Raster

Raster graphics (sometimes called bitmap graphics) are image files in which the visual content is stored as a rectangular grid of individual pixels, each assigned a specific color value. The image you see on screen is the aggregate of thousands or millions of these tiny colored squares arranged at sufficient density that they're individually imperceptible at normal viewing distance. Common raster image formats include JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, and WebP. Digital photographs, screenshots, and video frames are all raster images — their content is defined by a finite grid of pixels, and that grid's dimensions are the image's resolution.

The fundamental characteristic of raster images is their resolution-dependence. A raster image is defined at a specific size — say, 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels tall (4K UHD). That resolution is the image's native size. When displayed at or smaller than its native size, the image looks sharp because the pixel density is sufficient for the viewing context. When enlarged beyond its native size, the individual pixels become visible as a blocky, "pixelated" or "jaggy" appearance — the image has been asked to show detail it was never designed to contain. This is why logos and graphics used in video production should ideally be provided as vector files (which can be rendered at any size without quality loss) rather than low-resolution raster files that will pixelate when scaled to full-screen.

For video production teams, the practical implication of raster graphics is asset management: always work with the highest-resolution raster assets available. If a client logo is provided as a small JPEG from a business card, it will look poor when scaled to full screen in a video title card or lower third. Request source files in vector formats (AI, EPS, SVG) or high-resolution PNG with transparency from the client's brand assets repository. When creating graphics for video, work in dimensions appropriate to the final video resolution (at minimum 1920×1080, ideally 3840×2160 for 4K deliverables) and export at native resolution. The moment you rasterize at insufficient resolution for the display context, you've permanently lost quality that cannot be recovered.