Working on graphics for video

I'm gonna be working on a video project for my producing and directing class. People will be doing multiple jobs, and one of those jobs is to come up with some graphics such as opening graphic, lower thirds, etc. I have some Photoshop skills, but I am still learning big time.

I've downloaded a few extra brushes and actions already, but are there any other presets (actions, brushes, etc.) that are just good to have overall or would be helpful in creating graphics for video? Any tips in general when coming up with graphics for video?

The video is is going to be over student music writers who will be performing at a small campus venue over 3 different events.

Protip! Kick all the stoners out of your group IMMEDIATELY.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by YellerDog

Protip! Kick all the stoners out of your group IMMEDIATELY.

---

Luckily I have a pretty decent class, so I don't have to worry about anything like. I don't even know if my graphics will be picked or if some of the other people have Photoshop skill, but I thought it would be fun to try. I might even do a storyboard for another project we are doing.

Go for the most professional presentation up-front, and figure out the details of how to pull it off while you're working on it. Do some heavy research on how to accomplish what you're trying to do, and be able to express it in a way that both tells a story and makes sense to your audience.

Bring doughnuts to your presentation.

I really don't know what they want, but this is just something I threw together real quick. The colors are my school's colors, the tower is its symbol, and the event is called Writers Night at the Row. This is a bit more simple than I would like, but this is kind of the direction I am thinking of going. Also this would be the opening title I suppose and then maybe use a similar style brush to make the lower thirds.

Click for full size


Here is a slightly touched up version. Colors are a little better and I angled the symbol a bit.

Click for full size


If it sucks, it's because I've never really done any graphic art and I am not all that artistic when it coms to drawing/painting/design type stuff.

Looks good cap..... nice job!

Thicker font maybe? It's video. You want something super-easy to read, I'd think.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by YellerDog

Thicker font maybe? It's video. You want something super-easy to read, I'd think.

---

Nice though. I was really just using that as a place holder for the time being, but here is a bit of a thicker font I kind of like.

Click for full size

Cool. That's a lot more readable.

Second thought, I'd try blowing up the school logo to overlap the edges of the color swatch a bit more, maybe lose the rotation? It's drowning at the moment.

I agree with no rotation on the logo, just makes it look poorly placed to me. I also want to say that the upper black text might need something to make it stand out a little more against the dark red background, but the only things coming to me would probably look too cheesy. It stills works right now, in any case.

Cleaner lines on the logo possibly? It looks like it's been photocopied several times, which is going to look like the exit end of a dog once it's run through a projector.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1200681713
Try not to place dark text on top of such a dark background.

Anyway, my video graphics tip would be to keep your colors NTSC safe, keep your color's RGB values between 16 to 235. You can create a levels adjustment layer and alter the output values to be ntsc safe.

I thought about a color adjustment like that but since those are the school's colors it's probably better to find a different way than changing the whole picture. One compromise might be to have a spotlight effect on the words on the left side, which could maintain the proper colors while making the writing easier to read.

I was reading up about NTSC colors last night before going to bed and was going to adjust it today. I've rotated the logo back to normal, but i may see if i can find a better version of it as I just grabbed it off of google last night. And actually, the project is most likely gonna be viewed on TV/monitor and put online. I'm working on another paid project right now, but I may tinker with the graphic later.

Photoshop, especially the newer versions (I have CS3) come packed with all sorts of wacky effects and filters. That (combined with whatever effects your editing programs has) should serve you well, especially if you're innovative and fuck around with various combos and ideas.

OK, so I set the red and gold colors between and 235, so I think I am good on that front, and the logo is no longer tilted. In these next rough drafts, the font is Marker Felt. Oh and I also redid the brush stroke background a bit. I experimented with a few different filters that I though helped make the logo a bit better as well as the font. I am also not sure if Belmont is going to remain in the title. I guess some are a little similar, but even the slightest difference can often make a difference.

