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How to save a GIF cinemagraph?


D

DrCarl

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What are the steps to save save a GIF cinemagraph? - I am a noob at GIFs.

The GIFs I have are made with one main image (the first one), and then the next 150 frames are of what little motion there is in the image.

What I am getting is a quick flash of the main image, then just the masked moving parts without the background.

And, for an extra bonus, tell me a second way to reveal a GIF once I minimize it. I know it's there SOMEwhere...lol..wait, Ctrl-Tab did it this time, but wouldn't a while ago...there are always two or three ways, right?

I am also hunting for a way to preview the GIF in PS so that the 150 masks with the motion overlay the first main image.

Just attached the one that does not work, and the original...so you can see what I am seeing.

TIA

DrCarl

(The bottom sample is an "as is" GIF as produced by my phone. The upper sample has an adjustment layer on the top of the stack, yet the still image only plays for the first (and 76th? of 150) frame)
 

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  • 20151111_134820-9999999--copy.gif
    20151111_134820-9999999--copy.gif
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  • 20151111_134820.gif
    20151111_134820.gif
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Hey Carl, creating Cinemagraphs is a very different process than creating GIF's.

While most Cinemagraphs are saved in .gif format, they are created using a video timeline rather than the frame animation of most GIF's.

Here is simple Cinemagraph I created from the movie Minority Report.
MinorityReport_03.gif

Here are the two layers it was created from.
Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 10.13.53 PM.png

Here is a view of the timeline.
Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 10.14.07 PM.png

Here is one of the few tutorials that cover creating Cinemagraphs very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DU0Sim_BJ4
 
Here's another with a simple loop that I created using the video tut from above.
Click on the image to see the animation.
MinorityReport_05.1.gif

Here are the three layers used to create it.
Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 10.23.07 PM.png
 
Iam looking all over for the layers called "weird" and "partial" - and hope I can remove them all at once after I find them. (lol?)
 
IamSam said:
Sorry, I completely misunderstood the question.
Click to expand...

Iam - thanks anyway.
I received your relevant post about Cinemagraphs being a very different process than creating GIFs, but can't find it here in the forum.
Regardless, thank you.
Am following those links soon to develop an understanding.
;)
DrCarl

PS - BTW, besides your post being gone, the links you provided to you examples don't work. The one to the YouTube tutorial does.
Thanks
 
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DrCarl said:
Iam looking all over for the layers called "weird" and "partial" - and hope I can remove them all at once after I find them. (lol?)
Click to expand...


One of many not hard to see white layers looking all weird:thumbsup:

layer.jpg
 
Carl, I removed my posts since I responded thinking you were wanting to know how to create Cinemagraphs. After re-reading your post, I thought you were asking about how to save them, so I had given you the wrong information. I must admit, I'm still a bit lost on what your needing.

I can re-open the posts if you like?
 
IamSam and Paul...........


Paul - Interesting tutorial for making GIFS. Mine is already made by my phone. Skimming through the photojojo tutorial for gems and perhaps the answer, I see that they are making a cinemagraph where I want to make adjustments to one that is already made. You know, those neat PS adjustments like vibrance and contrast...

The tut says to test the GIF by playing it in the Photoshop "frames" window. I wonder where that is? Probably the 'play' arrow under the frames? I have seen two other ways to test it. After going to 'Save For Web,' there is both a 'play' arrow, and a button for 'open in browser.' Both of these yield a good test, but a failed GIF with the streaming masked frames individually displayed, while not having the individual still first frame (which is the whole still picture). You see that with the linked samples, above.

BTW - I'll look over the other links in the article eventually. To just be literal: if I remove all the weird frames (150 of them) there will be no animation.

The weird white part of the layers should have been transparent, and overlaying the still frame. Maybe that's a clue. My settings in the 'Save for web' window match everything I've seen...



IamSam - Really, thanks for the links. I am bound to learn some things from that phlearn site. Although my GIF has already been made by my phone, the vid I watched helped me understand a lot...even though they are making a GIF from a video. Can't wait to find out what the difference between 'fill' and 'flow' are (lessons on their site). There is SO much to learn in PS. I am rather addicted, although I am sometimes slowly struggling through, self-taught, trial and error, just "helping" my photos out a bit.

I'd love to see what you did post, so, yes please, re-post or whatever. Sometimes I learn even if the answer is not completely a direct answer.

To clear up the 'a bit lost' part for you (and me), here is a story: I needed a new smart phone so I did my usual TON of research and acquired a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 which is better than all of the Apple products (multitasking), and even better than the Note 5 just released (128 GB micro SD card, removable battery).

