Forum:Wallpapers vs Screenshots for Infoboxes

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Just curious on everyone's thoughts on the infoboxes, should they have wallpapers generated by the BBC in them that are often visually striking, though when scaled down to 250px are sometimes hard to make out, and are sometimes slightly abstract or screenshots that capture a 'moment' or idea from the TV story. --Tangerineduel 16:11, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I'd say use them, but trim the edges down a bit if it doesn't look right. The wallpapers are good because they tend to give a clear, distinct picture of the character when there may not be good screenshots of them. If there is a good, in-universe shot of a character, use it; if not, use a wallpaper instead. -<Azes13 17:09, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Wallpapers seem too give a good insight to the episode but I agree they arent always clear. I prefer just print screening Iplayer before cutting it to a square.--Skittles the hog 19:08, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

I prefer screenshots, as it's a little more valid. Occassionally a wallpaper might be better for the odd article and moments where images are scarce. The profile pages shouldnt have wallpapers, it's not like out all their appearences, there isnt at least one screenshot that's clear. Especially the 8th Doctor one. At no point in the film does he walk into the TARDIS with a candle. Taccer 07 19:35, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

Definitely screenshots, in articles that are written in the in-universe perspective. Promotional shots often break the fourth wall. A promo pic that used to be on the Sarah Jane Smith article, for instance, showed SJS interacting with the SJA logo. That was clearly inappropriate, and I changed it. But the simple fact that the actor is looking straight into the camera in promotional pics breaks the fourth wall. And there's no perceptible resolution improvement by using a promotional shot, either. At a mere 250px the playing field often gets leveled out, and you can't tell the difference between something captured off even a Blu-Ray HD shot and something from a DVD release. Therefore, it stands to reason that a promo shot, which may be at resolution somewhere between those things offers no significant visual difference on what you can get from within the story itself. The best kind of infobox shots are ones cropped to the face of the individual. Most promo shots are full body shots, which fail to capture details of the face when shrunk to 250px. They also tend to make the picture incredibly long on the page. A nice 16:9 shot of a head, where available, is all you want or need. CzechOut ☎ | ✍ 18:16, February 10, 2010 (UTC)