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1. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Eddie Lotter Apr 20, 2009 8:55 AM (in response to txbonfire)Welcome to the forums.
Should I keep "Defaut Scale To Frame Size" deselected and then just scale down to fit the screen and scale up from there when doing the panning/zooming?
Absolutely, yes.
Cheers
Eddie
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2. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 20, 2009 2:52 PM (in response to Eddie Lotter)Eddie,
Thanks so much!
Angela
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3. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Eddie Lotter Apr 21, 2009 7:03 AM (in response to txbonfire) -
4. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Bill Hunt Apr 21, 2009 2:52 PM (in response to txbonfire)I have always found that the quality was best when I do any re-sizing in Photoshop, prior to Import. Do not know if things have changed with CS4, but the algorithms in PS always did a better job for me. I always Save_As>PSD out of PS and Import those into PrPro with no issues.
Good luck,
Hunt
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5. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 22, 2009 6:18 AM (in response to Bill Hunt)Hunt,
How exactly are you resizing in PS? After you scan your photos, what do you resize it to? Do you use the NTSC DV (4:3 or 16:9) template?
Eddie,
After importing my photos (jpg's and psd's) into APP with "Default scale to frame size" deselected and then creating my video, it took 3 hours to render the video (13mins and 120 photos). It used to take about 15 mins to render a project of this size.
All,
What are my options for importing photos into APP? For those that also produce photo montages, what method works best for you? Is this an issue of quality vs. time?
Thanks so much,
Angela
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6. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Eddie Lotter Apr 22, 2009 6:40 AM (in response to txbonfire)The general rule of thumb is if you are not zooming into the picture then scale the picture to your project size in a program like Photoshop before importing into PPro. If you are going to zoom, then scale the picture (again prior to import) to a size such that at the closest zoom you do not exceed 100% of the picture's size.
This should also take care of your render times.
Cheers
Eddie -
7. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 22, 2009 9:30 AM (in response to Eddie Lotter)Eddie,
So you are saying:
1. Do not use the "Default Scale To Frame Size" option at all in APP.
2. If I will not be zooming into the photo, then I scale to frame size in PS.
3. If I will be zooming into the photo, then I scale the photo in PS such that at closest zoom I will not exceed 100%.
My question now is what is the best way to scale in PS? This is how I would scale a photo as you described above. Please let me know if I am incorrect in my workflow or if there is a better way.
1. Open photo in PS
2. Go to Image > Image Size
3. To have photo scaled to frame size, I would change pixel dimensions to width = 720 and height = 480 keeping the resolution the same as what I scanned the pic at (like 600 ppi).
4. If I think I will zoom into the photo such that the photo is increased by 200% then I would change the piixel dimensions to width = 1440 and height = 960 keeping the resolution the same as what I scanned the pic at (like 600 ppi).
5. Note that I produce montages in NTSC DV 4:3 or NTSC DV 16:9 (usually the latter).
I do photo/video montages where each project has at least 100 photos. I need a tried and true method which allows me to produce the highest quality montages without taking up a crazy amount of time.
With your advice, I feel like I am almost there. Thank you so much!
Take care,
Angela
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8. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Eddie Lotter Apr 22, 2009 9:56 AM (in response to txbonfire)1. Do not use the "Default Scale To Frame Size" option at all in APP.
I'm not saying "never use it", if it works (quality-wise) then use it.
That is what I do in Photoshop Elements, however the PPI setting is irrelevant for video editing, don't worry what it is set to.
Cheers
Eddie -
9. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Bill Hunt Apr 22, 2009 10:30 AM (in response to txbonfire)Anglea,
Considering that you are zooming-in and are also not panning across the un-zoomed image, I'd size all of my images in Photoshop (PS). I have an Action that takes my images and places them into an NTSC 4:3 720x480 PAR 0.9 image Preset, then does a Save_As .PSD into my "finals" folder. Obviously, if you're doing PAL, or widescreen, that would change. I then run my Action on my folder of images via Batch Process to take care of everything at one time. You will likely loose some quality if you zoom way in. There is nothing that can be done about that, other than to create (in PS) another image, re-sized to where the zoom will take you, and using a Transition to Dissolve there. Depending on the pixels in your source material, this might not yield any better results and is more work. This is in PS CS2. Not sure what features PS Elements might/might not offer.
If you ARE panning across the image, before you zoom-in, you'll want to adjust the image size up to accommodate this. Likewise with a zoom out, you'd size to accommodate the final size, and just start zoomed-in on that image.
Hope that this helps, and good luck,
Hunt
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10. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 22, 2009 10:50 AM (in response to Eddie Lotter)Eddie,
So my steps for scaling my photos in PS prior to importing into APP are correct? I work with all sizes of photos which are layed out both verically and horizontally. So I would prefer to scale them on an individual basis, and I would think that after a few dozen photos I will get a feel for how I need to scale them, correct?