Click for full size

Click for full size

Click for full size

Click for full size



I'm also gonna throw these in a quick video and throw it on dvd or MiniDV to see how it looks on the big screen.

I hope your settings are set correctly. For monitors you use square pixels. For video you, as you probably already know, use rectangular.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Drewbacca

I hope your settings are set correctly. For monitors you use rectangular pixels. For video you, as you probably already know, use rectangular.

---

Pixel Aspect Ratio is set to D1/DV NTSC. I think thats what I need it set to. Again, I don't have much experience with doing graphics for video.

EDIT: The images look fine when displayed on TV. I do need to get the color better as it appears brighter on than TV than it does on my laptops. I also need to add some depth to it, as the text looks a little too flat against the background.

That aspect ratio should be correct.

For the colour you probably need to adjust your working mode to match your TV's output. Of course every display will be different no matter how much shit you tweak or how careful you are.

I would tell you to reference other motion graphic work that's good quality and adjust your work using the principles common to each. I don't have that much experience with video (I did some when I interned and know After Effects, but I'm not confident with it like I am Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop or Painter). What is Writer's Night at the Row? I mean how do the organizers of the event treat it? Is it casual, or dress-up? How will your video be displayed? You need to know the usage of your project. It's key to troubleshooting any issues that you may otherwise not realize are even issues until it's too late.

That's one thing I've learned from doing client environmental and store display designs. Research of usage is EXTREMELY important. For the most part it's just looking around at the space, measuring properly, and playing devil's advocate trying to find stupid shit that could be problematic. For store windows and signage it's all about visibility and standing out from competition. For video your typography will probably best serve you by blending in with the style, mood and theme of the evening. Judging from your graphic I would assume it's kind of a midway point between casual and formal and pretty experimental / indy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Drewbacca

That aspect ratio should be correct.

For the colour you probably need to adjust your working mode to match your TV's output. Of course every display will be different no matter how much shit you tweak or how careful you are.

I would tell you to reference other motion graphic work that's good quality and adjust your work using the principles common to each. I don't have that much experience with video (I did some when I interned and know After Effects, but I'm not confident with it like I am Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop or Painter). What is Writer's Night at the Row? I mean how do the organizers of the event treat it? Is it casual, or dress-up? How will your video be displayed? You need to know the usage of your project. It's key to troubleshooting any issues that you may otherwise not realize are even issues until it's too late.

That's one thing I've learned from doing client environmental and store display designs. Research of usage is EXTREMELY important. For the most part it's just looking around at the space, measuring properly, and playing devil's advocate trying to find stupid shit that could be problematic. For store windows and signage it's all about visibility and standing out from competition. For video your typography will probably best serve you by blending in with the style, mood and theme of the evening. Judging from your graphic I would assume it's kind of a midway point between casual and formal and pretty experimental / indy.

---

It's pretty much an event for any student to come and see 3 students/groups who write there own music. It's a pretty big event on campus, but it has no TV or web presence. I have a little time to work on this graphic. The main thing is just going back and forth between the people who are in charge of this stuff.

EDIT: A couple of new ones.

Click for full size


Click for full size

The bevel/emboss job you did on the last post is cheesy. Get rid of that. I don't like the readability and typography of what you're doing either.

Think about it this way: what do you like to see at the opening of a movie? Usually if the artists over-do it or put too many effects in, it looks shitty and dated. It's often just the title thrown on the center of the screen in a basic font. It's almost always simple, and it uses either a white/black color background or the video itself is the background.

Here's a totally standard opening with the totally standard Helvetica bold title. It's not good at all, the typography doesn't match the setting (but you really need to drop that comic serif font you're using now), and it looks too much like a horror logo, but I threw it together to maybe open your mind more to what should be presented at the beginning of any video. I think what you're making would look good in a yearbook, but it won't translate well at all to the screen. You may be constraining yourself a bit much by trying to stick to the school colors, and you're in danger of over-doing the Photoshop filters.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1200819653

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1200820451

I may be completely off on what's required here, so ignore most or all of this if it's not applicable. You know more about video than I do, I just do MIDI.

