Cropping images to 16.9

[Ken Veal]

Have been advised in the VideoStudio forum to crop images to 16.9 to fit the video.How do I do this in PSPro X.

[skier-hughes]

Google can be your friend

http://www.ehow.com/how_7163569_convert ... p-pro.html

[hartpaul]

Depends on whether you have to crop a current image (any proportions ) to a 16 : 9 which will lose some of the image but keep the perspective correct, or stretch an image to a 16: 9 ratio which will distort it slightly.
OK say we start with a 4: 3 image which has 1200 x 900 pixels.
Cropping
1 . Prepare a crop rectangle using the crop tool - in this case 160 x 90 or a suitable multipl of that eg 320 x 180 , 640 x 360 .
2. Make sure maintain aspect ratio is ticked (this is 16 : 9 in this case) .
3. Position one corner of the rectangle to where you want the corner of your frame to be.
4. Drag diagonal opposite corner so it includes as much as you want. Everything in the crop rectangle willl be at a 16 : 9 ratio .
5. Tick apply and you can resize if needed.


Stretching
Again assuming a 1200 x 900 pixel image
1. 900 will be your height and in the final image you will need to drag the width to be 1600
2. Image - Resize . Tick advanced options
3. Untick maintain aspect ratio.
4. Type 900 in the height box and 1600 in the width box and tick apply.
Your image will be stretched to 1600 and be slightly distorted as well.

Another way would be to make a canvas of that size copy the image there move it to one margin Hit the D key and drag the centre side handle of the image to the other margin.

[Ken Veal]

OK
I read the answers,looked at the links but still have some questions as I have not yet seen the light.
1 Has every image I put on to a DVD for showing on a 16.9 TV from now on got to be altered .This is the first time i will using a TV of that nature.
2 Images could be from the web, emails or my digital still cam.Have I got to measure the properties of every one I use
3 I will be using perhaps 100s of images for the slideshows on DVDs
4 Is there a way of setting PSPro X to automatically change all images to 16.9 from now on.Surely I have not got to go through the above mentioned procedure for each image.
5 This seems to be a lot more agro than I thought it would be.What would be the consquencies of not changing anything,
cant the aspect ratio of a TV picture be adjusted via the TVs remote control anyway ?

[hartpaul]

OK now we get more information. My suggestions were based on you wanting to prepare a couple of images for some lecture or small slide show, Now it is 100 s of images and that raises other things. yes I think there are TVs that can change the aspect ratio, but they will distort the image if it is not prepared for that or they will leave black bars at top or sides depending on image. You can do a test on whatever TV you are using and see what works.

Are your images all landscape or some portrait?
You could resize all images so that they are say 900 pixels high , then arrange a script that will place them on a 1600 x 900 canvas. You will have bars of whatever colour you make your canvas.
Process is
Load your image which is 900 pixels high.
1. Image --> Canvas Size . Untick Lock Aspect Ratio. Units pixels. Set height 900 , and width 1600. Double click the colour box and choose your background colour (black??)
2. Click the central spot in the placement section then OK
Your image will be non distorted and on a 1600 x 900 canvas with black bars at each side.

Once you have done this and set it up once , you can then record , repeat with a fresh image and save as a script.
Have tested this on PSP X2 and PSP 8 so should work on PSP X

[Ken Veal]

Thanks for all your time and trouble
1 opened a 525 KB landscape image in PSPro X
2 Image
3 Canvas size
3 Lock Aspect Ratio not selected
4 Pixels selected
5 Height 900 Width 1600
6 Chose colour via colour box
7 Under Placement-selected centre box
8 OK
9 Images displays on work space with both sides, top and bottom cropped
10 Image headed as 40% background
11 No border.
12 Zooming does not retrieve 100% of photo

Some of the images to be used are landscape, some not.

“Once you have done this and set it up once , you can then record , repeat with a fresh image and save as a script.”

Assuming I get the above workflow sorted correctly, my next questions I need clarification on are
13 Can I have a workflow on recording the correct set up .
14 How do I save it as a script
15 How do I apply that script
16 What is a script

[hartpaul]

You said your image was cropped and you could not see it all. This suggests that your image is larger than the figures I gave as an example. Ie if your image is a 4: 3 ratio and is resized to 900 pixels high then its width will be 1200 pixels. An image of that dimension will fit on a 1600 x 900 pixel canvas with no cropping.
Try resizing your landscape picture to 900 pixels high first and then try that again.

[Ken Veal]

1 opened image showed on screen as 29% background
2 went to image-resize-aspect ratio locked and was set as 1.6301 to 1
3 changed height to 900 which moved width to 1467 OK
4 this changed background to 44%
5 went to canvas size height was shown as 900-width 1600
6 clicked centre box
7 chose colour-OK
8 Image was not cropped –background was now 41%
9 Image not cropped!

[hartpaul]

O....Kay!!

"screen as 29% background"
What you are seeing there is that it is a background image (not another layer ) 29% is the scaled size of the image. (Choose the Top tool on the left shaped like a hand - the Pan Tool and If you have the Tool Options showing (F4 key) then you should see the same number under Zoom %.)


