Understanding resolution for video

[Ambrosia7177]

@James Craner,

Hi, what may make your life a lot easier if you are going to use screenshots or graphics programs (Powerpoint or Keynote) to insert into your movie is to change your monitor resolution (temporarily) to match the video format. I occasionally produce screencast movies and I always set the resolution of my screen to 1920 x 1080 (HD 1080P) which is normally sufficient for screencasts. To do this I use an utility as out of the box Macs do not offer custom screen resolutions. The Utility that I use is called SwitchResX and costs $16.

As I was taking all of this time doings creenshots and posting in this thread, the answer sorta jumped out at me! 😊


Questions:
1.) Will changing my MacBook Pro Retina's screen resolution to 1920 X 1080 hurt anything?


2.) Is 1920 X 1080 (HD 1080) a good resolution/format to use in today's world?

I am learning iMovie so I can make videos to post to a YouTube channel I will be creating, AND I also want to learn how to do video tutorials where the video shows my Mac's entire screen while I am trying to teach the viewer how to do something. (If I can learn how to add a thumbnail of me talking that would be even betetr!)

So what format or whatever should I use to do all of that?


3.) Is SwichResX safe? Malware free?


4.) Is a "screenscast movie" what I described that I want to do?

I create the screencast in HD1080P (using screenflow)

5.) What do you mean "using screenflow"??

and use Keynote to create custom graphics for use in the video.

Later on in this thread, @Mr_Brightside_@ suggests just using Gimp.

6.) What are your thoughts on Keynote?

It seems to me that it would offer more flexibility - especially if I want my videos to look more businessy and PowerPoint-esque, but what do you think?


7.) What kinds of things do you create using Keynote?

I simply take a screenshot while setting SwitchresX to HD1080P. As the screen resolution is already set to 1920 x 1080, the screenshot can be added straight to the movie without adjustment. If you are going to take screenshots of your movie to then add graphic elements then this will save you a lot of headaches.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense!!

I have sooo much to learn about video creation!!

 

[James_C]

1.) Will changing my MacBook Pro Retina's screen resolution to 1920 X 1080 hurt anything?

It will not hurt your screen.

2.) Is 1920 X 1080 (HD 1080) a good resolution/format to use in today's world?

I am learning iMovie so I can make videos to post to a YouTube channel I will be creating, AND I also want to learn how to do video tutorials where the video shows my Mac's entire screen while I am trying to teach the viewer how to do something. (If I can learn how to add a thumbnail of me talking that would be even betetr!)

So what format or whatever should I use to do all of that?

HD1080p is perfect for You Tube Tutorials - iJustine, a popular Apple blogger on You Tube uses 1080P for her uploads and she has 6.4m subscribers!

3.) Is SwichResX safe? Malware free?

It is safe to use - I have had it for over 10 Years.

4.) Is a "screenscast movie" what I described that I want to do?

If you want to create tutorials by capturing your screen then this is normally referred to as a screencast.

5.) What do you mean "using screenflow"??

Screenflow is a dedicated software application that allows you to easily capture and edit screencast movies. If you want to create good looking tutorials, screen flow is the app to use. There are other applications out there, but most will agree that screenflow is the best. It is $129 though, but they have a trial so you can check it out.

6.) What are your thoughts on Keynote?

It seems to me that it would offer more flexibility - especially if I want my videos to look more businessy and PowerPoint-esque, but what do you think?

Looking back at your posts I can see you want to create text to overlay on the video. This is something I use Screenflow for and it is very powerful.

7.) What kinds of things do you create using Keynote?

To be honest Screenflow is so powerful these days, there are not many things I use Keynote for. I tend to use it to build standard title screens, then just add text for video specifics. Sometimes I will build a custom animation in keynote.

I hope that helps. To be honest you only need Screenflow and SwitchresX and a decent microphone (If you are going to add voice) for screencast tutorials.

 

[ian87w]

I am trying to learn how to put text on top of the video (i.e. I still want to see the video in the background).

Can you just put the text as "Titles" in iMovie itself instead?
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2.) Is 1920 X 1080 (HD 1080) a good resolution/format to use in today's world?

I am learning iMovie so I can make videos to post to a YouTube channel I will be creating, AND I also want to learn how to do video tutorials where the video shows my Mac's entire screen while I am trying to teach the viewer how to do something. (If I can learn how to add a thumbnail of me talking that would be even betetr!)

So what format or whatever should I use to do all of that?

Yes, 1080p is the standard.

