What aspect ration, format (.wmv, .mpg., etc) and speed (bit rate?) should I use before finalizing a video in editing to give a more professional look when using a standard mini dv?
Before you EDIT your video with a professional feel, remember to SHOOT your footage in a professional manner as well. If you shoot footage that looks like crap (i.e. no white balance, out of focus, etc), then the best editing software in the world will help you. Good luck.
Format will not change the look (although ideally you should pick a format that allows decent quality under a not-so-taxing bitrate).
Unfortunately standard DV will look exactly like what it says it is–digital video. To get a professional look you might have to do some work in post production.
This website usually has some pretty good resources:
http://www.videomaker.com/article/13747/
Also, try Googling for video to film processes.
If you shot the footage in 16:9 aspect ratio, keep it that way (pixel aspect ratio is usually 0.9 by the way [I think]). If you shot it in 4:3, to give it a movie feel you can "letterbox it" (add the black bars on the top and the bottom) and save it as 4:3 but you might be losing some detail.
Experiment!
References :
Before you EDIT your video with a professional feel, remember to SHOOT your footage in a professional manner as well. If you shoot footage that looks like crap (i.e. no white balance, out of focus, etc), then the best editing software in the world will help you. Good luck.
References :