OVERVIEW

When you are out filming, it is important to know what settings you should be using. In graphic design, we need to know the size that the design will be used on, the resolution needed (print or screen) as well as what colour-mode to use (RGB or CMYK). Yes there are more colour modes beyond RGB and CMYK, but let’s just stay on topic shall we?

Although videography depends on the exposure triangle, the main variables that we will dealing with in this section is Frame Rate and Resolution.

Frame Rate is the playback speed of the video. There are many factors that will determine frame rate. Will your video be played in a theatre? At an Imax? Will it be played online or on a TV? Will your audience be in North America or Europe? Do you need to consider slow-motion? These are factors that you have to consider BEFORE you film.

Resolution is the size of the video. Factors that have to be considered for video size are HD, standard definition, web, DVD, Blu-ray, and Imax, just to name a few.

Since we will be filming in manual mode with our cameras, it’s important to know the difference between these two as well as being familiar with the exposure triangle.

RESOLUTION AND ASPECT RATIO

The image on your computer screen is built up from thousands or millions of pixels. The screen creates the image you see by changing the colours of these tiny square elements. The screen resolution tells you how many pixels your screen can display horizontally and vertically. It’s written in the form 1024 x 768. In this example, the screen can show 1,024 pixels horizontally, and 768 vertically.

The chart above shows the most common display resolutions, with the color of each resolution type indicating the display ratio (e.g. red indicates a 4:3 ratio) – image courtesy of wikipedia.com.

Watch the video below to learn more.

ASPECT RATIO EXPLAINED

Now that you have a better understanding of what resolution is, it’s time to have a look at the concept of aspect ratio. The aspect ratio states the comparison of width to height and is commonly used to describe the shape of a TV or computer screen. For example, the aspect ratio of an earlier standard-definition (SD) screen was 4:3, which is a relatively square rectangle. Today’s standard is more commonly high-definition (HD), which is 16:9 or more rectangular in nature.

The chart above shows many of the aspect ratios used today.

Have a look at the No Film School website to learn pretty much everything you need to know about aspect ratio.

HIGH DEFINITION

When you walk into a store that sells televisions, sometimes it’s hard to know what that set is truly capable of. Some units are HD, while others are Full HD. Some are interlaced, while others are progressive (e.g. 1080p vs 1080i). What’s the difference between them? Have a look at the resources below to find out more.

ARTICLES

What do these screen resolutions mean?
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/what-screen-resolution-or-aspect-ratio-what-do-720p-1080i-1080p-mean

1080p vs 1080i
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/1080p-vs-1080i-whats-the-difference/

4k Explained
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/4k-ultra-high-definition-explained-video/