If you roll your mouse wheel after selecting the title bar of that image you should see the scale of the image get bigger or smaller (Zooming in or out ) and the % number changes - My image currently shows as 25% but this tells you nothing about the actual pixel size of the image. That is shown in pixels down the bottom right Image:


When resizing your image for this purpose the resolution is unimportant - it is important for making a quality print. (That is why it is in the section labelled Print Size)


For screen use, pixel dimensions are important, that you have enough to fit across your screen and show detail when viewed full size.
As you can see my image is 2000 wide by 1333 high and for this exercise I need to get it 900 pixels high and have typed that figure in. Because the aspect ratio is locked, as I change the height, the width will also be changed. (You could try it with Lock Aspect Ratio unticked and type in 1600 and 900 and you would get the image in the proportion 16:9 but it would be stretched horizontally)
After resizing my image will be 1350 x 900. (Different cameras have different proportions but in this case we are trying to get the height to 900 pixels.)

Now if I Change the canvas width to 1600 and have it centred I will have sidebars on each side of the image as shown.


So we all OK for the steps to convert any landscape image less than 16 : 9 to fit on a canvas at 16: 9 ?
If right up to this point will look at scripts next if you need help there.

[Ken Veal]

This is great! one 1to1 tution, what more can I ask for!
I am following your advice with much interest and am with you so far.Would really appreciate the next instalment on scripts.
thanks.........Ken

[hartpaul]

13 Can I have a workflow on recording the correct set up .
14 How do I save it as a script
15 How do I apply that script
16 What is a script

Ok answering your last question first.
A script is a small program which carries out a series of repeatable steps. (In Photoshop it is called an action) .
Some things can be included in a script because they are the same every time; others cannot eg cropping where you might crop a rectangle in top left in one image, centre in another and bottom right in a third or cloning a tree out of a landscape picture . The script cannot know what picture you are working on and cannot crop or clone intelligently.
You can bring up the script toolbar as shown:


Some of the parts of the script toolbar are:


To prepare for a script recording you need to do a dry run with an image to familiarise the steps you are taking. Then you start your recording by clicking the "Start Script Recording" button, then do the steps:

1. Image -->Resize (height 900 should already be set and remembered), press OK
2. Image --> Canvas Size (width 1600 should already be remembered and all controls including colour of size bars remain) , Press OK
3. Click Save Script Recording and type a save name to remind you what it is (I used landscaperesizeheight900canvas1600) . It will try and save it in the Scripts Restricted folder , but go up a level and choose to save it in the Scripts Trusted Folder. Click Save to complete the save of your script.

Now you can test your script to see if it works as planned.
Bring in a new landscape image. Choose the script you have just saved in the Select Script box. (click the little down arrow and scroll down in the drop down box to the newly saved script.)
Click the "Play Chosen Script" button and the script will start on your image. There are two ways it can operate - Step by step (Interactive mode - high lighted button with border) where, as each dialog box comes up you have to Click OK

OR
It goes right to the end (silent mode) and you finish with the image and the side bars at 1600 x 900.

Have done some tests and you will have to separate your images into landscape and portrait.
I took some landscape images and resized them to different heights (all more than 900) and this script resized them all correctly and placed them on the 16 : 9 canvas. However when this script was applied to different portraits it failed. So you will need one script for landscapes and then repeat a different script for a portrait image. In processing your images you will need to separate your landscapes and portraits temporarily to apply the respective scripts.
This shows some results if you apply the correct scripts.



And if you try a script for the wrong orientation.


Next The Batch Process.

[Ken Veal]

Here is my workflow for the required script (thanks to Hartpaul) to crop a landscape image to 16.9 for use on a widesreen TV via a DVD slideshow
SCRIPT WORKFLOW
View-Toolbars-Script
Toolbar consists of-
Select script Run selected script Edit selected script Toggle execution mode
Run script Stop Script Start script recording Pause script rec.
Stop Cancel script rec Save script recording . Auto hide Close.

1 open Landscape image
2 go to image-resize- lock aspect ratio
3 change height to 900 OK
4 went to image canvas size height was shown as 900-width 1600
6 click centre box
7 choose colour -OK (pillar boxed image shows)
8 Click start script recording ( “O” icon)
9 . Image -->Resize (height 900 should already be set and remembered)
10In resize dialog box – click centre box -press OK
11 Image --> Canvas Size (width 1600 should already be remembered and all controls including colour of size bars remain) , click centre box Press OK
11 Click stop button
12 Click save script recording
13 In save as box - Name file “Landscape-resize Ht 900 Canvas 1600”
14 In save as type- enter Script files
14 Browse up 1 level to Scripts Trusted folder
15 Click save.
(To delete script – via Resource Manager box via top icon in Category list)
Repeat process for Portrait image

TO TEST

A Open new landscape image.
B Select saved script via Select Script box drop down arrow.
C Click the "Run selected script" button - script runs on image.
D In both dialog boxes- click centre box-OK
E Image shows with sidebars

[hartpaul]

So all working well or do you have other questions?

[Ken Veal]

Cant think of anything else but look forward to the next instalment re the batch process!

[hartpaul]

OK You have your script for Landscape saved and also your script for Portraits. Place your landscape pics in one folder and the portrait ones in another folder.

To start Batch Processing you need to go:
File--> Batch Process and a new dialog box will pop up.


This image shows where I have clicked on Browse at the top and worked my way to the folder containing landscape files and selected which ones I want to process - in this case all 5 have been selected.

Click Select and they will appear in that top window in the Batch Proces Dialog box.

By clicking on the arrow to the right of the Script window a pop up list of all your scripts will appear. Scroll and select the one you have done and named for landscapes.



The images will be processed fairly quickly and you will have your result in the Folder below.

Repeat for your portrait folde using your portrait script.
THat all there is to it.