(without stretching it or
losing quality)
1.
Start with an image
scanned at medium to high resolution, in the 1000 to 4000 pixel range.
2.
Open the image in
Photoshop. Make any changes you wish, such as dust and scratch removal or color
correction. Save As… to a new filename, such as scan_repaired.psd.
3.
Before proceeding, save
another copy of the file, so you don’t accidentally overwrite your high
resolution repaired scan. Save As… to a new filename, such as scan_video.psd.
4.
Figure out what digital
video format you are exporting to. The two primary NTSC formats are:
CCIR-601: 720 x 486 x 0.9 (for Zap-It, or Video Lab high-end
systems)
DV: 720 x 480 x
0.9 (for Speed Razor or FireWire)
5.
Resize the image,
remembering that 10% of the image will be lost on all four sides when the image
is viewed on video. To account for this, you must make the image smaller than
the full frame of video.
Select Image > Image Size from
the main menu. Look at the Pixel Dimensions. If the image is taller than
it is wide, it is a portrait aspect. If it is wider than it is tall, it is a
landscape aspect.
For portrait images, resample the image to be 480 pixels tall. Make sure Resample
is on and Constrain Proportions is on. Let Photoshop figure out how many
pixels wide the image should be.
For landscape images, resample the image to be 640 pixels wide. Make sure Resample
is on and Constrain Proportions is on. Let Photoshop figure out how many
pixels tall the image should be.
6.
You need to control the
background color for the image. To do this effectively, you must have two
layers, one for the image and one for the background.
Unlock the current image layer. Double-click the layer to get the New Layer
dialog, and click OK. The layer is now unlocked.
Create a new empty layer, and drag it to the bottom of the layer stack.
7.
Select Image >
Canvas Size from the main menu. Enter 720 pixels for the new canvas width,
and 540 pixels for the new canvas height.
8.
The image you scanned
is now a floating layer above a transparent background layer. Select the
background layer and use the Paint Bucket or Gradient tools to
create a background. Black is a good choice for video.
9.
Save the file, overwriting scan_video.psd.
10.
Now you must resample
the image again in order to compensate for the non-square pixels of digital
video. Select Image > Image Size. Turn OFF the Constrain Proportions option. This lets you resample
in only one dimension. Under Pixel Dimensions > Height, enter 480 or
486 pixels tall, depending on whether you’re outputting to DV or CCIR-601. The Width
must remain at 720 pixels.
You now have an image which is either 720 x 480, or 720 x 486, and looks
slightly stretched from side to side. This is normal. When you output it to video,
it will look OK.
By setting up your canvas to 720 x 540, when you resample it to 720 x 486 at
this later stage, you are downsampling instead of upsampling. This gives you
slightly better quality than if you set up your canvas to 648 x 486, and then upsampled
to 720 x 486.
11.
Save As… to a new filename, such as scan_dv.psd or scan_601.psd.
12.
Save As… a
copy of the file to the TGA (Targa)
format, so that the video hardware can accept it. Make sure to choose 24-bit in the Targa file format
options. Don’t use compression. (Targa’s compression is lossless, but some
video hardware may not accept that format.)
13.
You now have five
files:
a. original scan at high resolution
b. Photoshop file, retouched scan at high resolution
c. Photoshop file, with layers, resized to 720 x 540
d. Photoshop file, with layers, resized to 720 x 486 (or
720 x 480)
e. Targa file, no layers, no alpha channel, 720 x 486
(or 720 x 480)
Create a
CD-R of all five files to turn in for the assignment. Also, save all five files to your home directory.
NOTE: You can now bring your Targa file into Premiere
or your editing program of choice. Make sure your project is set up for the
correct format, either CCIR-601 or DV. The Targa file should drop right into
Premiere with no distortion and no resizing within the editing application.
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