Broadcast Graphics When you need the best output possible

Broadcast Graphics When you need the best output possible Richard Harrington RHED Pixel www.rhedpixel.com www.rastervector.com PowerPoint Live 2007 New Orleans, October 28-31

About Richard Harrington Richard Harrington, PMP RHED Pixel (www.rhedpixel.com) Adobe Certified Expert & Trainer Apple Certified Trainer Avid Certified Instructor & Master Editor Project Management Professional AVMMP Top Producer s List Teach courses on digital media production and web content creation

Books by Richard Harrington

Blogs by Richard Harrington Photoshop for Video Video and Motion Graphics Pros Raster Vector Graphics Professionals and Enthusiasts

Podcasts by RHED Pixel Understanding Adobe Photoshop Photoshop for Video On Microsoft On Security Peachpit Author Tips

Objective Does your presentation have aspirations of becoming a TV star? If your presentation is going to end up on a television screen, there are rules to follow, guidelines to observe, and requirements to heed. This session unlocks the essential design principles of taking your presentations to the big, um, to the glass screen.

Agenda Understanding the television screen and its limitations Typographic principles for television Choosing the right colors for the screen Exporting slides for television Optimizing slides with Adobe Photoshop

Understanding Video Standards

Competing Video Standards Video traces its history to early pioneers such as John Logie Baird, who managed to record a recognizable human face on video in 1925. The first microcomputer appeared in 1960, developed by Digital Equipment, priced at a mere $120,000 (it did include a keyboard and mouse). These two technologies existed very independently of each other for many years. All computer pixels are square in their native format. Professional video applications often use pixels that are non-square.

How to Avoid Bad Slides Limit fonts used Use a heavy font Avoid stock templates 3-7 bullets per page A bullet is 2-5 words Readability test

Understanding the Television Screen and its Limitations

What s the Big Deal? Video is a unique creature; it does not enjoy the careful management that other formats do. To make things worse, there s a standards war going on between multiple formats, digital versus analog, standard versus widescreen. Let s just say, your job isn t easy. I want to establish a few key terms immediately to help us move forward.

What is Aspect Ratio? Aspect Ratio Television is generally a 4X3 aspect ratio, while widescreen is a 16X9 aspect ratio.

What is Image Mode? Image mode For video, work in RGB mode for consistent results with video software.

What is Anti-Aliasing? Anti-aliasing Anti-aliasing causes a gentle blending of the colors along the edge of an image. It is often used to reduce flicker. This technique is effective for straight lines and text, to create a smoother composite of foreground and background elements.

What are Nonsquare Pixels? Non-square pixels. Your own personal demon. These cause more problems for more people than anything else about video graphics.

What are Nonsquare Pixels? Non-square pixels. In a nutshell, computers traditionally work with square pixels (1.0 aspect); most standard definition digital video works with non-square pixels while High Definition works with both square and non-square pixels..

What are Nonsquare Pixels? Square Pixel: 4 X 3 Aspect Ratio Non-Square Pixel: DV Aspect Ratio

What are Nonsquare Pixels?

Common Sizes for Graphics Format 4 X 3 Aspect Ratio (Square Pixels) 16 X 9 Aspect Ratio (Square Pixels) Native Size Nonsquare Pixels NTSC D1 PAL D1 NTSC DV PAL DV 648 X 486 or 720 X 540 768 X 576 or 720 X 540 640 X 480 or 720 X 534 768 X 576 or 720 X 540 860 X 486 720 X 486 1024 X 576 720 X 576 860 X 480 720 X 480 1024 X 576 720 X 576

Go Deeper into Video Pixels Looking for a more scientific (and mathematical) version? There s a Quick Guide to Digital Video Resolution and Aspect Ratio Conversions that takes a much deeper look at the issues. You can find it here http://www.iki.fi/znark/video/conversion/. Be warned, while it may be quick, it s not easy.

