Image Sizes and Resolution

[tmnader]

Starting a project of mostly pictures. The pictures I have are from a high end 15 mega pixel camera large file setting. I am going to have over 50 pictures in the movie. My guess is that this large of project will make PE7 sluggish and buggy. What size pictures should I be using to ensure a smooth running project, keeping the quality of pictures as a top objective?

[ATR]

tmnader

Whereas, you can think aspect ratios 3:2 for photos for printouts, for video we need to think aspect ratio of either 4:3 or 16:9. And, we need to think pixel dimensions, instead of inches, and aspect ratio of 4:3 or 16:9 for photos to be used in our videos.

The issue of photo size and number of photos....
a. What is the frame size dictated by your choice of video export type? Use of oversized photos is often the cause of Premiere Elements failures. In the case of my 8 MP camera, the resolution is 3264 x 2448. Say I want to create a DVD-VIDEO on a DVD disc for playback on the TV. If I am going to bring these photos into a Premiere Elements project (NTSC DV Standard) where the frame size is 720 x 480, the pixel dimensions of each photo should not exceed 1000x 750 pixels. The more work the program has to do to downsize the 3264 x 2448 to 720 x 480 creates problems/often failures. So, in my case for this example, I would batch resize my photos to 1000 x 750 before importing them into Premiere Elements. We can talk about other export routes, but the basic rule is the more work the program has to do to downsize your photos to the export standards the more problems/failures.

Let me know if you are planning on an export other than DVD-VIDEO. When you do, I will target your question better. You will need to explore batch resizing in Photoshop Elements. More details on that next time.

Remember, make sure that your computer system has the resources (available RAM and free hard drive space) to get the job done. The System Requirements cited by Adobe reflect minimum requirements. High resolution video is more demanding when it comes to resources.

Whatever you do, do mini test runs first....you may decide that resizing is cutting out portions of your photos or you need a little bit more to allow for pans & zooms in Premiere Elements or etc. etc.

To be continued....

ATR