What Image Resolution to Work with in AE ?

[Matrub Jones]

Depends…

if you are going to be scaling these images in After Effects past 100%, then you should use 150dpi.

Generally I like to work at twice the size and twice the resolution to maintain best image resolution. Also, vector shapes are also better then raster shapes…especially with rounded edges.

[Darby Edelen]

[Matrub Jones] “if you are going to be scaling these images in After Effects past 100%, then you should use 150dpi.”

DPI doesn’t apply in video work. It’s just a matter of the pixel dimensions. 720×480 is still 720×480 no matter how many DPI the PSD has.

DPI applies to print.

Darby Edelen

[Ben Matt]

That I know. But still if you set your DPI to 150 instead of 72 you do get a better image quality, regardless of DPI being only in reference to print.

I create powerpoint slideshows. When you do 1024 x 768 at 72dpi you get a normal quality slideshow. When you design your backgrounds and images in photoshop at 150dpi 1024 x 768 and then bring them into powerpoint they are much sharper and better looking.

So based on this understanding, i posted my question on resolution.

🙂

[Matrub Jones]

In my opinion, it’s still good practice. According to this theory, a resolution of 1dpi would matter just as much as 72.

[Ben Matt]

Agreed 🙂

[Darby Edelen]

[Ben Matt] “That I know. But still if you set your DPI to 150 instead of 72 you do get a better image quality, regardless of DPI being only in reference to print.”

If you start with a 72 DPI image in Photoshop and use Image Size to change to 150 DPI with the ‘Resample Image’ checkbox selected then you are increasing the pixel resolution of the image. This is not a good thing if you have completed your work, but if you’re just starting and have not put anything in the canvas yet then it’s the same thing as creating a new canvas at 208.33% the size you specified for your original 72 DPI canvas (no matter what the DPI of the new canvas).

To clarify:

Starting with a 1024×768 72 DPI image you use Image Resize to 150 DPI with ‘Resample Image’ selected and end up with a 2133×1600 150 DPI image. These two images have the same print size, but radically different pixel resolutions. The pixel resolution is the only thing that matters in video.

If you do not have the ‘Resample Image’ checkbox selected then the pixel resolution does not change and the print size is decreased (in our case, if you’re lowering DPI the print size increases).

I’m not sure how much of this is redundant information for you, but hopefully it clarified something.

[Ben Matt] “When you do 1024 x 768 at 72dpi you get a normal quality slideshow. When you design your backgrounds and images in photoshop at 150dpi 1024 x 768 and then bring them into powerpoint they are much sharper and better looking.”

I’m not sure how PowerPoint is working, but based on this it sounds like it’s doing something entirely funky or we don’t have the whole story. Your 1024×768 72 DPI image and your 1024×768 150 DPI image have exactly the same number of pixels… There should be no difference what so ever in on screen resolution, unless the application is scaling the image down for ‘print preview’ based on the DPI information.

Darby Edelen

[Darby Edelen]

[Matrub Jones] “In my opinion, it’s still good practice. According to this theory, a resolution of 1dpi would matter just as much as 72.”

Which is true in video. If it helps you conceptually to use a standard DPI that’s all well and good. But it literally does not matter at all to AE whether you use 1 DPI or 10,000 DPI.

Darby Edelen

[Jason Milligan]

To reinforce what Darby and Dave are saying,
DPI means “dots per inch” but should actually say “pixels per inch.” (DPI in Photoshop is actually PPI)
It is the number of pixels used to print 1inX1in.
It means nothing in video. It is only a reference for print quality or scanning quality.

[Ben Matt]

Well, maybe i should word my question differently:

If I have a digital photograph with a size of 2400 x 3500. Should I resize it to fit in the 720 x 480 size and then bring my photoshop PSD file into AE, or should I work with the big size digital photo right in AE and just resize (scale) it their ?

What do you have to do to maintain crispness and clarity when you design in photoshop and then bring your design into AE ?

I hope this clarifies more what I want to ask ?

[Ben Matt]

This makes sense Dave. 🙂 Photoshop is my tool of trade, but I am brand new to AE. And to answer your other question about animating or scaling, I would indeed be animating my design’s position.

Let me give an example of a company that designs all their products in photoshop, brings them into AE and then animates them. Their video, VWM, MPEG1, or MPEG4 no matter which format is crisp and clear and they use the following settings:

https://powerpointsermons.com/_Candle_Light_Service_b-7753.html

“This Motion Background “Candle Light Service” is a full DV resolution (720×480) at 30fps (frames per second), so they’ll look crystal-clear on TVs, projectors, and even the web. Additionally, we guarantee that “Candle Light Service” will be compatible with any worship software program. You can download “Candle Light Service” in the three major formats: MPEG1, MPEG4 or WMV. ”

If I want to animate, say something similar to the example I gave, what format, size, quality should I be using inside Photoshop before bringing it into AE to retain the same crispness they do in their example ?