Autodesk 64006-051108-9001 User Guide - Page 201

Testing

Page 201 highlights

Frame Rate versus Frame Size 193 When preparing QuickTime files, the Image Size option in the Image tab contains a Display size pop-up menu. This controls the final size of the movie as it appears in the viewer's browser or QuickTime Player. There are four Display size options: Normal - Plays the movie at full size. 150% - Plays the movie at 150% of its normal size. Double - Plays the movie at 200% of its normal size. Custom - Enables you to enter custom dimensions for the movie playback size. Testing A wise developer once said, "Test early, test often and test on all of the target computers." Before you fill a dozen hard drives with footage, test your production process from start to finish on a few sample files. You may find things later in the process that can be easily fixed by changing steps earlier in the process. For example, you may realize that the interview video you are shooting looks great when displayed on a video monitor, but the subjects are too small when the video is scaled down to the final size for the project. Filming the same video closer to the subject might address this issue. Figuring this out before you shoot all your material is preferable to reshooting. To test a Web movie, upload it to the server and access it with the same connection for which you are optimizing. If the Web server is on the same local area network as the test computer, disconnect the test computer from the LAN and access the video via the target connection, such as a modem, to simulate the target user's experience. Make sure to view the movie with a range of browsers. For a CD-ROM project, the best way to test your movies is to play them within the title interface (or a mock-up of it) on the minimum target computer with the minimum CD-ROM drive on the project specifications. Play the movie all the way through and watch for dropped frames and skipping audio or loss of sync. Playing the movie in a different application may not give you an accurate representation of how the movie plays in your final project. For example, your Director projector may take some extra CPU overhead while running. Thus, testing the movie only with QuickTime Player may not warn you of the lower performance you might see in the final project. Similarly, playing the movie from a hard drive when the final is to be played from a 2x CD-ROM may not tell you if the data rate is a problem.

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Frame Rate versus Frame Size
193
When preparing QuickTime files, the Image Size option in the Image tab contains a Display size
pop-up menu. This controls the final size of the movie as it appears in the viewer’s browser or
QuickTime Player.
There are four Display size options:
Normal
— Plays the movie at full size.
150%
— Plays the movie at 150% of its normal size.
Double
— Plays the movie at 200% of its normal size.
Custom
— Enables you to enter custom dimensions for the movie playback size.
Testing
A wise developer once said, “Test early, test often and test on all of the target computers.”
Before you fill a dozen hard drives with footage, test your production process from start to
finish on a few sample files. You may find things later in the process that can be easily fixed by
changing steps earlier in the process.
For example, you may realize that the interview video you are shooting looks great when
displayed on a video monitor, but the subjects are too small when the video is scaled down to
the final size for the project. Filming the same video closer to the subject might address this
issue. Figuring this out before you shoot all your material is preferable to reshooting.
To test a Web movie, upload it to the server and access it with the same connection for which
you are optimizing. If the Web server is on the same local area network as the test computer,
disconnect the test computer from the LAN and access the video via the target connection, such
as a modem, to simulate the target user’s experience. Make sure to view the movie with a range
of browsers.
For a CD-ROM project, the best way to test your movies is to play them within the title interface
(or a mock-up of it) on the minimum target computer with the minimum CD-ROM drive on
the project specifications. Play the movie all the way through and watch for dropped frames
and skipping audio or loss of sync.
Playing the movie in a different application may not give you an accurate representation of
how the movie plays in your final project. For example, your Director projector may take some
extra CPU overhead while running. Thus, testing the movie only with QuickTime Player may
not warn you of the lower performance you might see in the final project. Similarly, playing the
movie from a hard drive when the final is to be played from a 2x CD-ROM may not tell you if
the data rate is a problem.