Photoshop

Create an image for use in video

  1. Create a new document.
  2. From the Preset menu in the New dialog box, choose the Film & Video preset.
  3. Choose the size that’s appropriate for the video system on which the image will be shown.
  4. Click Advanced to specify a color profile and specific pixel aspect ratio.
    Important: By default, nonsquare pixel documents open with Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction enabled. This setting scales the image so it appears as it would on the nonsquare-pixel output device (usually a video monitor).
  5. Optional To view the image as it would appear on a computer monitor (square pixel), choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction.
    Circle in NTSC DV (720 x 480 pixels) document viewed on computer (square pixel) monitor with Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction turned on (top) and Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction turned off (bottom)

    You can simultaneously view an image with the Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction turned on and off. With the nonsquare pixel image open and Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction enabled, choose Window > Arrange > New Window For [name of document]. With the new window active, choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction to turn off the correction.
  6. If you have a display device, such as a video monitor, connected to your computer via FireWire, you can preview the document on the device:

    • To set output options before previewing the image, choose File > Export > Video Preview.

    • To view the image without setting output options, choose File > Export > Send Video Preview To Device.

When creating images for video, you can load a set of video actions (included with Photoshop) that automate certain tasks—such as scaling images to fit video pixel dimensions and setting the pixel aspect ratio.