James Nyfeler
February 1st, 2004, 11:21 AM
I am working on a project where I'll have several hundred photos in a montage, and I have a fundamental question on photo aspect ratios and size of photos.
My project is 720x480, NTSC, and will be ultimately output to DVD using DVD Architect. Photos are all jpg.
If I use the photos in a pure native format (taken by another photographer), the dimensions of most pictures is 2272x1520, and the files are about 1.8MB. If I place that picture on the Vegas timeline with no adjustments, I get the black bars at the top & bottom of the screen. Of course, I expect this as I know that 2272x1520 is not the same aspect as 1310x960, which is the aspect ratio that I need to get rid of the black bars at the top & bottom.
So, I know of three ways to fix this problem, and I am looking for the best approach before I get too far along in the project.
1. I can use PS Elements to batch resize the pictures to 1310x960. I tried that, and I found that the aspect ratio was not constrained, and therefore, my pictures ended up looking different than the original. Most times that meant that they were stretched, making the subject look thinner. While I don't think I'd get many complaints from some of the larger subjects, I would rather have a true representation of the subject. Therefore, I don't think I can use the PS Elements Batch Resize feature to solve my problem.
2. I can individually go into PS Elements, resize the picture to 1310xwhatever (constraining proportions), then resize the canvas to 1310x960, choosing what section of the picture I want to chop off since I've changed the resolution. This leaves me with a picture that, when dropped onto the timeline, fills the full screen with no black bars at the top or the bottom. In addition, the file size that I'm dealing with has dropped from 1.8MB to 1MB, when saved at maximum quality (level 12). If I save at medium quality (level 6), my file size drops almost by an order of magnitude to 182K, with only a very slight quality drop as far as I can tell, even when zoomed in on a picture in Vegas.
3. Finally, I can take the picture in it's native format, drop it on the timeline, select "Match Output Aspect" on the Event Pan & Crop, and presto, the image is automatically cropped, getting rid of the nasty black bars at the top & bottom of the screen.
So, given that option 1 is not realistic, I can choose option 2 or 3. Now option 2 is very time consuming, even at 1 minute per picture, it is more minutes than I want to spend, so I'd prefer option 3. My question is: if I let Vegas Match Output Aspect using my original, almost 2MB photos, is that going to cause me performance problems as I work on my project? Is there anything else I should take into consideration?
Thanks.
My project is 720x480, NTSC, and will be ultimately output to DVD using DVD Architect. Photos are all jpg.
If I use the photos in a pure native format (taken by another photographer), the dimensions of most pictures is 2272x1520, and the files are about 1.8MB. If I place that picture on the Vegas timeline with no adjustments, I get the black bars at the top & bottom of the screen. Of course, I expect this as I know that 2272x1520 is not the same aspect as 1310x960, which is the aspect ratio that I need to get rid of the black bars at the top & bottom.
So, I know of three ways to fix this problem, and I am looking for the best approach before I get too far along in the project.
1. I can use PS Elements to batch resize the pictures to 1310x960. I tried that, and I found that the aspect ratio was not constrained, and therefore, my pictures ended up looking different than the original. Most times that meant that they were stretched, making the subject look thinner. While I don't think I'd get many complaints from some of the larger subjects, I would rather have a true representation of the subject. Therefore, I don't think I can use the PS Elements Batch Resize feature to solve my problem.
2. I can individually go into PS Elements, resize the picture to 1310xwhatever (constraining proportions), then resize the canvas to 1310x960, choosing what section of the picture I want to chop off since I've changed the resolution. This leaves me with a picture that, when dropped onto the timeline, fills the full screen with no black bars at the top or the bottom. In addition, the file size that I'm dealing with has dropped from 1.8MB to 1MB, when saved at maximum quality (level 12). If I save at medium quality (level 6), my file size drops almost by an order of magnitude to 182K, with only a very slight quality drop as far as I can tell, even when zoomed in on a picture in Vegas.
3. Finally, I can take the picture in it's native format, drop it on the timeline, select "Match Output Aspect" on the Event Pan & Crop, and presto, the image is automatically cropped, getting rid of the nasty black bars at the top & bottom of the screen.
So, given that option 1 is not realistic, I can choose option 2 or 3. Now option 2 is very time consuming, even at 1 minute per picture, it is more minutes than I want to spend, so I'd prefer option 3. My question is: if I let Vegas Match Output Aspect using my original, almost 2MB photos, is that going to cause me performance problems as I work on my project? Is there anything else I should take into consideration?
Thanks.