get consistent placement.
10. In the mask settings, click the Inverted checkbox. This makes the area outside the mask visible (the black bars) while the center stays transparent.
11. Set the mask Feather to 0 for clean, hard edges on the letterbox bars.

Saving as a Reusable Template

The best part about building the letterbox as a graphics layer is that you can save it for future use.

1. Right click the graphics layer in the timeline.
2. Select Export as Motion Graphics Template.
3. Give it a name like “Letterbox 2.39” and save it to your library.
4. In any future project, open the Essential Graphics panel, find your template in the library, and drag it onto your timeline. Instant letterbox.

Tips

• Common letterbox ratios: 2.39:1 (CinemaScope), 2.00:1 (Univisium, used by Netflix), 1.85:1 (standard theatrical widescreen). Each creates different amounts of black bars.
• Animate the bars for a dramatic reveal. Keyframe the mask position so the bars slide in from the top and bottom at the beginning of a scene.
• Combine with color grading. Letterbox bars look even more cinematic when paired with a film-style color grade or a slight vignette.
• Don’t forget about safe areas. If you add lower thirds or text to letterboxed footage, make sure the text sits within the visible area and not behind the bars.

That is how you create a letterbox in Premiere Pro. Once you save it as a template, adding a cinematic aspect ratio to any project is just a drag and drop away.