PhotoShop for Video Tips and Tricks

Photoshop 8.0 did not follow Photoshop 7.0 - Photoshop CS did!

The new name said: "Not only is Photoshop new, not only is it available on its own, but it is available as part of Adobe's new Creative Suite' - hence, the CS.

The fact that Photoshop is bundled and even more tightly integrated with other Adobe programs is in itself significant, but Photoshop CS is a major upgrade on it own.

It includes several new features: the File Browser function is now accessed through a button, not a tab. Preview panes are enlarged and it's easier to see and select images.

Particularly for videographers, the new program includes special features and functions, not the least of which is its ability to correct pixel aspect ratio for non-square pixels, those extracted or captured from digital video sources.

As such, some tried and true Photoshop tips need updating or revising for the latest version:

I.
Creating an Image for Video Use

Select >File, >New.

Create a canvas with size of 720 pixels width by 540 pixels height and a resolution of 72 dpi.

Design the graphic.

To have layers recognized in Premiere or After Effects, save the graphic as a PhotoShop (.psd) file.

Re-sample (do NOT resize) the image to 720 pixels wide by 486 pixels high at 72 dpi and export as a file type recognized by an editing system (TIFF or PICT, for example.)

After: In Photoshop CS (v 8.0):
Select >File, >New.
Choose from among several presets, including DV, DV, NTSC or PAL video formats. Also make note of color profile and Pixel Aspect Ratio drop down menus for (square) standard definition 4 x 3 and (non-square) widescreen 16 x 9 imagery. By default, non-square pixel documents open with the Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction enabled. This scales and previews the image as it will appear on a video monitor.

(Using the new templates in Photoshop CS is great; it's just about the easiest way imaginable to make sure imported imagery will be video-friendly.

But wait...what about that warning message that pops up each time? Well, that Adobe saying that anything copied to or created using the selected file template will be rendered into non-square pixels, and optimized for video. Just click OK; it's a background function.

II.
Legalize It!

Select >Filters >Video>NSTC Colors.

III.
Tips for Viewing Pixel Aspect Ratios:

IV.
Creating Graphics for DV/D1.

V.
Scale To Fit

VI.
Safe Title/Safe Action Guides

Some say our television standard, NTSC, stands for Never Twice the Same Color - it can also easily mean Never Twice the Same Composition!

It's a frustrating fact: no one can truly guarantee just how a program will look on someone's TV set - the color may be different, and even the overall display area can change from set to set. To the rescue comes title guides, showing the area on a TV screen inside which titles and text will safely appear in most cases; about 80% of overall screen size is OK. For on-screen action, about 90% of the screen is safe to use in most cases. In Photoshop version 7.x and earlier, broadcast TV safe title or safe action guides were not featured. So good work-arounds and tips to make your own became popular. Among the DIY approaches, here's one for creating safe action and safe title overlays:

Before

1. Create a new file with pixel dimensions 720 x 534 for NTSC square pixels. PAL users should specify 768 x 576 pixels. 2. Make sure the rulers are visible:
(>View, >Show Rulers).
3. Control-click (Mac) / right-click (Windows) in the top horizontal ruler to set display units to Percent. 4. Select Snap to Guides to make it active
(>View>Snap To>Guides).
5. Make the Info palette visible
(>Windows>Show Info).
6. Use the Move Tool (Windows keyboard command V) to drag out a guide from the left edge towards the right by clicking in the vertical ruler. You can constrain the X value to increments of ten per cent by press the shift key. Release it when the guide reaches 90%. Repeat this process to drag another guide to the 10% mark.
7. Using the Move Tool click on the horizontal ruler and drag out a guide to the right. Pressing the shift key constrains the X value to 10% increments; release the guide when it reaches 90%. Repeat the process to drag a guide to the 10% mark.
(Occasionally, the Y value changes slightly to a different percentage when the mouse is released (like 90.1%). It shouldn't be a major problem if you are off a wee bit. 8. Use the Rectangular Marquee Tool (keyboard command M) to click and drag an area defined by the guides. 9. Invert the selection.
(>Select>Inverse)
10. Fill the selection with 100% black.
11. Unlock the Layers Palette.
12. Change the layer opacity to 50%.
13. Rename the layer and lock it to prevent changes.
14. New content layers can be added below the title safe overlay layer.

