Importing still images to Premiere Pro CS5

[videope]

I have some still digital images in my computer which I want to use for a project for class.

The problem I find is that when I import the images they are too big and only a portion of shows.

Apparently the size of the image has to be 720 wide x 480 tall.

How do I resize it to that scale?

Please help.

[si conehead · Accepted solution]

Go to Edit/Preferences/General and make sure that "default scale to frame size" is checked and then click OK. Then, reimport the photos.

[shooternz]

You may want to consider scaling (a copy) of the images to 

the same dimensions as your project.

Use Photoshop or an application such as AVS Image Converter.  There are many free Image converters around but ideally you want one that will batch convert.

[the_wine_snob]

I agree with Craig on this. I use the tips in this ARTICLE for all Scaling.

Good luck,

Hunt

[videope]

Thank you!!!  That did it... but you know what..

I cannot see the image in the Source monitor... I can drag it to the Timeline and see it in the Program Monitor though.

When I doubl-clicked on the clip I saw it in the source monitor for split of a second and now it's black  😞

[videope]

I could try photoshop but what Steve suggested, to check "default scale to frame" worked.  Now I am having the problem with it not displaying on the source monitor.

[shooternz]

It half  worked ....hence my suggestion.

[videope]

I finally had to resize it in Photoshop and now it shows in the source monitor.

I couldn't resize it to 720x480 and had to settle for 450x467 so that none of the dimensions exceed the parameters.

Thank you all.

[the_wine_snob]

You are most welcome.

Though some high-ranking folk have told me that CS5 now has Scaling algorithms, approaching those in PS, I still use PS, as I have more control, and I diminish the overhead on the computer.

Good luck,

Hunt

[videope]

Me again.

You know, I am now wondering if the image when played in a large TV screen will lose quality.

I enlarge the display in the program monitor and is not that good.

What is peculiar is that I used still images in Premiere Elements 7 without resizing and they were of perfectly clear.

The pity is that I will not know until I finish with this project and see the final version.

[the_wine_snob]

I might have missed it, but are you working in an HD, or an SD Project?

Good luck,

Hunt

[shooternz]

I couldn't resize it to 720x480 and had to settle for 450x467 so that none of the dimensions exceed the parameters.

I dont understand the "exced parameters" bit .  (Maybe Bill Hunt does)

Tell us what is the size of your original images?

You really do need to match the size of the project and in the case of still images...a little larger does not hurt at all.

Smaller images will be a problem and as you suspect... you are losing quality.

[videope]

Correction: I redid the whole thing as I was using the wrong image.  But anyhow, this is the scenario.

My project requires images close to 720 wide x 480 tall.   My image is 3264 x 2448

When I resized I couldn't use 720 width as the "constrain proportions" makes the height 540.

The latter being greater than the 480... so I have selected (with the right image now) 640 width and it automatically inserts a height of 480.

This is better than the previous dimensions with the wrong image so I guess I might be ok.  What do you think?

[the_wine_snob]

If the Aspect Ratio is not 4:3, for instance, I will just Crop in PS to fit.

The beauty of Scaling in PS is that one has a great algorithm (even if PrPro CS5 has improved things), plus one has several options, like Bicubic Smoother, or Bicubic Sharper, depending on the image, plus one has the ability to get the exact Cropping required, if necessary.

If you have Square Pixels, then 640 x 480, for an SD Project, is what one will want.

Good luck, and hope that you get the quality that you are looking for,

Hunt

[videope]

You say that 640 x 480 is ok for SD.

What if I be using HD.... which I may eventually?

Oh, I didn't tell you.  I decided to resize to 720 x 540 as you said a little bigger didn't matter and the image shows in the source monitor.

I will leave it like that.

[shooternz]

There are two ways to set up a project. (Preset)

First and best is to match your source footage / images

The second is to consider what the end requirement is. (Not the best way but it can work fine)

If you want/need  HD...user an HD preset from the start...and then ensure that your source will fit without upscaling it.  (Down scaling it is fine)

Plan your project at the beginning.  Sometimes it means kind of thinking back from what you are needing as a finished "movie"

[the_wine_snob]

If one is using ONLY stills, then the end result is the way that I would go. Otherwise, if there is video involved, that would be the basis for the Project/Sequence Preset.

Hunt

[Flexy]

I cant view a 3000 pixel wide still image, that I need to zoom into, in the source window by clicking it in the project in CS5 but I could in CS4

[the_wine_snob]

When you have placed the still onto the Timeline, do you not see it, in playback?

If not, it could be either a video driver in need of an upgrade, or perhaps a resource limitation of your computer.

Good luck,

Hunt

[Flexy]

Thanks Bill

I don't think it is the computer the spec is:-

Model Name: Mac Pro

Model Identifier: MacPro5,1

Processor Name: 6-Core Intel Xeon

Processor Speed: 2.93 GHz

Number Of Processors: 2

Total Number Of Cores: 12

2 Cache (per core): 256 KB

L3 Cache (per processor): 12 MB

Memory: 28 GB

Processor Interconnect Speed: 6.4 GT/s

ATI Radeon HD 5770

All Mac OS up to date so video drivers should be as well.

With a BM decklink HD extreme capture card

I can see the images OK on the timeline.

[the_wine_snob]

Those specs should be just fine.

What version of the Catalyst driver are you using for the ATI? Is that the latest?

With a BM decklink HD extreme capture card

Are you working in BM Sequences? There have been some odd display issues with the BM cards, but I do not recall this one. Still, I'd explore the BM card, and its drivers, just to rule it out.

In another thread, I asked about the format of the image, PSD, JPEG, PNG, etc. Maybe list that info here, in case someone sees something that I am missing.

Good luck,

Hunt

[Flexy]

I tried a none BM project and the same issue. The files are tif and jpg.

The ati card is:-

ATI Radeon HD 5770:

  Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5770

  Type: GPU

  Bus: PCIe

  Slot: Slot-1

  PCIe Lane Width: x16

  VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

  Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

  Device ID: 0x68b8

  Revision ID: 0x0000

  ROM Revision: 113-C0160C-155

  EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436

I asked Apple and they said that by updating the OS that should update the drivers for the ATI card is this true or do I have to update separately?

The BM card has up to date drivers

Thanks

[the_wine_snob]

I am a PC-only guy, so cannot comment on how the Mac OS might handle things, but going to ATI would be the method that I would use.

Good luck,

Hunt

[Flexy]

Fixed it with a premier reinstal

[the_wine_snob]

Hm-m, that is a surprise. Not that it fixed things, but that it was necessary to do the reinstall. I guess that something important was broken.

Thank you for reporting your success, and also what worked for you. We often make jokes about Adobe telephone T/S and their script, "uninstall, then reinstall," but I guess sometimes that IS the correct course of action. Guess that the joke's on me.

Appreciated, and good luck,

Hunt