optimization and frame rates

use this for coursework but put notes into your own words!!!!!!! (probs for merit/ distinction tasks)

optimisation: making the product look the best it possibly can. You'll need to consider the purpose of the animation, and how the colour, size (gigabites, megabites), frame (frames per second), compression (lossless and loss-e) and exported file (file type- .mp4 or .mov) fit the purpose. 

You should use vector rather than bitmap for this.

The higher the pixel count, the higher quality the image is. 
Vector is known for being high quality whereas bitmap is low resolution.
Vector is good for when the image needs to be blown up and zoom in and bitmap becomes pixelated when zoomed in but its a smaller file type. 

Bitmap includes: jpegs, png, tiff, bmp
Can be used for advertising on a small size poster but a large billboard in times square for example would need a higher quality image as it zooms in. 

Vector in its original format has crisp, clear lines which stay the same when you zoom in.
A vector is saved as co-ordinates instead of pixels. When the image is enlarged the objects work together and enlarge equally. This is because it has a series of coordinates to it and when resizing by zooming, the pixilation effect does not occur. 
When using vectors on a professional scale vectors are ideal for large scale projects like billboards. It would maintain crisp lines.

Exporting the animation

The file format must correlate with the requirements of the brief. As this unit is concerned with producing animation for online distribution- specifically, a phone app- you need to consider the correct export option. 
For this, you will need to compress the file you have created in Final cut.

1000 megabytes in a gigabyte
1000 gigabytes in a terabyte

.mov

high quality: always in gigabytes
a file exported in full animation- vector images, moving backgrounds, etc.

file > share > export file > settings

.mov file produces large files, footage effects, and texts will be better quality, with a lower degree of compression.

very difficult to send over the internet, download, or stream on black boxes as it's such a big file.
it can also eat up your memory/ storage space

the details of the animation get picked up better and nothing is lost > resulting in a more complete and clear production. Details include object descriptors, scene descriptors, and other object-oriented file structures that run in the background.

files aren't compressed: footage, text, transitions, edit effects. no frame rates are lost

.mp4

lower quality/ resolution

change codec to H.264- standard codec for compression and video encoding. 
file > share > export file > settings
format, video codec, file format, and size.

recently this has become the most popular codec to play videos over the web, whilst also being supported by many smartphones- many advantages and easily accessible

although final cut suggests it is only supported by iPhone devices, it is also supported by Android/ Google phones as it is a web file. 

A MPEG (AKA MP4) file provides smaller files, therefore it will load faster. Also allows users to watch videos over a low bandwidth connection (poor internet connection can still watch)

although the high compression sometimes lowers the quality, ultimately it will provide a better viewing experience. 

avoid using any moving images for backgrounds- stick with images (BITMAP). Otherwise, the file image becomes quicker and laggy. 

Test plan and debugging

once an animation has been created, it needs to be tested and debugged.

this allows you to check that the animation runs as expected

a screen test can be created in order to ascertain whether what is in the animation marries with the desired outcomes (e.g. if a zombie dog attacks a zombie cat does it actually look like this on the screen)

Screen test: a form of audience feedback, to determine if it's fit for purpose.

FRAME RATES- LOOK AT THE POWERPOINT