Video Paper Builder - Image Basics

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IMPORTANT NOTICE - There are several major issues with VideoPaper Builder. View our Known Issues page for descriptions of the issues and work-arounds.

The Basics

Images used in your VideoPaper must be saved as .jpg or .gif files (both are compressed file formats recognized by Internet browsers) and placed in your VideoPaper folder. Remember to size and name your image files appropriately-- reduce your images to under 300 pixels wide if possible, and name them in an easily identifiable way.

How do you create these images? There are a variety of ways, depending on what technology you have available.

Scan Hard Copy Images

If you have a scanner available, hard copy images (for instance, printed photographs or student work papers) can be scanned into your computer and saved as a .jpg or .gif file. Most scanner software will allow you to re-size, crop, and otherwise edit your images as well.

Import Images from a Digital Camera

If you have a digital camera, images taken with it can be imported onto your desktop and used in your VideoPaper. Most digital cameras will come with a cable that will attach your camera to your computer and allow you to import files, and some basic image editing software. Mac users can also use iPhoto to import and organize images from their camera.

Export Video Still Images from QuickTime Pro

Images can also be exported from Quicktime Pro (Apple's cross-platform basic digital video editing software which can be downloaded from the Apple website), once the video is digitized and saved as a Quicktime .mov file. To do this, open your video file in Quicktime Pro. Again, move to the frame in your video that you wish to use as a still image. Under "File," choose "Export"; then "Export: Movie to Picture" and "Use: Photo-JPEG." Give your file an appropriate name and save in your VideoPaper folder.

Export Video Still Images from iMovie

Mac users can export a single frame of their video as an image directly from iMovie. After importing your video into iMovie, move through the video (using the Quicktime scrub bar) to the frame that you wish to use as a still image. Under "File", choose "Save Frame As.." Then, under "Format", choose "JPEG" and give your image file an appropriate name. It will be saved as "imagename.jpg". Save it in your VideoPaper folder.

Digital Editing Software

Adobe Photoshop is a widely used, professional digital image editing software. It is useful for resizing, cropping, and editing images-- for instance, adding text or arrows to specific areas of the image, lightening a very dark image, or adding contrast to a flat image. It can also be used to draw new images: graphs or tables, for example.

Many digital cameras come with image editing software; if you have a digital camera you may wish to experiment with the capabilities (often very similar to Photoshop) of this software for editing any digital images (exported from video, scanned hard copy, or digital photographs) that you are able to create or obtain.

If you do not currently have access to an editing program, you can try downloading a FREE trial version of Photoshop (see www.Adobe.com ) or try running a web search for software. There are many free programs available, as well as tutorials and discussion forums for users.

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