For creating video tutorials showing your Mac's screen, If you want the screen to fill the whole 1080p frame, then simply set your Mac's screen resolution to 1080p in Settings and do a screen recording with Quicktime. But maybe you don't have to. You can always screen record just a part of your screen if you desire. In Quicktime, search Help for "Screen Recording."

Adding a video of yourself is simple. Of course you want to record yourself beforehand (maybe by using a phone on a tripod). Then in iMovie, simply search Help for "Picture in Picture," and it will show you the instructions how to do it.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@James Craner,

Thanks for the latest comments.

Before responding to your advice, I want to back up a moment because I'm still confused why I got the unexpected results that I did.

I just did another test, and it appears the problem is Prsentation and not me, but who knows.

Here is what I did...

- in iMovie, I found a frame where I wanted to overlay text.
- I maximized the viewer
- I used macOS's screen capture to drag out a "1280 X 720" screen capture, which is the same aspect ratio as "1920 X 1080".
- In LibreOffice Presentation, I pasted this captured frame
- In Presenation, under Slide > Properties I have Format: Screen 16:9 chosen.
- I added some text over the capture video frame.
- In Presentation, I chose File > Export
- Save As PNG
- PNG Options...

Width: 1920 pixels
Height: 1080 pixels
Resulton: 96 pixels/inch
Compression: 6
Interlaced: True
Save Transparency: False

- Here is the file I got...

Presentation: BackgroundImage+Text

Looks good so far...


- Next, I went back into Presentation, and deleted the background image, keeping the text.
- I followed the same steps above, but this time choosing Save Transperency: True because I want the text slide to be overlaid on a video frame and have the video and the text appear.
- Here is the file I got...

Presentation: Text Only

This does NOT look okay! (It should look like the image above, just minus the background image...)


Next, here is a screenshot of iMovie showing how I have a "cut away" of my PNG file from Presentation with a background image + text. And since the PNG image is NOT transparent, the cut away shows and the background video frame is covered over.


iMovie: Opaque Cut away of "Test_BackgroundImage+Text.png"

Finally, here is a screenshot of iMovie showing how I have a 2nd "cut away", but this time it is of the PNG file from Presentation with text only. And since the PNG image IS transparent, the cut away shows ALONG WITH the underlying video frame.

Of course the problem is that the text is distorted, and does not match what I created in Presentation when I had both a background image and text...


iMovie: Transparent Cut away of "Test_TextOnly.png"

So where are things getting screwed up in my workflow??

Is it something that I am doing wrong, OR is this a limitation of LibreOffice Presentation??


And I'd like to first understand these things, before someone says, "Why not just use application XYZ?!"

My goal is to *learn* and not just copy and paste!!

Thanks!!

 

[jayducharme]

I would make the slides in GIMP, that's what I did. Stop bothering with Libre and Keynote.

I agree. I do that all the time (using Affinity Photo). You could also use Seashore, which is like GIMP but easier to learn and also free.

Seashore

All you need to do is create a document that's 1920x1080 pixels with a transparent background. I use a black background if I'm making a title card. Add your text and when you're done export it as a PNG.

 

[James_C]

Hi,

I am not familiar with LibreOffice Presentation but I can see what is going on. When you delete the background and ask it to export the text as a png file in 1080p format the only thing it sees is the two text boxes that are no longer in a 1080P format as the image was deleted, so it stretches the two text boxes to fit the 1080P format requested. Hence it not doing what you want. In the Image below I am trying to show what I mean, as the only data that is left is the two text boxes in the red rectangle it then nearly stretches them out to fit the 1080P format, causing the problem you are seeing.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@James Craner,

HOME RUN!!!


That is *exactly* the kind of learning I needed to do!!

So, the solution to that would be simply to stretch the text boxes to the entire width of the screen, and then when I delete the background image, I should be good, right?

(Of course there are many ways to do what I need, but I am big on understanding different approaches and why the do and do not work, because that makes me better at what I do!)

 

[James_C]

@James Craner,

HOME RUN!!!


That is *exactly* the kind of learning I needed to do!!

So, the solution to that would be simply to stretch the text boxes to the entire width of the screen, and then when I delete the background image, I should be good, right?

(Of course there are many ways to do what I need, but I am big on understanding different approaches and why the do and do not work, because that makes me better at what I do!)

Actually as suggested by jayducharme, you may just be able to use a transparent background. Create your file as normal with the transparent background attached. Then add your screenshot. Then add your text and delete the screenshot leaving the translucent background (and your text) - which is a 1080P png file. below is the background - which may be difficult to see but click below and you should be able to export it.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

@James Craner,

I guess I didn't completely understand @jayducharme's suggestion...

