Adobe Photoshop CS4 - Manual (Page 549)

542 USING PHOTOSHOP CS4
Video and animation
Last updated 1/10/2010
Assign a pixel aspect ratio value to an existing document
❖ With a document open, choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio and then choose a pixel aspect ratio that’s compatible
with the video format that you’ll be using your Photoshop file with.
Create a custom pixel aspect ratio
1 With a document open, choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio > Custom Pixel Aspect Ratio.
2 In the Save Pixel Aspect Ratio dialog box, enter a value in the Factor text box, name the custom pixel aspect ratio,
and click
OK.
The new custom pixel aspect ratio appears in both the Pixel Aspect Ratio menu of the New dialog box and in the
View
> Pixel Aspect Ratio menu.
Delete a pixel aspect ratio
1 With the document open, choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio > Delete Pixel Aspect Ratio.
2 In the Delete Pixel Aspect Ratio dialog box, choose the item to delete from the Pixel Aspect Ratio menu, and click
Delete.
Reset the pixel aspect ratios
1 With the document open, choose View > Pixel Aspect Ratio > Reset Pixel Aspect Ratios.
2 In the dialog box, choose one of the following:
Append Replaces the current pixel aspect ratios with the default values plus any custom pixel aspect ratios. This option
is useful if you deleted a default value and want to restore it to the menu but also want to retain any custom values.
OK Replaces the current pixel aspect ratios with the default values. Custom pixel aspect ratios are discarded.
Cancel Cancels the command.
Prepare images for use in After Effects
You can import a Photoshop (PSD) file directly into an After Effects project with the option of preserving individual
layers, layer styles, transparent areas and layer masks, and adjustment layers (preserving the individual elements for
animation).
Note: For best results, work in RGB mode, which After Effects uses. After Effects CS3 and later can convert files from
CMYK to RGB. After Effects 7 and earlier cannot.
Before you export a layered Photoshop file for use in After Effects, do the following to reduce preview and rendering
time and to avoid problems with importing and updating Photoshop layers.
• Organize and name layers. If you change a layer name or delete a layer in a Photoshop document after you import
it into After Effects, After Effects won’t be able to find the renamed or deleted layer. The After Effects Project panel
lists that layer as missing. (You can also group layers into Smart Objects. For example: If you used a set of layers to
make a foreground object and a set of layers to make a background, you can group them as one Smart Object each,
and easily animate one to fly in front of the other).
• Make sure that each layer has a unique name. Duplicate layer names can cause confusion.
• Choose Always from the Maximize PSD And PSB File Compatibility menu in the File Handling Preferences dialog box.
• Use the appropriate pixel dimension preset for video and film in the New Document dialog box.