BEST PHOTOSHOP FILE SIZE FOR FCP-HD

I am trying to determine the best practice for creating high-res images in Photoshop and importing them into FCP for eventual output as HD video. The aspect ratio is 1920 x 1080, but what should the resolution be?

If I use my old print standard, it's 360 pixels-per-inch "at print size" measured in inches, which assured that my prints were never pixillated. Is there a similar standard for Photoshop artwork destined for High Def? In the old FCP, my graphic .psd files were all 72dpi -- but that obviously won't cut it in HD.

How does FCP-HD handle high-res .psd files?

And what should the sequence settings be to be sure that I keep the aspect ratio consistent?

Thanks!



rob

FCP 7.3 on Mac Pro3,1
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Processor): 12 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05
SMC Version (system): 1.25f4

Sequence Settings HDTV 16:9 1920 x 1080 Apple ProRes 422 Proxy
Audio: 48 KHZ 16-bit Channel Grouped

sure it will. but it depends on what you want to do with the graphics.

all video is 72 dpi, whether it be SD or HD. there are just more pixels in an HD image. a general rule of thumb for still image resolution is to double what you need - to accomodate possible scaling needs. so you should keep the image at 72 dpi but double the dimensions

beyond that, its overkill...

WHat Wayne said.

9910x4800 is overkill. I got that size once. OOOOF!

I resized them to 4000x2000 (1080i project) and things went a BIT smoother.

Larry Jordan did some experiments on this (excellent cite and newsletter at [www.larryjordan.biz] ) and he reported that
It's 1800 x 1350 x 72 dpi. is the best size for making nice slow zooms into picture without pixelating.....and the best size for not choking final cut in processing a large image. Andy

all this assuming of course that you won't have specific resize like pan & scan



---------------------------------
A Day late & a Dollar-short Productions

My final cut editor friend told me to scan my still photos at 300dpi and as jpeg and then import into photoshop as jpeg, crop if necessary and them import into final cut. In this case do I need to worry about pixel aspect ratio? does anyone have the time to relate how to pan and scan.

thanks - new to editing my doc..with big deadline and lots of photos to handle

> My final cut editor friend told me to scan my still photos at 300dpi and as
> jpeg and then import into photoshop as jpeg, crop if necessary and them
> import into final cut. In this case do I need to worry about pixel aspect ratio?
> does anyone have the time to relate how to pan and scan.

Noooo.

Number one, don't save as JPEG. JPEG is not a lossless format. Use TIFF, TGA or PSD.

Number two, the pictures for video should not be at 300dpi. You can go ahead and scan them at that if you may need to use these images for print, web or other purposes, but for video, images can be at 72dpi. What I'd do is scan them big at 300dpi, then save a copy optimized for video at 72dpi, no larger than the frame size of whatever format you're working in.

"...9910x4800 is overkill"

That all depends...it may be in FCP, but that's a nice healthy 3D-animatable file in After Effects, IMHO. How close do you want to get to the image without degredation?

I like big images...which is why I like to bring 1920x1080i HDV clips into 720x486 comps and animate those as well

- Joey



Post Edited (05-17-06 17:32)

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

"How close do you want to get to
the image without degredation?"

I like big images

- Joey



--------------------------

This is more to the point, in my situation -- I want to be able to end up with an HD image that is as close as possible to the original artwork in detail -- close enough for a viewer to be a few inches away from a 60" Plasma display and not see pixellation....

So I am leaning toward overkill. (I like big images too...).



rob

FCP 7.3 on Mac Pro3,1
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Processor): 12 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05
SMC Version (system): 1.25f4

Sequence Settings HDTV 16:9 1920 x 1080 Apple ProRes 422 Proxy
Audio: 48 KHZ 16-bit Channel Grouped

wait a second. what exactly are you calling "HD" and what are your REAL resolution requirements???

the fact that you bring the term "plasma display" makes me wonder what it is youre actually trying to achieve...??? unless you are broadcasting or coming off tape - 99.9% of plasmas wont be displaying ANYWHERE NEAR an HD image to begin with - so you may be being victim to marketing bullshit...

