How to make awesome shots for WTM


STEP 2: Processing the raw shot

Why DVD black bars should be removed...


What you would get in the WTM frame:
What if I don't crop the DVD black bars?

The WTM frame is 720x400 pixels.

In order to make your snapshot fit in this frame,
its size will be reduced
(by the WTM upload system, unless you do it before).

Then, from 768px wide, it would go down to 533px...

Look at his : It's small and surrounded by black bars !
Not what we like to see on WTM...
Picture is only 533px wide. It's small and there seems to be black bars all around.
And what if I get rid of those black bars?

OK, let's see what would happen if you remove the black bars.

Then, from 768px wide, it would go down to 720px!

It's way bigger
and looks as good as those other awesome shots on WTM!
Picture is 720px wide. The tiny black bars are actually the WTM frame background.

Getting rid of those ugly black bars

All right, but HOW can I do that?

You'll need a graphic editor software.

This tutorial is made using PhotoFiltre.
It's free and rather simple to use.
You can download it here.

The first thing to do is select the actual movie area
from the DVD snapshot frame -->

Note :
DO NOT crop the movie.
Just cut the black bars off, only the DVD black bars.

IMPORTANT :
Do not alter the shot in any other way.
Any adjustement of color/brightness/whatever is
not allowed.
Use your mouse to select what should be keeped.
Then, just click on Crop in the Image menu -->

It's done. Black bars are gone!


Note :
You don't need to resize the shot.
The WTM upload system will take care of that.
Go to Image and click on Crop.

Saving your snapshot in high quality

WTM won't accept low quality

Be sure to save your shot in high quality.

To do that click on Save as in the File menu.

We recommend you select the PNG format,
and then type in a file name.

If you'd rather store your shots in the JPG format,
be sure to set Compression at 90 or 95.
You'll get a JPG file of a reasonable size
and still very good quality.
Set quality to 90%.

Go back to Step 1 Go to Step 3: Uploading the shot on WTM