Have you edited a photograph on your computer and when you went to print it, it was just a tiny image on the page? Ever wondered why your mother’s e-mail inbox rejects the photos of your kids ?

If you are just getting started with digital scrapbooking, then this short lesson is for you. It is simpler than you might think.

Digital Resolution

The tiny dots that make up an image are called pixels. The word “pixel” is a contraction of the words “picture” (or “pix”) and “element” and generally is the smallest part of any type of digitally represented image. People are easily confused because the word pixel assumes subtle differences in meaning depending on the context in which it is used such as in printed images or the megapixels in a digital camera.

To simplify this discussion, just think of a pixel as a tiny point of light or color representing a very small component of a much larger image.

People also talk about resolution when referring to pixels. Resolution is a measurement of how many pixels fit into a certain defined space. You may have heard of “dots per inch” (DPI) or “pixels per inch” (PPI) and the meaning of these two terms adds to the confusion because once again it depends on the context in which the term is used.

Let’s simplify once again by saying that image resolution is an expression of how much detail an image holds.

Our TVs, computer monitors, cell phones, and even digital cameras are full of pixels – thousands and thousands of them all crammed together so closely it tricks the human brain into thinking these tiny dots are a smooth image. These digital images appear just about anywhere we look in our technology filled world, from our PDAs to our car dashboard to the giant electronic billboards on display along the highway or in New York’s Times Square.

The more pixels in an image, the better the image looks. On the contrary, if the pixel count is too low, the image quality suffers. So you may be able to distinguish the individual dots in a microwave display but a printed digital photo looks as smooth as glass. A pixelated image results when the pixel count is so low, you can see the jaggy edges.

Digital cameras have made sharing photos easier than ever. No longer do you have to get film developed and multiple copies printed. Today, many people share their photos through email and social network sites. However, before doing this the image taken from the digital camera is usually downsized.

Digital cameras are built to duplicate film camera quality and therefore capture images with a huge pixel resolution. Compare that to nearly all home computer displays that have a low pixel count, generally under 100 pixels in an inch. Displaying high resolution images on a low resolution device results in an image that appears much bigger than the computer screen. Digital cameras catch images at high resolution to make possible photographic quality prints. But sending this large image file by e-mail will take megabytes of data and many e-mail users will reject it.

Digital Photo Editing

The solution is to resample the image which is geek speak for changing the resolution. Decreasing the number of pixels will make the image appear normal on a computer monitor. And this will let you e-mail Mom with the latest family photos from your latest vacation. But after resampling the image, don’t think that you will still get a quality print any longer since you’ve taken out so many pixels.

The guiding principle now seems simple. Images intended for printing need to be at a high resolution but images displayed on a computer screen need only a low resolution.

If you plan to do both, make a copy of your original digital image for playing around with. Besides allowing for both printing and viewing images correctly, this is also a suggested backup plan for all of your digital images.

Now you are ready to take lots of digital photographs and be able to print and share them without further problems.

Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus has a solid upgrade to version 14, with a slew of new features and extras. You still get a ton of slick effects, transitions, audio tracks and photo video editing options, but version 15 also includes the following upgrades:

* Multi-cam editing: Record and edit two video channels live and at the same time
* Smoother and simpler AVCHD video importing and editing
* Larger library of customizable 2D and 3D title effects
* New DVD and Blu-ray menu templates
* New proDAD Adorage video effects
* Improved color correction interface makes it easier to adjust color values in a snap
* Improved batch processing lets you select entire video folders to convert, instead of one at a time

Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus also has editing and publishing tools for amateurs and a good collection of editing tools for those familiar with more complex editing tasks, such as bluescreen edits, timeline and storyboard layout, multi-track editing and more.

Stand Out Features:

* Easily publishes to YouTube
* Compatible with portable devices like Sony PSPs, iPods and cell phones
* Includes iClone for 3D animation
* Supports up to 99 tracks
* Screen capturing feature for streaming video

Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus by Magix can import nearly all common video, audio and image file types. You can either drag and drop videos into the timeline, or use one of the many importing tools found throughout the program. In terms of video it can import AVI, DV-AVI, MPEG (1,2,4), MXV, MJPEG, Quicktime and HD WMV. It can also capture analog type files such as video from old VHS tapes or TV. If you would like to add an audio file or clip to your video you can import WAV, MP3, OGG, WMA, MIDI, Dolby Digital Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 file types. It can also support JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIF, TGA and more image file types and most scanner and digital camera formats.

Overall, Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 Plus is on the right track. They pushed ahead of Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio with this new version, thanks to the improved interface and ever present depth of features. Even so, using this video editing software isn’t as easy on new users, but Movie Edit Pro 15 in fact is one of the most compatible with portable devices and high definition video editing and publishing software.

Hi friends, as you know I m continuously posting articles on Digital Media including print and electronic media. My previous article was casting lights on other segments, but today this article will reveal wonderful secrets of career in Digital Editing and Broadcasting.

What is the Post-production?

Post Production provides the tools to teach the concepts, theories and practices that have become the visual language of our current media form. Post-production occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, videos, audio recordings, photography and digital art. It is the general term for all stages of production occurring after the actual end of shooting and/or recording the completed work. Television stations, major corporations, commercials are among the business.

“It is what happens after the movie shoot is over and the stars have returned to their mansions. Post production used to be handled solely by large companies, specialized boutiques or post production divisions within the major studios themselves. These days, digital video, graphics software and more affordable equipment has brought video post production jobs into the realm of the average person.”