Actually as suggested by jayducharme, you may just be able to use a transparent background. Create your file as normal with the transparent background attached. Then add your screenshot. Then add your text and delete the screenshot leaving the translucent background (and your text) - which is a 1080P png file. below is the background - which may be difficult to see but click below and you should be able to export it.

When you mentioned "transparent background" I thought you were talking about inside Presentation.

But I guess you have to use some tool to create a transparent background IMAGE, right?

And I would need to make that be 1920 X 1080, right?


1.) Is the invisible image below 1920 X 1080?

2.) Could I create such an image in Presentation, or would I need a fancier tool like Photoshop or Gimp or something?

3.) How would I save your sample for use? (I cannot seem to select it.)

 

[James_C]

You are correct in the post above - make a translucent PNG file. However I have done it for you as I am not sure the presentation tool will allow you to make a translucent image file with nothing in it. I used Affinity Photo to create this that actually has a preset for all standard video resolutions including 1080P. See the video below to show you how to download it.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

You are correct in the post above - make a translucent PNG file. However I have done it for you as I am not sure the presentation tool will allow you to make a translucent image file with nothing in it. I used Affinity Photo to create this that actually has a preset for all standard video resolutions including 1080P. See the video below to show you how to download it.

OMG! You're in my place!!

That soooo coool!!

So nice to meet you!

By the way, your video is one of the things that I am trying to learn how to do.

 

[Dave Braine]

If I create the txet in software like Keynote or PResentation and the slide I am creating has a solid background, then when I import that into iMovie you won't see the video in the background, THUS the need for a TRANSPARENT baclground in the slide youc reate in Keynote/Presentation/powerPoint/etc...

This video shows how to use iMovie's Green Screen feature so that video is visible through the text. If you do the same but use a green background and text colour of your choice, then you will see the text on top of the video.

 

[James_C]

Hi Texas, I have been playing with Keynote, which is Apple's free Presentation App. It is very powerful as shown by Dave Braine's post above. I think it will be much easier to use than LibreOffice for what you want to do. It means that you don't have to bother about importing translucent images into the presentation to preserve the aspect ratio on export.
I have put together a brief tutorial screencast to show how to do it.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Hi Texas, I have been playing with Keynote, which is Apple's free Presentation App. It is very powerful as shown by Dave Braine's post above. I think it will be much easier to use than LibreOffice for what you want to do. It means that you don't have to bother about importing translucent images into the presentation to preserve the aspect ratio on export.
I have put together a brief tutorial screencast to show how to do it.

Hi James!

After wasting my entire Thursday nigth and alld ay (and night) Friday, Iw as *finally* able to get Mojove instaleld on a blank disk, download Keynote on that Mojave blank disk, then go back to teh App Store on my Sierra MBP, and finallyd ownload an older compatible version for macOS Sierra.

So I now have Keynote on the Retina MBP I am using to learn iMovie.

Yeah, based on all of the videos on YouTube, it seems like Keynote is the go-to application for doing static slides with iMovie.

Was up until 5am struggling with Mojave/Keynote... After my shower, I will spend the rest fo the weekend immersed in iMovie, and will check out your last posts shortly!

Thanks!

 

[James_C]

Great looks like you are now set up. Good luck with your iMovie project. Keep us posted on how your are getting on.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Hi Texas, I have been playing with Keynote, which is Apple's free Presentation App. It is very powerful as shown by Dave Braine's post above. I think it will be much easier to use than LibreOffice for what you want to do. It means that you don't have to bother about importing translucent images into the presentation to preserve the aspect ratio on export.
I have put together a brief tutorial screencast to show how to do it.

Sorry, but your video doesn't play on my computer in either Firefox or Chrome...

 

[James_C]

Sorry, but your video doesn't play on my computer in either Firefox or Chrome...

That is strange as I uploaded the video to Vimeo, which encoded the video and published it on its platform. It is similar to YouTube but without the adverts. Video plays fine in Safari on my Mac and iPad. What error message do you get ?
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Here is the Vimeo link to take you direct to the site. Does that work ?

 

[James_C]

Just tried Firefox on my computer and works fine. I won't use Chrome as I don't particularly trust Google.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

That is strange as I uploaded the video to Vimeo, which encoded the video and published it on its platform. It is similar to YouTube but without the adverts. Video plays fine in Safari on my Mac and iPad. What error message do you get ?
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Here is the Vimeo link to take you direct to the site. Does that work ?

@James Craner,

I am on my old Mac here, and there must be a browser compatability issue.

Checked out your link on my Retina and was able to view it.

Awesome video - thank you very much for the personalized tutorial!

 

[James_C]

@Texas_Toast,

You are welcome, I hope you found it useful.