Producing a video that captures your audiences’ attention and delivers your company’s message is no easy task. There are several things you can do to improve your company’s video and end up with a video production that looks professional. If your producing a television commercial, training video or a promo video for your company website, it is important to understand the different video formats available. In this article we will discuss the different resolutions of digital video.

Digital Video Applications

Today digital video production is being used in many different ways.

• Major Motion Pictures
• Television Commercials
• Internet or Web Videos
• Live streaming of events
• Training Videos
• Point of Purchase Videos

The list goes on and on. Knowing the application of your finished video production and understanding the different resolutions available for video production, will help you to select the right resolution for your project. Lets start by understanding the difference between standard definition video (SD) and high definition video (HD).

Standard Definition Video (SD)

There are two types of standard definition video NTSC (short for National Television Committee) and PAL (short for Phase Alternating Line). Both have a 4:3 Ratio and both use non-square pixels.     However the frame size and frame rates are different. NTSC video is 720 X 480 with a frame rate of 29.97. Pal video is 720 X 576 with a frame rate of 25. Both NTSC and Pal video are interlaced (which i will explain in a moment).

High Definition Video (HD)

High Definition video uses a non-anamorphic, 16:9 aspect ratio with square pixels and can be shot interlaced or progressive.   HD video comes in multiple resolutions. The most commonly used are 720p (progressive), 1080p (progressive) andd1080i (interlaced). 720P is progressive and has a frame size of 1280 X 720 and can be shot at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 59.94 or 60 frames per second. 1080P is also progressive and has a frame size of 1920 x 1080 and can be shot at 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 59.94 or 60 frames per second. 1080I is Interlaced and has a frame size of 1920 X 1080 and can be shot at 23.98, 25, 29.97,59.94 or 60 frames per second. Another important thing to understand is the difference between interlaced video and progressive video. Which method is used will depend on the application of your video production.

Interlaced Video and Progressive Video

Video is made up of horizontal lines. The more horizontal lines a frame has the higher the quality of the video. NTSC video is made up of 480 horizontal lines and pal video is made up of 576 horizontal lines. Both NTSC video and Pal Video are Interlaced. Interlacing means that each frame is devided into two images, Odd lines in one image and even lines in another. These are known as fields. There is an odd field also know as the top field and the even field known also as the bottom field.

Original image

Interlaced image

Odd Fields                                       Even Fields The images are then refreshed on the screen alternately for 1/60^th of a second. This occurs so fast your brain combines the two images into one. Interlaced video is used for analog cameras, VHS video and CRT based TV monitors (Cathode Ray Tube). Progressive Scan is used for computer monitors and digital televisions. Progresive scan diplays all of the horizontal lines of an image at one time as a single frame.

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Video Production Capabilities

Television Commercials, Corporate Videos, Training Videos, Interviews, Infomercials, Instructional Videos, Educational Videos, Event Videos,Sales Presentation Videos, Product introduction Videos, Trade Show Videos, and many other types of Video Production

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Click here to read History of 3D part1

During the 1960’s and 1970’s, 3D movies continued to be produced, but with only moderate success. One exception was the production of “The Stewardesses,” a soft-core porn film released in 1969 that over time, has grossed over $100,000,000, making it the highest-earning 3D production for decades. The film played for over two years in some theatres and out-grossed many mainstream productions like “Love Story.”

With the success of  “The Stewardesses” and additional advancements in technology, a new era of 3D production began.

One of the biggest obstacles in 3D production was surmounted in the 1970′s by a producer named Arch Gobler. Gobler developed Space-Vision 3D which eliminated the need for two reels of film with 3D movies. Space-Vision 3D worked by overlaying two stereoscopic images on a single reel.

The downside to this method was that the images were displayed with less clarity and less color saturation. However, in 1970, a company called Stereovision came up with a way to project two reels of film through a single filter that combined the two views into a single 3D image. Once again, 3D production experienced resurgence.

But in spite of technological advances, 3D was still too difficult and expensive for it to take hold with theater owners. And movie-goers still complained of headaches.

During the 80’s the IMAX Theatre was introduced and in1986 Imax screened a film called “Transitions.” Why was that so important? IMAX paid rigid attention to syncing film reels to ensure that viewers didn’t get the eyestrain and headaches associated with 3D. It also offered a bigger screen and higher production values than previous 3D films.

Disney Parks also jumped on the 3D bandwagon, introducing Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi adventure, “Captain Eo,” starring Michael Jackson, an experience that Disney promoted as 4D. Presenting the film in its specially-designed theater featuring laser lights, hydraulic chairs, and fog effects was extremely expensive but very popular.

