When we last convened, I mentioned that iMovie’s auto-stretch feature, which distorts clips outside the 4 x 3 aspect ratio, was a little inconvenient. Over the weekend I was contacted by Christian Franz, head of cf/x ( www.imovieplugins.com ), who alerted me to his Aspect Ratio and Turn Clip plug-ins.
As its name implies, the $2.50 Aspect Ratio plug-in allows you to change the aspect ratio of your iMovie clips to either preset values (TV, NTSC <-> PAL, 16:9) or tweak the horizontal and vertical values manually.
The free Turn Clip plug-in was designed to rotate clips in 90-degree increments — a process that normally requires QuickTime Player Pro.
cf/x offers a load of other inexpensive (and free) iMovie plug-ins. Definitely worth a look.