After

Now, of course, with the video-friendly features of Photoshop CS added in, things are much easier:

Choose >File >New >Presets for safe TV action and title guide lines. Text should always fall inside the text (innermost) box; critical on-screen action should be inside the action (outermost) box, but imagery should always extend from edge to edge on the screen (or canvas).

Tip:

To hide the guides, hit Control H (Windows) or Command H; hit the keys again to turn the guides back on.

VII.
Scanning Tips

Of course, these settings are way beyond what video really needs - 72 dpi. The extra pixels will be useful when adjusting sizes, adding motion, creating new backgrounds or transparencies, and when applying other special effects.

VIII.
Using Logos

When the background is white, this can be a straightforward process to isolate the image, but even with Luma key capability, the final result may not be that good, even after tweaking it with Threshold and Cutoff controls

A great alternate approach is to replace the white with green; the green screen key capability in Adobe Premiere Pro is really good; it will read anything green as a zero value element.

Create a new path layer with the Pen tool around the logo itself, copy it and take it over onto a plain background.

With a good green color preset in the Picker, use the Paint Bucket to fill the white background. It's a crude tool, but using the Zoom Tool/magnifier, Fill, Spray or Paint tools can be used to get rid of all the white.

Then, in Premiere Pro (or other editing application with good green screen chromakey capabilities), open a new title, and import your graphic into the Title Designer. Select >Insert logo.

In the Effects control screen, select >Green Screen Effect, and use the Threshold and Cutoff commands to fine tune; you can also select >Smooth and set it to High for best results.

IX.
Extracting Elements from an Image

Here's one approach:
Use the Path Tool or Pen Tool to create an outline and select the figure in the foreground.

The Feather setting in the Select menu can be used to apply a softer edge.

Once the figure is cut from the background, paste it into a new foreground layer (a blank space in the background will be left, where the foreground element used to be.) In the layers palette, turn off the foreground element visibility and select the background layer. Use Photoshop's Cloning Brush or Healing Brush, clone the background image into the edges of the blank area. When you move the foreground element in After Effects, for example, the background will appear complete and the cut will not show.

The Extract features is another approach:
Extract is very handy when you need remove a subject that's surrounded other elements or textures, like a person standing in front of plants in the background, or even alongside people. Basically, a border is dragged-and-dropped around the selected element in an image; the area to be extracted is then filled.

To use Extract Image:
1. Open an image.
2. Select >Image >Extract (>Filter >Extract in CS) and a working dialog box will appear. 3. Select the pen (Edge Highlighter Tool) to draw around and highlight a border on the object to be extracted. 4. Use the bucket tool to fill the area that you want to keep. 5. Click preview and tweak the options to get the best results. Preview extracted images against backgrounds of different colors. Either the fill or the background can be highlighted by making choices in drop-down menu next to Show. 6. Click OK and the chosen image will be isolated.
7. Clean up the edges of the subject with the History Brush or the regular eraser. Experiment with brush size, border sharpness and the preview mode; even the tiniest detail, like a strand of hair or a leaf on a tree, can be included in or excluded from an image. An eraser and touch-up tool are also available.

X.
Cutting Through the Background:

Simply double click in the Layers palette; a dialog box for naming the "new Layer' will appear.

Once it is renamed, any cuts or deletions to a selected area will become transparent to the background.

This is very handy for putting simple text or logos over video; or when creating masks and traveling mattes.

XI.

Images Get A Level Playing Field

Depending on the monitor you use, and the color space settings applied to your work, you may want to limit or otherwise control the display from Photoshop.

Select >Image >Adjust >Levels (or >Layer >New Adjustment Layer) to control and adjust the black and white levels in your image output.

The default Output is usually 0 and 255, as indicated by dialog boxes and two draggable triangles. Most monitors will display images destined for TV more accurately with settings of 16 and 235.

Click on the preview box to quickly and easily see the overall corrections and adjustments.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to see exactly what pixels are being used for white and black adjustments. If so, hold down the Alt key (on a PC; the Option key on Macs) to show image threshold as you drag the slider back and forth. The image will be re-mapped in high contrast to help the differentiation.