Whenever I begin a new project, invariably I'll need certain elements from my clients to get going: certainly their logo, perhaps a palette of their colors and any photos or existing video they want to incorporate.
Sometimes I run into a little resistance when it comes to the quality of these items. Clients often try to provide files pulled from their website, but what's acceptable on the web is not acceptable on television. With video, everything needs to be bigger and higher resolution than what you're used to, otherwise it will look pixelated and grainy, especially compared to the high resolution video and graphics I'll provide. Below, guidelines for providing the highest quality elements to get the highest quality finished product.
Logo
Your logo is the most important element I'll ask you for. Do not just right click on it from your website, "Save As" and send it to me. On your website, the logo has been shrunk down to fit on the page. Once it's been shrunk, I can't make it bigger without it looking pixelated. If you don't have a high resolution file, whomever designed your logo should have it. It needs to be at a minimum 550 pixels wide and 72dpi, but bigger is always better.
Photographs
As with graphic images, photos need to be provided in their original size, fresh out of the camera. If you're sending a lot of them (too many to email), it's best to burn them to a cd or use a file sharing service like Dropbox or Yousendit to transfer them. If you upload them to a site like Snapfish, they'll become compressed and will lose a lot of their original quality. In order to check the file size on a PC, right click the file and select "Properties". The size needs to be a minimum of 640x480. On a Mac, right click and select "Get Info" to see the size.
Speaking of quality, the camera used to capture the photographs makes a huge difference. In the past three weeks, I've had two clients send me pictures taken from cell phones to use in a video. We all use cell phones to take quick snapshots, but when you're promoting your business cell phones simply don't cut it. You want the images to be clear, high resolution and have depth of field. A cell phone camera will never, ever be up to the challenge. And yes, that includes your iPhone! Even a point-and-shoot is a far better option.
Video
Like with still cameras, the quality of the video camera is paramount. Just because a camera touts itself as "high def" (ahem, iPhone, FlipCam) doesn't make it high quality. Sure it looks okay on your teeny little phone screen, but what would it look like on a 50" widescreen TV? Not good. It's better to have a professional shoot (or reshoot) your product or service.
And while we're on the topic, here's a bonus tip: If you are shooting video with your iPhone, make sure you're holding your phone the right way. Think of the shape of your TV screen-- it's wider than it is tall, isn't it? Your computer screen is too, right? So be sure to hold your iPhone sideways, so it matches the aspect ratio of TV and computer screens.
Sometimes I'm asked to use parts of an existing video created years before. Depending on circumstances this may work. The best case scenario is that the client still has access to the original raw (unedited) video, which is most likely on tape like Beta SP or DV. Sometimes people ask me to pull elements from a DVD. It can be done, but won't look great compared to the fresh video we'll be shooting together.
When it doubt, remember this rule: it's easy to make big items smaller, but impossible to make small items bigger (and look good anyway). Even if your end use for this video is on the web, you'll still want to create a broadcast quality (higher resolution) piece; it may come in handy later.
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