Digital Image Overview
This report provided an depth overview of digital image and video formats, used tools for image manipulation and essential copyright information.
Images and web video formats, wrappers and codecs.
Image formats:
- JPEG: The most commonly used format for its balance between quality and file size, making it ideal for the web.
- PNG: Is it ideal for lossless image delivery, offering alpha channel support for full and partial pixel transparency, making it perfect for transparent images and web graphics.
- Gif: It is the best for short animations and simple graphics, it supports a restricted colour palette and transparency.
- TIFF: Used in professional settings demanding high-quality images, supporting lossless compression.
- RAW: Unprocessed image data from digital cameras, offering maximum flexibility for post processing.
- WebP: Is a web image format created by Google, offering much smaller file sizes than JPG and PNG, resulting in faster loading websites. For exemple my images on my portfolio use this format.
Web videos formats and wrappers:
MP4: It is a popular format, supporting various codecs, including H.264 and H.265, known for its compatibility and efficiency.
MOV: This format developed by Apple is quite popular. It is widely used in professional video editing environments. (Airlie studio 2024)
Codecs:
- H.264: (AVC) :The highly flexible video codec used, providing high compression efficiency without significant loss in quality, perfect for online video and streaming.
- H265: (HEVC): It is an advanced codec offering a better quality than H.264, making it ideal for 4K or more.
- VP9: This codec is developed by Google and it used mostly for YouTube and high-quality videos with efficient compression.
Export settings for Broadcast platforms:
Each broadcast platform has different and specific requirements for video export to ensure optimal quality and compatibility.
YouTube: (Google n.d)
- Format: MP4 with H.264, video codec and AAC audio codec.
- Resolution: 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920X1080), 1440p (2560×1440), 2160p (3840×2160)
- Frame Rate: 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps.
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, 4:3
Facebook: (Facebook n.d)
- Format: MP4 with H.264, video codec and AAC audio codec.
- Resolution: 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920X1080)
- Frame Rate: 30 fps.
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 4:5, 1:1, 2:3
Instagram: (instagram n.d)
- Format: MP4 with H.264, VP8, video codec and AAC audio codec.
- Resolution: 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920X1080)
- Frame Rate: 30 fps.
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 4:5, 1:1, 19:10
Vimeo: (vimeo n.d)
- Format: MP4 with H.264, MOV, AVI, FLV, WMV.
- Resolution: 240p (426×240), 360p (640×360), 480p (854×480), 720p (1280×720), 1080p (1920X1080), 1440p (2560×1440), 2160p (3840×2160) 4096 (4096×2160)
- Frame Rate: 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps.
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 9:16, 4:3
Images Manipulation tools and techniques
Images manipulation:
Cropping
When you capture a photo, it often happens that it is not perfectly framed. If the shot is too wide, we use cropping to eliminate unnecessary elements and ensure that the composition respects the fundamental rules again.
Colour correction:
Adjusting the white balance, exposure and contrast to enhance the image.
Retouching:
Removing blemishes and smoothing skin use for portrait photography.
Layering:
Using multiple layers to build up an image, allowing for more complex edits and compositions.
Masking:
Allows to isolate parts of an image to apply adjustments or effects only to specific areas.
Cloning and healing:
Tools allow to remove elements or imperfections from an image.
Tools:
Adobe Lightroom: Primarily used for photo editing, tools for adjusting exposure, colour and detail.
Adobe Photoshop: Software with advanced features for editing, retouching and manipulating images. (Adobe 2024)
Capture one Pro: Used by professional photographers, offering advanced colour grading tools, and powerful raw image processing.
GIMP: Free, alternative to Photoshop with a range of tools. (Gimp n.d)
Affinity Photo: Photo editing software with features for beginners and advanced users. (Affinity n.d)
Pixlr: Image editor online, providing a range of tools for quick edits and manipulations.
Copyright essentials and legal information
Copyright is crucial for artists to protect their work and respect the intellectual property of others. It protects the author and expires 70 years after death.
Ownership: The creator of the original work owns the copyright granting them exclusive rights to produce, distribute and display the work.
Fair Use: Allows limited use of copyrighted material without obtaining permission, for activities like criticism, commentary, news reporting, education and research.
Licensing: Authors can give permission to others to use their work through licences, with specify terms and conditions of use.
Creative Commons: The popular licensing system that allows authors to specify how their work can be used by others, ranging from full usage rights to more restrictive licences. (Creative Commons, n.d)
Legal considerations
Infringement: Unauthorised use of copyrighted work can result in legal action, including fines and injunctions.
Attribution: When using licensed material, the credit must be given to the original creator.
Derivate works: Creating a work based on a copyrighted work may require permission from the original author.
Unauthorised use of copyrighted work can result in legal action, including fines and injunctions.
Nowadays the digital world is evolving day by day, so it is crucial to understand the different formats, tools and legal rules of media creation. By using best practises for media formats and advanced tools for editing images, digital artists can create quality content while protecting their creations.
Reference List
Airlie Studio 2024, Visual poetry , online video, viewed 21 June 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf42X-Xb5zI
Adobe 2024, “Adobe Photoshop”, viewed 20 June 2024, https://www.adobe.com/au/products/photoshop.html
GIMP 2024, “GIMP”, viewed 22 June 2024, https://www.gimp.org/
Affinity 2024, “Affinity Photo”, Affinity, viewed 20 June 2024, https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/
Google (n.d.) 2024, “Recommended upload encoding settings”, Youtube, viewed 20 June 2024, https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171
Vimeo (n.d.) 2024, “Upload and video settings”, Vimeo, viewed 21 June 2024, https://help.vimeo.com/hc/en-us/sections/12397317457169-Upload-and-video-settings
Facebook (n.d) 2024, “Video best practises” Facebook, viewed 21 June 2024, https://www.facebook.com/formedia/blog/video-best-practices
Creative Commons (n.d) “Choose a license, viewed 18 June 2024, https://au.creativecommons.net/finding-creative-commons-licensed-materials/