Post-production includes all the following steps:

1. Editing the picture / television program
2. Editing the soundtrack.
3. Writing and recording the soundtrack music.
4. Adding visual special effects – mainly computer-generated imagery (CGI) and digital copy from which release prints will be made (although this may be made obsolete by digital-cinema technologies).
5. Transfer of film to Video or Data with a telecine and Color grading.

Post-Productions Includes

I am just writing my views on the technical side of the film making, other than technical side there are some more fields, film-production stages include – writing the screenplay, script development, financing, pre-production, production and film distribution/ marketing.

1. Video Editing

Video editing is the process of editing segments of motion video footage, special effects and sound recordings. Motion picture film editing is a predecessor to video editing and, in several ways, video editing simulates motion picture film editing, in theory and the use of non-linear and linear editing systems. Using video or film, a director can communicate non-fictional and fictional events. The goals of editing are to manipulate these events for better or for worse communication. It is a visual art.

Post-production is, in fact, many different processes grouped under one name. These typically include:

Non-linear Video editing software’s:

1. Adobe

a)     Premiere Pro (Windows, Mac OS X)

1. Apple

a)     Final Cut Pro (Mac OS X)

1. Arc Soft Showbiz (Windows)
2. Avid Technology 

a)     Ds Nitris (Windows)

b)     Media Composer (Windows, Mac OS X)

1. Edius (Windows)
2. Lightworks (Custom hardware)
3. MAGIX Movie Edit Pro (Windows)
4. Pinnacle Studio (Windows)
5. Roxio VideoWave and MyDVD (Windows)

a)     Sony Vegas Movie Studio (Windows)

1. Windows Movies Maker (Windows)

Career in Editing

Post production, film editing and visual effects are no longer rare specialties only understood by a select few. There are now more people than ever before who have the tools and knowledge to handle most post production work. There is also an abundance of work available for the growing ranks of editors and producers. Audio and video technology has become one of the hottest careers around. Learning skills in this area will allow you to get a job in the post production area of many disciplines, such as acting music (including singing), dance or even comedy. Other opportunities include animation artist, special effects artist, broadcast graphics designer and video post production artist.

2. Post-production Effects or Visual Effects

Visual effects are now thought of as post production work even though they often start prior to any production of the actual film. Post production companies generally offer facilities, equipment and experts to producers and distributors of feature films, TV shows, commercials, home videos and a wide assortment of other entertainment and informative media.

Other post production effects that are commonly used include closed captioning, film or video transfers, color correction, animation, graphics and motion, sound effects, visual effects, subtitling, video format conversion and film laboratory processing. Because of the diversity of job duties, post production companies prefer digital editors and artists with a variety of skills. They should be able to do a little bit of everything as the situation calls for it. When looking for post production jobs, do not only look at the well-known, bigger companies. You will miss out on a lot of job listings posted by smaller, up-and-coming companies in the area.

Categories

Visual effects may be divided into at least four categories:

1. Models: miniature sets and models, animatronics.
2. Matte paintings and stills: digital or traditional paintings or photographs which serve as background plates for keyed or rot scoped elements.
3. Live-action effects: keying actors or models through blue screening and green screening.
4. Digital animation: modeling, computer graphics lighting, texturing, rigging, animating, and rendering computer-generated 3D characters, particle effects, digital sets, backgrounds.

Visual Effects Software

1. Adobe After Effects
2. Apple Motion
3. Apple Shake
4. Autodesk Combustion
5. Eyeon Fusion
6. The Foundry Nuke

Career in Visual Effects

There are a number of ways to begin a career in visual effects, along with a growing market for visual effects jobs. As visual effects software becomes more prevalent, the need for skilled people to operate it is expected to continue to grow. To break into the field, you can take visual effects courses, either at a university or college, or even online. You may even consider attending an animation schools so that you can learn on the latest technology available. The industry is still so new that it does not require extensive credentials or experience to enter, just the actual knowledge of how to get the most impressive visual effects possible.

Some common visual effects jobs include working with miniature sets and models; creating, operating and maintaining animatronics; and painting stills. These paintings are now typically done digitally, along with the traditional way, opening up even more opportunities for those with the right qualifications and skills. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing the right visual effects software package, and you can get an opportunity with a movie studio.

3. Sound design

If you’re interested in the way movie music is combined with sound effects to produce an effective and engaging movie soundtrack that enhances the cinematic experience, a career as a sound designer might be right for you. A person who practices the art of sound design is known as a Sound Designer.

Sound design for motion pictures takes the dialogue and ambient sound captured during filming and refines it into a carefully engineered audio track with a life all its own. The sound designer also incorporates songs, sound effects and the film score into movie soundtracks to help create tone and mood. Sound design is a conceptually creative/technical field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, a music performance or recording, computer game Software or any other multimedia project. Steps to Becoming a Sound Designer

The film business can be tricky for newcomers to understand because there’s no one proven way to break into it. However, the essential skills of a sound designer are pretty standard. To prepare yourself for a career in sound design, you should have:

1.   A thorough understanding of audio recording and playback equipment.

2.   A knack for electronics and sound technologies, including cable patching and mixing boards

3.   A high level of comfort in digital environments

4.   Good comprehension of the physics of sound

Sound Editing Software

1.   Apple Sound Track

2.   Sonic Sound Forge

3.   Cool Edit Pro

4.   Adobe Sound Booth

5.   Tapestrea from Princeton