Hunt,
Thank you so much for your advice as well! Like I mentioned above, it may be best for me to scale my photos individually especially since I am editing each one in PS anyway. But I do like the advice on batch processing as I have never tried that before.
Any advice yall have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
Angela
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11. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 22, 2009 1:36 PM (in response to Bill Hunt)Hunt and Eddie,
I could use a batch process to prep all my photos if I used the following workflow:
1. Scan A"xB" pic at xxx DPI.
2. In PhotoShop, scale pics in batches per the following rules:
a. horizontal 8"x10" prints scaled to x pixels (width) by y pixels (height) to accomodate a 200% zoom
b. vertical 8"x10" prints scaled to x pixels (width) by y pixels (height) to accomodate a 200% zoom
c. horizontal 5"x7" prints scaled to x pixels (width) by y pixels (height) to accomodate a 200% zoom
d. vertical 5"x7" prints scaled to x pixels (width) by y pixels (height) to accomodate a 200% zoom
e. horizontal 4"x6" prints scaled to x pixels (width) by y pixels (height) to accomodate a 200% zoom
and so on....
3. Import all pics into APP2.0
Would this work? Let me know your thoughts if you have time to do so.
Thanks so much,
Angela
p.s. I've been posting on this forum for well over a year, but I recently had to re-create my account (so it seems) because I forgot my password. And now I do not see any of my previous posts linked to my account. Any ideas on how I can resolve this? Or who should I ask? Or where should I post?
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12. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
windowman Apr 22, 2009 1:37 PM (in response to txbonfire)Angela,
I realize you probably don't have Flash, but if you do, I've always found it works better all around for zooming and panning (especially panning), so I often do it there and export as an AVI. Flash doesn't care what size your photos are, and you can zoom to your heart's content (or until you run out of pixel power!).
BTW, I've never used a Mac or FCP, but from what I've heard its "Ken Burns" effect (yes, that's what it's called in the program) is very good at zooming and panning.
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13. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 22, 2009 3:43 PM (in response to Eddie Lotter)thank you! thank you! thank you! Thank you Eddie for just saying "yes" and convincing me to deselect the "Default Scale To Frame Size." Even though my pics were not pre-scaled in PS, and were imported at full-res in APP, the outcome was well worth it. Now, I just need to figure out a way to streamline the process, i.e. the best way to pre-scale in PS prior to importing. Maybe it's just an issue of figuring out the best scanning res to use on a specific-sized photo so that I don't have to mess with pre-scaling (my new term).
With the rendoring in APP taking 3+ hours, I was afraid that the encoding to avi and then transcoding in Encore would be just as long, but they were not.
I would just stick with importing photos as-is (and not messing with scaling down in PS), but when I have a memorial montage due the next day I cannot afford those 3+ hours.
Thanks again to all who have given me advice!
Angela
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14. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Eddie Lotter Apr 23, 2009 9:30 AM (in response to txbonfire) -
15. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Bill Hunt Apr 23, 2009 12:49 PM (in response to txbonfire)You *should* be able to take care of this over the telephone with Adobe. I ended up with several accounts over the decades, as one predated the Web, and then two were created because of changes in my POP accounts, and an inability to register on-line.
I spent some time with Adobe and they did manage to consolidate all accounts, or nearly all. Things were good until the new fora, and all of a sudden I had a screen name from about six years ago. Went to change that and could not, because it said one of my "other" accounts had that screen name. Also, all of my Adobe registration data disappeared, and when I go to re-register to this account, I get the message that the registrations are invalid, as they are assigned to someone else. My guess is that another account was set up, during the forum switch over, and I've just not had time to make the call again.
Good luck,
Hunt
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16. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
txbonfire Apr 23, 2009 2:20 PM (in response to Bill Hunt)Hunt,
Do you happen to know what number you used when calling them about your account issues? I'll look around....
Thanks so much! Good to know I am not the only one with this issue.
-Angela
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17. Re: Default Scale To Frame Size - quality loss when zooming
Bill Hunt Apr 23, 2009 3:34 PM (in response to txbonfire)Sorry, I do not. This was about 2 years ago, and IIRC, it took me quite a bit of looking to find the right one, plus I could also have been transferred, or referred a couple of times. I think that I finally located a starting number on the Adobe "accounts" page, in pretty small type. Wish I could help, and that my memory was better.
Good luck, as I will be doing the same when I get the time. I was on hold for quite a bit, and then it took the tech a while to sort it all out - about a 2 hr. process from start to finish.
Hunt