Typographic Principles for Television

Safe Title Area Same as Bleed in Print Action Safe - 90% of image Title Safe - 80% of image

Safe Title Area

Safe Title Area Same as Bleed in Print Action Safe - 90% of image Title Safe - 80% of image Critical safety margin How to Create a Safe Title Area Overlay

Safe Title Area Launch Photoshop Create a New Document 10 X 7.5 in @ 96 ppi Open Actions Palette and run Title Safe Overlay Unlock Layer Add a Stroke Around Outermost Edge Leave Background Transparent Save as PNG-24 Add to PowerPoint

Font Weight The most useful fonts are those that have multiple weights. A font will generally have a book (or roman) weight. A font family may also include Light, Medium, Bold, Black, Italic, and more alternates. These alternates are helpful in designing effective screen graphics because you can cut down on the number for fonts used and stick with one font family.

Appearance on Screen Some fonts are meant for printing only. This fact is easier to accept if you remember that the print industry has been around a heck of a lot longer than the television industry. Test your fonts. If they are too busy or have too many elaborate serifs, make them inactive or remove them from your system.

Appearance on Screen Many modern fonts look particularly good on screen. Some recent additions include Georgia, Verdana, Myriad, Impact, Trebuchet, Gill Sans, Helvetica Neue, and Futura. These are just a few of the fonts that have been optimized for viewing on computer displays. Any font marked as optimized for web output is also well suited for video work.

Appearance on Screen

Working with Type Choosing the right font Serif vs. Sans Serif Careful with colors Check kerning Type on pattern Improving Readability Aliasing Options

Choosing the Right Colors for the Screen

Analog Video Levels

Analog Video Levels Exceeding Certain Brightness Values Can Cause Problems When Showing On Television You Oftentimes Can Hear the Issue Can Cause Visual Problems

Analog Video Levels

Important Color Issues When building your slides, there are certain color issues you need to keep in mind. Video has a different contrast ratio then a computer screen; in fact its dynamic range is smaller. This means you cannot use as great a range of colors. Video is about a 15% narrower range then a computer screen.

Important Color Issues Instead of using high contrast color combinations, try using tints of the same color. Certain colors, like bright red and yellow may cause issues on a television screen Try to avoid using pure white and pure black; instead use off-white and a very dark gray.

Exporting Slides for Television

Analog Video Levels Method 1 Fix in PowerPoint Adjust Slide Masters Avoid RGB Values Above 235 and Below 16 Method 2 Fix in Photoshop Load Video Actions in Actions Palette Run Batch (File > Automate > Batch) Use DVD Slideshow Action Use Broadcast Safe Action Use Interlace Flicker Removal Action

Optimizing slides with Adobe Photoshop

General Guidelines Important to allow padding at edges if intended for use on a television. Make sure text is larger so it can stand up to compression. Consider post-processing exported presentation.

Converting Slides to a Stills Click the Office Button Choose Save As > Other Formats Select TIFF or PNG Export All Slides to a Folder Post-Process Using Reduce Interlace Flicker Action in Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3

Using Photoshop to Optimize You can export your slides from PowerPoint as a series of still images. For best results, utilize Adobe Photoshop to optimize your images. Utilize the Video Actions set which can be loaded from the Actions palette submenu.

Using a Scan Converter

Scan Converter Manufacturers Canopus TwinPact 100 Kramer Electronics (multiple options) - Pro TV One (multiple options) Pro AJA (multiple options) Pro Focus TView Grandtec (multiple options) AVerMedia (multiple options)

Resources

Web Resources www.photoshopforvideo.com www.rastervector.com www.fmctraining.com www.dv-forums.com www.creativecow.net www.focalpress.com www.peachpit.com www.layersmagazine.com www.rhedpixel.com

Books by Richard Harrington

Blogs by Richard Harrington Photoshop for Video Video and Motion Graphics Pros Raster Vector Graphics Professionals and Enthusiasts

Broadcast Graphics When you need the best output possible Richard Harrington RHED Pixel www.rhedpixel.com www.rastervector.com PowerPoint Live 2007 New Orleans, October 28-31