Scanning photos

[Charlot Vega]

Hi,

 

I'm editing a feature documentary (for the first time). This doc is destined for a television/internet audience, but there'll be several theatrical screenings prior - so I want to make sure that the photos being used will look great when projected.

 

As a test, I scanned the same photos at 300dpi and at 600dpi. The ones at 300dpi look far better (though Color Correction can somewhat help the 600dpi scans). Will 300dpi hold up on a big screen?? (We pan/scan every image.)

 

Also - and this may have the same answer - if grabbing pictures off the internet, what would the minimum size be for theatrical projection?

 

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

Thx!

charlot

[Paul Bartok]

Hi charlot just to let you know on film and 1k/2k projection the details really will not come through as much as say bluray, even 4k to really notice the detail you would have to be siting in the first six rows to really notice the difference.

 

for extended details read: http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter

and look at this chart for reference: http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

 

in my honest opinion the 300dpi if were talking 6x4 photos will hold up, but if you can go for the 600dpi for future proof reasons and the zooming (artifacts could be more visible on home projection) then defiantly go for it.

 

300 dpi 1800x1200 = around 1k

 

600 dpi 3600x2400 = around 3k

your colour correction actually has to do with your color bit depth more than anything make sure the scans are to raw 24 or 48 bit if possible. No JPEG. RAW, PNG, DPX or TIFF are acceptable

[Charlot Vega]

Wow - thanks Paul - this is very helpful (and those links are excellent info sources, as well). Our photos were scanned as JPG's! I will look into rescanning immediately.

 

Thx again,

charlot