Pre-Production – Script | First Draft | Final Draft |
Production – Narration | Recording | Editing |
Production – Images | Gathering | Preparing | Headshot |
Post-Production | Video Editing |
Distribution | Exporting |

Preparing Images for Your Video

You should review the quality of each original image you plan to use in your video and improve it, if necessary.

In your Chrome web browser, open the PIXLR E photo editor and click on the OPEN IMAGE button.

Navigate to your project images folder. Select one of your original images then click the Open button.

When asked to Pre-resize image select the Original quality option, then press the APPLY button.

The range between the darkest areas of your image and the brightest is known as contrast.  The color quality should be judged in terms of how it represents the subject compared to a real-life view. If the image looks professional to you, including contrast and color, press your [ctrl+Q] keys to close it.

When you open an image that needs correction, as in this example, you have a variety of tools to explore.

Professional image editing applications let you use layers to take control of your design.  Imagine each layer are plastic sheets stacked on top of each other.  On each layer are parts that show a particular image.  The clear parts of the layer allow you to see the layers underneath.

To correct an image opened in PIXLR E go to the Layers menu and click on the Background layer.

Press the [ctrl+A] keys to select all of the layer. Press the [ctrl+C] keys to copy the layer, then press the [ctrl+V] keys. A copy of the layer will be added on top of the original layer.

Notice the original layer (named Background) has a lock icon which means it may not be changed until it has been unlocked.  It is good practice to keep an original image layer and work on a copy so that if you ever make changes that you regret, you still have a copy of the untouched image.

With the new layer selected in the Layers menu, click on the Adjustment menu.  Here you may explore a variety of tools to change the appearance of your image.

The Auto adjust option will do its best to correct the image contrast and color without you having to do the work.

If color does not look correct in your image it may be because the color balance is off.  When a photo is taken the camera needs to use a correct white balance.  When using an RGB color space, an image is made up of three primary colors: red, green and blue.  Something that appears white or shades of grey in a photo should have equal parts of red, green and blue.  If you have a photo where the white and grey colors appear too red, too blue or too green, the white balance is off.  This may be a subtle imperfection, so if the color of an image you have open seems off somehow, adjusting the white balance should improve it.  The Auto adjust option does a good job of correcting white balance.

If you want more control over how to change the image, explore the Adjustment menu’s other tools. One tool that works well for correcting contrast problems is the Levels tool. This tool shows the darkest, lightest and mid-range parts of the image in terms of image brightness. If you have not already used the Auto adjust tool, experiment with the Levels tool by adjusting each slider to see how it affects your image.

To compare the changes you have made to the original, click on the COMPARE icon. When you are happy with your level adjustments, click the APPLY button.

The Filter menu options will let you adjust image Details and apply special effects.

If you want to preserve image layers and continue your work at a later time, you should save the image using the .pxd format.  Use the [ctrl+S] keys to start the save process.  Add EDITED before the original name of the image.  Select the PXD format then press the DOWNLOAD button.

It may take a moment to prepare your image.  Navigate to your project’s images folder then press the Save button.

Once the file has downloaded press the CLOSE button.

When you next open the .pxd version of your image it should include all of the layers you saved.

Once you have completed correcting an image, use the [ctrl+S] keys to start the save process.  Add EDITED before the original name of the image.  Select the JPG format, HIGH quality option, then press the DOWNLOAD button.