Skip navigation
Currently Being Moderated

What size/resolution/type  of Still Image to use in After Effects?

Jul 15, 2012 9:43 AM

I'm new to AE... have version CS5.  I'm working on creating a short movie "Intro" with my Logo and motion using Still Images.  I'm trying to understand what is the best and size and resolution of Still Images to use for this sequence.

Should I use JPG images or another format? 

I'm creating the rest of the project in Premiere Pro CS5 at 1080p 29.97fps.

 
Replies
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 15, 2012 12:10 PM   in reply to soloalpinist

    We can't tell you because you haven't given us enough information to go on.  Do you have an image sequence to import?  Do you want to do Ken-Burns-style moves on stills?  Do you want to see multiple stills?  Are you working in 3D?

     

    Different situations, different advice...

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 15, 2012 10:10 PM   in reply to soloalpinist

    Still images are displayed pixel for pixel at 100% scale. If you want an image to fill an HD comp then it needs to be 1920 X 1080 pixels. If you're starting with images from a 16MP camera then it's best to size them in Photoshop and do some enhancement to fix the detail and repair any other problems before you bring them into AE.

     

    If you want to move in on an image, say push in to the middle 1/4 of an image, then the center portion must be??? You guessed it 1920 X 1080 pixels. This means the image needs to be 4 times as wide as the center section.

     

    Follow the logic???

     

    Any image format in RGB is OK. Jpg's or any other image type can be problematic if they are highly compressed because highly compressed images have compression artifacts.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 16, 2012 8:21 AM   in reply to soloalpinist

    I want to import multiple still frames from a motordrive sequence and apply the fast blur effect to some of them.

     

    We're getting closer, but not close enough.

     

    The sentence above leads me to think that you shot still images at regular intervals through the windshield as a car drove.  Now you want to make look like it was a high-speed drive.  That's one thing.

     

    But if it could also mean you want to take the occasional still frame from the drive and do things to that particular frame.  As these occasional frames change in the comp, you get the notion that they were taken as a car drove.  That's a different thing.

     

    NOW:  which one do you mean?  You're talking about two different techniques in AE. 

    Please clarify.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 16, 2012 2:11 PM   in reply to soloalpinist

    I suggest using PNG's in AE.  The quality is good, they have alphas and they're much smaller than TIFFs. 

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 18, 2012 10:57 AM   in reply to soloalpinist

    PNG's are good, and so are JPEG's. As for the resolution, keep it as high as it originally was in the image.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 18, 2012 11:23 AM   in reply to BenMarkus

    Only reason I said PNG is cause they have alpha channels, which is super useful if you have images with transparent backgrounds. 

     

    Check this FAQ on what is the best format for rendering and exporting from After Effects

    http://forums.adobe.com/message/3165988#3165988

     

    Alos check this help doc on rendering and exporting still images and still image sequences:

    http://help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS2A38FBE5-B86C-4036 -8929-B20609A7377Aa.html#WS3878526689cb91655866c1103a4f2dff7-79a9a

     
    |
    Mark as:

More Like This

  • Retrieving data ...

Bookmarked By (0)

Answers + Points = Status

  • 10 points awarded for Correct Answers
  • 5 points awarded for Helpful Answers
  • 10,000+ points
  • 1,001-10,000 points
  • 501-1,000 points
  • 5-500 points