Depending on whether your movie has been shot on film, video, or CG animation, there are a number of possible workflows though which you will be able to deliver an accurate, foolproof title sequence that will match the client’s desired specifications. To make an informed decision on the right workflow, when you’re beginning to work on a title sequence you must ask your client these simple questions, the answers to which will better guide you in the creative process:
1. What is the source format? If your title sequence requires the use of previously shot video or film footage, you must find out its source format.
2. What is the deliverable format? Knowing the destination and platform of your title sequence at the inception of your project will determine a variety of factors, including the size and resolution of your project, aspect ratio, and frame rate, to mention a few.
If your direct client or contact person doesn’t know the answers to these questions, find people working on this project who do. Here are a few tips that will help you through your project:
1. Any assets produced for the title sequence must be created at the adequate frame size. If you need to hire a photographer or videographer to shoot additional assets, you need to communicate to them the resolution at which they need to be shot. If you are planning to do some work that requires panning and scanning in postproduction, you’ll need to shoot at a higher frame size than the final output size.
Table 1.1 common Frame Sizes
|
width (Pixels) |
Height (Pixels) |
Screen Aspect Ratio |
Description |
|
640 |
480 |
4:3 |
An early standard for analog-to-digital video editing |
|
720 |
480 |
4:3 |
NTSC DV and DVD image dimensions |
|
720 |
486 |
4:3 |
NTSC SD video dimensions used for professional digital formats such as Digital Betacam, D-1, and D-5 |
|
720 |
576 |
4:3 |
PAL SD video dimensions used for digital formats such as Digital Betacam, D-1, and D-5 as well as DVD and DV |
|
1280 |
720 |
16:9 |
HD video format |
|
1920 |
1080 |
16:9 |
Higher-resolution HD video format |
|
1828 |
1332 |
1.37 |
Cineon half resolution |
|
3656 |
2664 |
1.37 |
Cineon full resolution |
|
2048 |
1556 |
1.32 |
Film 2K resolution, used when printing half resolution onto 35 mm film with a film-out recorder; it offers a more affordable price than 4K resolution |
|
4096 |
3112 |
1.32 |
Film 4K resolution, used when printing high resolution onto 35 mm film with a film-out recorder |
Figure 1.4
2. Have your client decide early the exact deliverable (frame size, compression, frame rate). If you need to create graphics and animated type that require rasterization, you need to start working at an adequate resolution for the requested deliverable. A common obstacle that you could encounter is when clients—especially ones who are going through this process for the first time—don’t make up their minds about what the final output will be. Working with large formats takes time and money; you’ll need extra hard drives to store the footage and rendered animation, and you’ll need to budget extra time for rendering—so you will want to avoid working at a higher resolution than necessary.
For example, if you start working on sketches and creative proposals at an SD (Standard Definition) resolution and the client decides in the middle of the project that they also want an HD (High Definition) version, the SD frame size will be too small and will require you to start working on a larger frame size from scratch. If this situation ever happens to you, keep in mind that the deliverable should be one of the sections in your approved creative brief. So if the client changes their mind during the production of your title sequence, you will most likely be able to negotiate a fee for the additional work.
The general rule of thumb is to ask your client to indicate at the beginning of the project the exact format(s) of your final deliverable (DVD, video for Web, film). If the client is unaware of the exact specification, you should absolutely contact the film lab, the postproduction company, or the programmer (if working for the Web) and find out that information.
3. Work at the highest resolution required for your project. If your client indicates that the final title sequence will need to be delivered in multiple formats for a variety of platforms (Web, DVD, theatrical release) you must work at the highest resolution needed for any of the deliverables. Similar to the print design world, motion graphics can always be scaled down and maintain their quality; when they are scaled up they lose their sharpness and quality unless you are working with line-art graphics.
If the multiple formats requested by your client include versions with different aspect ratios (e.g., letterboxed HD and 4:3 SD), make sure that you clarify with your client whether the HD version will be cut on its sides to create the SD version or not.
Figure 1.5 High Definition and Standard Definition aspect ratio comparison.
If so, you will need to clarify with your client whether you need to create two different title sequence versions (one for HD, the other for SD) or if you need to create only one title sequence that will work for both the HD and SD versions; in this case the titles will be designed a bit more centered on-screen, not reaching the right and left margins to avoid being cut off during the HD-to-SD format conversion.