The output is 1080/24p HD video suitable for large format display across multiple screens. As for "REAL" resolution requirements -- that's what I am tryuing to determine here.



rob

FCP 7.3 on Mac Pro3,1
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Processor): 12 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05
SMC Version (system): 1.25f4

Sequence Settings HDTV 16:9 1920 x 1080 Apple ProRes 422 Proxy
Audio: 48 KHZ 16-bit Channel Grouped

There seems to be a great void in the knowledge pool here....does anybody really understand the relationship between Photoshop resolution (dpi) and FCP-HD? I am told that "all video is 72ppi" and the only difference is the size of the image. Somehow that does not feel right -- A pict file that I bring in at 240 dpi at 1920 x 1080 is significantly "larger" than one at 120 dpi.... but does that not also mean "more dense"? And is that pixel-richness not the definition of "HD"? So then, doesn't dpi translate to HD at some specific setting? And what is that?

I am outputting to HDCAM and playing on a plasma 1080i HD display. Eventually.

I am learning this the hard way -- encountering enormous storage issues and long render times -- even with 3 terrabytes on a top-speed G5 with dual 2.6 processors and the AJA KONA card -- and hope to emerge with not only a brilliant project but also a set of "best practices" that I can share.

A rising tide lifts all boats -- as long as we can keep our heads above water.



rob

FCP 7.3 on Mac Pro3,1
Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz
Number of Processors: 2
Total Number of Cores: 8
L2 Cache (per Processor): 12 MB
Memory: 6 GB
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP31.006C.B05
SMC Version (system): 1.25f4

Sequence Settings HDTV 16:9 1920 x 1080 Apple ProRes 422 Proxy
Audio: 48 KHZ 16-bit Channel Grouped

> There seems to be a great void in the knowledge pool here....does anybody
> really understand the relationship between Photoshop resolution (dpi) and
> FCP-HD? I am told that "all video is 72ppi"

72dpi, not 72ppi. Ben King wrote a great analysis of this last year, and what I gathered from his explanation is that dpi, or dots per inch, has only to do with print media. In digital video, only frame size matters, since digital video works with pixel count, not inches.

Hello to all,

This thread is from 7 years ago. Is the info. still accurate? For a documentary I'm using FCP 7 and delivering in HD for broadcast and theatrical distribution. I am using the pan & scan/Ken Burns effect.

The graphic artist restoring the photos is insisting that the files need to be delivered to me in 300dpi and "really big", beyond double the format size to accommodate the theatrical release and the big flat screen televisions that consumers are buying these days.

What size/dpi should the graphic artist deliver the files?

Thanks so much!
Lisha

Quote
Derek Mok
72dpi, not 72ppi. Ben King wrote a great analysis of this last year, and what I gathered from his explanation is that dpi, or dots per inch, has only to do with print media. In digital video, only frame size matters, since digital video works with pixel count, not inches.

Quote
Derek Mok
Number one, don't save as JPEG. JPEG is not a lossless format. Use TIFF, TGA or PSD.

Number two, the pictures for video should not be at 300dpi. You can go ahead and scan them at that if you may need to use these images for print, web or other purposes, but for video, images can be at 72dpi. What I'd do is scan them big at 300dpi, then save a copy optimized for video at 72dpi, no larger than the frame size of whatever format you're working in.

> The graphic artist restoring the photos is insisting that the files need to be delivered to me in 300dpi and "really big"

The graphic artist is wrong, but not completely. ppi (pixels per inch) only matters at the scanning stage, when you had an image of a fixed physical dimension and you're deciding how many pixels to devote to representing each inch of image.

But once the image is scanned, ppi doesn't matter unless you're printing. And for video, the pixel count is all that matters, since video doesn't work in terms of inches -- it works in terms of pixels.

300dpi images tend to drive my FCP7 crazy. If the graphic artist needs to make 300dpi images for archival purposes, let him. But you should be processing those and resaving them (with new but related names) into 72dpi images for your own use -- without reducing the pixel count. In Photoshop, if you reduce the dpi of an image, Photoshop automatically assumes you want to reduce the actual image size as well. That's what you have to watch out for.


www.derekmok.com

As always, thanks Derek!!!!!