Starting out: resolution, and video S/W (answered thanks)

Posted:Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:16 pm

Hi,

I'm just getting started with animation. I'm hoping to create a fake TV show title sequence using a number of short render clips. I anticipate sharing it on the web (youtube).

I have a couple of questions about resolution and software and would be grateful for a couple of pointers.

Question 1

I'm assuming the use of a 4:3 aspect ratio. I was initially thinking of a 320:240 video, but see that youtube recommend 640x480. I just wondered, what size do people generally render for the web?

Obviously, smaller renders are quicker, but I don't want to get well into the project and then find I should have gone for bigger.

Question 2

I think I need better video S/W than Windows Movie Maker or Arcsoft showbiz, but don't want to spend a lot on what could be a 1-off project..

In particular I want to be able to control fades and left-hand justify a 1:1 (or other) video in a 4:3 frame. I don't see why I should have to render 4:3 when I don't want to fill the frame. (For example, I want a video on the left of the frame and text on the right.)

After checking in this forum I've trialled Corel VideoStudio 12 with some success.
I've also trialled Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 9.0 and fell at the 1st hurdle - couldn't see how to reposition a 1:1 video in the 4:3 frame.

Anyone know if Sony Vegas can reposition videos in the frame? I don't want to reject it unnecessarily.

Anyone have a strong opinion between these two pieces of software, or care to recommend something in that price range that would do the job?

Thanks,
Epi

Joined: 01 Jul 2004 Posts: 2782

1. 640 by 480 is good
2. I would start with MS Movie maker - works fine for making animation for youtube

Posted:Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:17 pm

Thanks. I tried MS Movie Maker and couldn't make it do what I wanted.

I finally got Vegas to left-justify by 1:1 video in a 4:3 frame using the Zoom/Pan feature (I found that feature early on, but at first it didn't seem to do what I wanted).

Still undecided between Vegas and MovieStudio.

Is 30 frames per second good?

Thanks,
Epi

Posted:Sat Nov 07, 2009 7:06 pm

Epithumia wrote:

Hi,

I'm just getting started with animation. I'm hoping to create a fake TV show title sequence using a number of short render clips. I anticipate sharing it on the web (youtube).

I have a couple of questions about resolution and software and would be grateful for a couple of pointers.

Question 1

I'm assuming the use of a 4:3 aspect ratio. I was initially thinking of a 320:240 video, but see that youtube recommend 640x480. I just wondered, what size do people generally render for the web?

320x240 is really, really small, and image size doesn't make much difference to the render time, only to the filesize. Go for 640x480 as a minimum.

Quote:

Obviously, smaller renders are quicker, but I don't want to get well into the project and then find I should have gone for bigger.

Question 2

I think I need better video S/W than Windows Movie Maker or Arcsoft showbiz, but don't want to spend a lot on what could be a 1-off project..

In particular I want to be able to control fades and left-hand justify a 1:1 (or other) video in a 4:3 frame. I don't see why I should have to render 4:3 when I don't want to fill the frame. (For example, I want a video on the left of the frame and text on the right.)

After checking in this forum I've trialled Corel VideoStudio 12 with some success.
I've also trialled Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD 9.0 and fell at the 1st hurdle - couldn't see how to reposition a 1:1 video in the 4:3 frame.

Anyone know if Sony Vegas can reposition videos in the frame? I don't want to reject it unnecessarily.

Yes, it can. The keyword to look for is "pan".
"■Zoom, rotate, and pan across photos to animate still images in your movies"

Oops - I shouldn't leave threads open while I go and do something else... I see you found this Smile

Quote:

Anyone have a strong opinion between these two pieces of software, or care to recommend something in that price range that would do the job?

Thanks,
Epi

I'm a big fan on Sony's Video software and think of Corel mainly as a company who buys up old products and sells them without enhancement for a few years until they die. However, I've absolutely no idea if this applies to VideoStudio or not (they bought it from Ulead)

Joined: 01 Jul 2004 Posts: 2782

"Is 30 frames per second good?"

yes - you could try 18 to 30

Posted:Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:20 am

Thanks for your help. This will really help me to get started.

I'll go for 640x480, although I remain to be convinced that it won't be slow. Smile

I'll go for 30fps, because on top of everything else I now have a reference video at that rate.

I'm also leaning towards Sony Vegas - a clincher is that I think I can put my reference video into one of its channels and mute (hide) it. With Corel I can load the reference video, but don't think I can hide it.

Epi