8.7. Stage 7

8.7.1. Finishing touches

Stitcher 4 is not only a panorama montage program; it also does conversions. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, I first had it create a document in Cubic QTVR format so I could check for any mistakes made in Photoshop (Tools→Panorama Conversion). I chose one of the six faces (it doesn't matter which one) and specified the Cubic QTVR export type, leaving the initial size unchanged.

I thought the picture looked OK, so I went on to the next stage. Here, I asked Stitcher to produce a new export, transforming the six 3600 × 3600-pixel files into a single rectangular file in a 2:1 ratio (in this case, 14400 × 7200 pixels).

The advantage of having this new image is that I would be able to make adjustments—such as adjusting Curves or Levels—uniformly over the entire panorama.

I again used Tools→Panorama Conversion, chose one of the six faces, and specified Spherical as the export type. I chose TIF for the output format, since PSD was no longer an option.

When the conversion was finished, I temporarily closed Stitcher and returned to Photoshop.

I finally looked at the whole thing—it was more than 520 MB! Thanks to my Canon EOS 300D's CCD sensor and its 17–40mm lens, I can capture intense colors and detail. I only needed a minor Curves adjustment to bring out a few more details inthe shadows.

My panorama was finished! All I had to do was export and publish it.

I would be creating two separate files: the first, for a CD-ROM, would be about 6 MB; the second, for the Web, had to be no bigger than 2.5 MB.

8.7.2. The final export

In Stitcher, I again went back to Tools→Panorama Conversion, but this time chose Cubic QTVR as an export format, in normal JPEG format, without changing the 3600 × 3600-pixel-percube face file size. The resulting file was 6 MB—the size I had anticipated for the CD-ROM QTVR.

To shrink the file size below the 2.5 MB threshold for the Web version, I had two choices: lower the JPEG quality in Stitcher, or reduce the size of the panorama in Photoshop. The latter seemed the more efficient solution, since JPEG compression sometimes leads to all sorts of trouble.

In Photoshop, I reduced the image size to 5400 × 2700 pixels—the equivalent of 1350 pixels per face for a cubic file. After a Save As, I launched a new Panorama Conversion in Stitcher, then applied a new conversion with medium JPEG compression.

Stitcher 4 has a fast, practical interactive QuickTime VR Preview feature. It helps you not only choose the visualization window size, but also set values for maximum and minimum zoom, and for view angle.

My QTVR file was now 2.3 MB—a reasonable size for a spherical panorama aimed at users with a broadband connection. With undisguised pleasure, I invite you to spend a moment deep in the heart of "Venice serenissima." Come to www.gillesvidal.com/orseolo.htm.

Bon voyage!