Tommy Tallarico

I agree with Mr. Tallarico completely, both due to my respect for his contributions to life in general and his good design taste. Also, because that mock-up he did reminds me of the Director's Series DVDs.

Many times, simplicity and subtlety is the solution to any design problem. Overusing silly Photoshop filters is practically SCREAMING "hey, I just started using Photoshop! Isn't this cool?" Try using one, large font family so you have plenty of options. Helvetica is good for it, though I usually go with Futura. Vary the fonts within the family. Quick examples, keeping in mind I'm no expert... yet. (also, I did my work in Illustrator and quick-exported to JPEG, so the gradients look silly)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1200823220

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1200823220

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tommy Tallarico

The bevel/emboss job you did on the last post is cheesy. Get rid of that. I don't like the readability and typography of what you're doing either.

Think about it this way: what do you like to see at the opening of a movie? Usually if the artists over-do it or put too many effects in, it looks shitty and dated. It's often just the title thrown on the center of the screen in a basic font. It's almost always simple, and it uses either a white/black color background or the video itself is the background.

Here's a totally standard opening with the totally standard Helvetica bold title. It's not good at all, the typography doesn't match the setting (but you really need to drop that comic serif font you're using now), and it looks too much like a horror logo, but I threw it together to maybe open your mind more to what should be presented at the beginning of any video. I think what you're making would look good in a yearbook, but it won't translate well at all to the screen. You may be constraining yourself a bit much by trying to stick to the school colors, and you're in danger of over-doing the Photoshop filters.

I may be completely off on what's required here, so ignore most or all of this if it's not applicable. You know more about video than I do, I just do MIDI.

Tommy Tallarico

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

I agree with Mr. Tallarico completely, both due to my respect for his contributions to life in general and his good design taste. Also, because that mock-up he did reminds me of the Director's Series DVDs.

Many times, simplicity and subtlety is the solution to any design problem. Overusing silly Photoshop filters is practically SCREAMING "hey, I just started using Photoshop! Isn't this cool?" Try using one, large font family so you have plenty of options. Helvetica is good for it, though I usually go with Futura. Vary the fonts within the family. Quick examples, keeping in mind I'm no expert... yet. (also, I did my work in Illustrator and quick-exported to JPEG, so the gradients look silly)

---

Sound advice.I am relatively new to photoshop, at least getting into the meat of what it can do, and am even more a noob when it comes to graphic design. The professor in charge of the project really has no idea what he wants for the graphics and just said go with it. I'll work on a more simple design. I like what Tommy did with the top but just change the colors and tweak it a bit. Thanks.

I'm not sure where I put it, but somewhere I have a picture with Tommy Tallarico wearing that same shirt at that same venue.

Something a little more simple, but I dunno. I've never really had a knack for graphic stuff, so I may just leave it up to someone in the class that can handle that artistic side of it and stick to editing/filming.

The idea is sound (though, centering everything is something you grow to hate as a designer. Hahah), but you need to expand that text more. For that kind of institutional, iconic feeling, I'd think ALL CAPS. Stretch the Belmont across the top by using a thinner font and giving more space between the letters. It's lookin' a LOT better, though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

The idea is sound (though, centering everything is something you grow to hate as a designer. Hahah), but you need to expand that text more. For that kind of institutional, iconic feeling, I'd think ALL CAPS. Stretch the Belmont across the top by using a thinner font and giving more space between the letters. It's lookin' a LOT better, though.

---

Will do. The text right now is really just a place holder until I find out what they really want. As far as that design goes right there, should the logo stay as is, or should it be tilted, larger, smaller, etc?

Tommy and Chao said everything I was going to say.

Just because Photoshop has stock filters doesn't mean you have to use them.