Resolution/Export for Title Card for Film

[johnd1975]

Hi guys,

Just a couple of questions regarding exporting an image for use as a title card in a film.

Graphics is not my usual forte so bear with me.

So just finished a feature film and the temp image I created for the main title card we like and want to use in the final export.

It is a simple PSD with just the text layer for the name of the movie and a grunge/scratchy background masked into the text.

So basically the questions I have is to what resolution and format is best to deliver the image in...

(The aspect ratio of the film itself is Cinemascope at 2048x858.)

1. The original image I created was the same as the above resolution at 300dpi but now I'm wondering should it be 72 as seems to be the standard for Film and Video?

2. Also not sure if I should make the background transparent as I just have a standard black background layer?

3. Do I need to rasterize the image so as not to see any pixelation when blown up on a cinema screen?

(The font, BaseOne is a very thick sans-serif typeface)

4. If I do need to rasterize, can I simply do it in Photoshop or would it be better to bring the psd in Illustrator?

5. And what is the best export type for use in film? PSD, AI, PNG?

Thanking you in advance...

John

[c.pfaffenbichler]

»1. The original image I created was the same as the above resolution at 300dpi but now I'm wondering should it be 72 as seems to be the standard for Film and Video?«

The resolution is irrelevant, the pixel dimensions are what counts. 

If the requirement is 2048px x 858px then the important thing is that the image is 2048px x 858px, not what its resolution is. 

»2. Also not sure if I should make the background transparent as I just have a standard black background layer?«

Say what? Why would you want a transparent background? Is the image being blended with the moving images? 

»3. Do I need to rasterize the image so as not to see any pixelation when blown up on a cinema screen?

(The font, BaseOne is a very thick sans-serif typeface)«

Do you want to avoid pixelation by converting vector data into pixel data? 

[johnd1975]

Thanks for the reply c_pfaffenbichler.

1. Yes the original image has the same pixel count, just wondered if the dpi made any difference and if it was better to make it with a higher dpi than the default 72 for TV and Film. Or does this just relate to print quality?

2. The reason I asked about transparency was would the black in the bacground layer be at the same IRE levels if just the text with no background was appearing on a black video slate in an editing timeline.

3. Do you want to avoid pixelation by converting vector data into pixel data?

    I dont actually know, is there a chance of pixelation if I dont do this?

Again I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to workflow to produce high quality graphics for this type of output

[c.pfaffenbichler]

If the image is indeed used at the pixel dimensions you created the file at then pixelation would not exceed what you can see on your screen. 

If the image might be scaled, rotated, … providing it at higher dimensions or with the type/vector-data intact might be beneficial. To ensure that there are no type-issues you could convert the Type Layer to a Shape Layer (Type > Convert to Shape), but keep the original. 

As for the file-format: psd should work, but if possible you should clarify with the people doing the montage.