'scaleabe' graphics files

[r]Evolution wrote on 11/20/2003, 1:24 PM
What would be the best file format for a graphic that would be 'scalable' without loosing quality?

I was told that an .EPS or .AI from Ilustrator would work but I notice they will not import into VEGAS.

We are hoping to create our company Logo and be able to use it as a 'watermark' on our videos. Also we are hoping to be able to 'scale' this media for use in animated Lower Thirds and whatever else comes about. Naturally, without loosing quality.


Thanks in Advance,
Lamont

Comments

JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/20/2003, 1:33 PM
Your best bet would be to use the EPS or AI file as you master copy. Then scale it in the application you made it in (Illustrator, Paint Shop Pro, etc.) and save it as a PNG, TGA file with an alpha channel and use that in Vegas. I believe EPS and AI are Vector formats and Vegas can only import Raster formats.

For extra credit, import your EPS or AI file into Ulead Cool 3D Studio (a demo/trial version is available from the Ulead site) and make a spinning 3D logo and save that as an AVI or animated GIF. If you’re not up to playing with Cool 3D, you can send the file to me at (john_rofrano at hotmail dot com) and I can convert it for you and send it back as an animated GIF (which shouldn’t be too big) that you can drop in Vegas. Might be good for the lower thirds. ;-)

~jr
johnmeyer wrote on 11/20/2003, 4:10 PM
EPS is not a very good format, because not all applications can read it. It is a vector format, meaning that the images is stored as mathematical equations rather than a series of bits. The good news is that you can scale this to the size of the Egyptian pyramids and it will stil have nice crisp, sharp edges (no pixelization). The bad new is that it is limited to illustrations and drawings, i.e., things done with lines and shades. You cannot use it for photographs or video.

If you have such images, you can import them into a capable image editor, and then save them in a standard bitmap format (like PNG, TIF, BMP, etc.) in whatever resolution you think is appropriate (720x480 for NTSC video, for example).

If you deal with vector images a lot, the WMF formate is native to Windows and is understood a large number of Windows applications.