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Making small text sharp
I am doing a video for a graphic design firm which has little experience in TV, and they are insisting on tiny little supers against black in some places. They are supplying Photoshop files at 720×540, and some of the supers are around 13 point. It’s a decent san-serif medium weight font, all caps.
It looks good in my 8 bit uncompressed timeline, but they are not happy with what happens to the text when it goes to DVD which is the final destination. To make matters worse, the think the type is too big, they want it smaller.
Does anyone have any tricks or tips on what I can recommend as an alternative?
Thanks in advance…
Have a wonderful day.
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11 Replies
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Reduce the OPACITY (to about 70% to 80%) which, over black, will make it a bit “grayer” and less of a high-contrast item for the compression.
Add a very small amount of guassian blur (say, .25 to 1.0).
This will “smooth-out” the crisp type edges over more scan lines. -
Compressor definitely does a lousy job with text for DVD if that’s what you’re using for that.
I’m just about to upgrade my copy of BitVice just for that reason. Our credit roll for our short film, which was done in 8bit 720p uncompressed HD, completely falls apart on the DVD which was done at about the highest settings I could muster in Compressor.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Excellent ideas guys, I have CompressionMaster3.2 Walt, think I will try that before buying BitVice.
Have a wonderful day.
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Chris,
Make sure to tell them that they are pushing the envelope using such a small size. If it looks decent on the new encode, they should be patting you on the back. I tend to stay away from anything less than a point size of 24.Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Seminar!
fcpworld.com -
Hey Telly,
Amen to THAT!
Have a wonderful day.
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>
I am doing a video for a graphic design firm which has little experience in TV, and they are insisting on tiny little supers against black in some places. < But they refuse to trust an expert? This can be a delicate situation but there are technical limits to all media, even the ones in which they think they are gods. Each of their presentation systems, print, photos, Web, inkjet, digital signage, whatever, has presented them with new challenges in legibility. Video is all about pixels and the illusion of clarity because the pixels either move or are blurry. Chris, if you get a chance, drop by later and tell us how you made out with these folks. Luck. bogiesan This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.” -
[Kevin Monahan] “they are pushing the envelope using such a small size”
They’re not ‘pushing’ the envelope, they’re outside the envelope!
[Kevin Monahan] “I tend to stay away from anything less than a point size of 24.”
Same here.
Arnie
https://www.arniepix.com -
The only time I use text smaller than 24 points is when I use it for a design element. It’s not meant to be legible in that instance….it’s too small or garbled – but hey, looks cool in certain instances as a pattern or a texture.
Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Seminar!
fcpworld.com -
Well I’ll be darned, the DVD made with Compression Master m2v files is about 40% sharper than the Compressor DVD. I’d go so far to say it is usable.
Thanks all!
Have a wonderful day.
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[Chris Poisson] “Well I’ll be darned, the DVD made with Compression Master m2v files is about 40% sharper than the Compressor DVD. I’d go so far to say it is usable.”
Good deal. Yeah, I’m finding that Apple’s Compressor is good for everyday run of the mill stuff, but if you really want a good quality MPEG-2 file, especially with legible text, you really need to look elsewhere.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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