Filmmakers continued to experiment with 3D movies throughout the 90’s, but it wasn’t until 2004 with the release of “Polar Express” that studios realized there was money to be made in 3D films. “Polar Express” was released in traditional theaters and in a far fewer number of IMAX theaters. Despite that fact, ticket sales for the Imax theaters accounted for 25% of total ticket sales.

Is Imax what 3D needs or is this just another trend? Who knows, but one thing certain is that the more technology advances, the more 3D is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

In recent years TV makers have been experimenting with bringing the three-dimensional experience into the home but we’ll save that for next time

Please check in later for the next installment of  “The History of 3D.”

3D is back! Over the years, there have been several “waves” of 3D film production and distribution and it’s back again. Is it back for good or is this just another trend? Did you know commercial 3D movies have been around since 1922? In September of that year, the stereoscopic movie, “Power of Love” was released. The film used the anaglyph process which involves simultaneously shooting two views of a scene and printing each view in a different color. One layer is printed in a red color and the second one in green (later cyan). In anaglyph viewing, the audience uses 3D glasses with one red lens and one green lens to watch the movie. The red lens compliments the green view and the green lens compliments the red view.

3D Anaglyph

This still may be the most common way to view 3D and is in fact the method that many 3D YouTube videos use to display 3D movies. Anaglyph viewing and in fact, all 3D, takes two images and tries to replicate the experience we all have when we look at objects with two eyes. Our brain combines the two views to create depth perception so that we know how far away an object is. 3D movies often exploit this by creating the illusion that certain objects are farther away than they really are and other objects appear to be moving out of the screen towards the viewer. 3D, like most new technology faced some challenges. Often the incorrect setup of the projectors caused viewers to suffer from headaches.  The other challenge the red/cyan anaglyph format faced was the transition from black and white pictures to full-color movies because the two-color process distorted the original colors of the film. As black and white film gave way to color, anaglyph 3D faded away. However, experimentation continued for several decades, but high costs and the pressures of the Great Depression prevented studios from wholeheartedly adopting 3D. One notable success story during the Depression was “Audioscopiks.” Like its earlier predecessors, this film relied on the red/cyan anaglyph format. “Audioscopiks” received an Academy Award in 1936 for Best Short Subject, Novelty Category.

In the 1940’s, World War II took center stage and stereoscopic photography remained on a backburner throughout that decade. But over time new breakthroughs in technology brought 3D back to the theatres. In the 1950’s, television created new concerns for the studios. The television had movie studio executives worried that it would steal their audience, so they promoted 3D movies as a way to offer audiences something that they couldn’t see at home on television. Many predicted that 3-D technology would do for movies what the “talkies” had achieved years before. Although red/cyan anaglyph movies were still around, new developments lead to the Polaroid 3D system called “Natural Vision.” The new Polaroid system used linear polarization, two lenses filming light-waves passing in perpendicular planes to each other. [youtube QgA6L2n476Y nolink] The two images are then projected to correspond to the glasses. As each polarized filter passes only that light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized in the opposite direction, each eye sees a different image. This launched a much better way to view color film in 3D. On Nov.26, 1952 Arch Obolers’s “Bwana Devil” premiered in 3D using this new technology which contributed to the film’s success. In fact the success of “Bwana Devil” and “House of Wax,” released a year later, caused a craze throughout Hollywood.  Many of the major studios jumped on the bandwagon. Movies like “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “The Nebraskan,” and “Kiss Me Kate” were released in 3D. [youtube 0b96x2Qdm5E nolink] Unfortunately, even the prospect of Jane Mansfield’s ample chest being thrust out towards the audience was not enough to continue the craze. Many people still complained about 3D causing headaches. Often, theaters showing the movies had trouble setting the projectors up correctly, which only added to the problem. The studios also began to realize that in most cases, the two-dimensional versions often earned significantly more than the 3D versions. So once again, the process faded quickly. However, there was a belief that 3D still held great potential and that it was just a matter of time before the technology advanced to make 3D the multi-billion dollar business it is today. Please check in later for the next installment of  “The History of 3D part 2.”

Our video production services include sales and marketing videos, sizzle videos, customer stories, documentaries, web campaigns, TV commercials, corporate communications, After Effects motion graphics, green screen, expert keying and creative video editing. We use the latest technologies to tell your story.

We can create event production videos in formats you need for your website or deliver the final product to you on DVD. We proactively work together to find the right media solutions for your project – maintaining flexibility in terms of content and form.