The phone has a native camera app with a mode called "Animated photo" which produces cinemagraphs! As I am still in the learning stages, learning what's on my palette, I experiment. Pretty cool stuff. I shot the hummingbird hand-held (braced beside a window) while/after making coffee. Looking a bit pekid and not very crisp or colorful, I know that my good friend PS can be of assistance.

I opened the Note 4-produced GIF in Photoshop, all 150 pre-masked frames are there. The first frame is the still shot, the rest are just the result of masking for the moving parts. I made some changes to the first frame, but then the rest of the frames did not match. Then, I learned a new thing online (here in fact). "Adjustment layers" added to the 'top of the stack' (kind of like Adobe Illustrator stacks - which I am a total noob at). OMG! THAT's what those little icons are for!!! I just recently learned about "Open as" for Camera RAW, and last year spent many days learning a little teeny bit about sharpening.

I made some adjustments and before going too wild (these are only rudimentary experiments so far) I decided to save and test it. That's where the problems began. No matter what I do, including doing nothing, the saved GIF demonstrates everything (all the motion) except the important still image background.

I don't know if it's a setting I need to make in PS or what? That's how I came up with "need to learn how to save a GIF cinemagraph." Technically, the answer to that question is "Shift-Ctrl-Alt-S."

What I might have asked is "how do I save a cinemagraph GIF that was made by my Note 4, and make the still image remain behind the masked individual frames?" (but even there I am probably using the term "masked" improperly - (since it's the ~result~ of the masking that remains, not the actual mask...which was probably left far behind in the phone long ago - lol?)

So, I shot a VERY rudimentary cinemagraph with my Note 4, and I want to tweak and save it.

As I mentioned, even if I do NO adjustments or tweaking, the GIF just doesn't 'save' right. It is certainly user error. With some hope, the user can be fixed!

That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Thanks for your, well, for everything.

Best,

DrCarl
 
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Looking at what you have made it is really hard to work out exactly what you are trying to do with it mate, usually with cinemagraphs it is one small feature that moves with the rest of the frames staying rock solid still, if you want the bird to fly around leave the gif as is.
I don't get what it is you are trying to redo to it at all.
As for saving it the link i gave explains what to do clearly.
 
The problem here is pretty simple and a very easy fix.

With frame #1 selected you'll notice that ONLY Layer 1 is visible....which is fine.
If you select frame #2 you'll notice that Layer 1 gets turned off.
This is the same for every other frame....so....

The answer is to turn ON that first layer for all the other frames......so each frame, except #1, will have 2 (two) visible layers in it....the background, (Layer 1), AND one other layer.

The easiest way to add that first layer to all the frames is to select ALL the frames, turn that layer, (LAYER 1), off and then turn it back ON again....

1:40 No Audio.


I included a preview of the animation in the SFW dialog just to show the end result but you're probably ok with that side of things.

Once you have that first layer included in all the frames you can then add whatever adjustment layers you want to top of the stack......it'll will affect ALL the layers below it....which I think is what you want.

Regards.
MrToM.
 
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Paul said:
...hard to work out exactly what you are trying to do with it mate
Click to expand...

Open the pre-mande GIF in PS, make adjustments (like saturation), and save it.

Paul said:
if you want the bird to fly around leave the gif as is.
Click to expand...

I want to make adjustments to the GIF, then save it. I want most of the image to be rock solid. I want the bird to fly around. I want to change the saturation, color, shadows, whatever and save it.


Paul said:
As for saving it the link i gave explains what to do clearly.
Click to expand...

I followed the instructions you shared (thanks) as well as MANY others...believe me, I know ALL about saving GIFs by now (I could learn a bit about dithering and the color reduction algorithm options). Following the instructions did. not. work.

I followed another thread and got an idea that DI provide a solution! Check post #20 out on this thread
https://www.photoshopgurus.com/foru...wroom/54785-animated-smoke-david-bowie-2.html

Thanks to all!
 
DrCarl said:
...MrTom!!! YAY! THAT'S IT!...
Click to expand...
No worries.

It took a while because of the confusing thread title....'cinemagraphs' are something completely different as @IamSam has excellently demonstrated.

There is actually an even more elegant, and probably better, way of doing it....

[From your original 'gif' file]
1. RIGHT click the first FRAME.
2. Select 'Do Not Dispose'.
3. Save as normal out to a gif file.

The advantage to this is that it retains the 'transparency' in those other 149 layers instead of merging each one with the background.

Whatever 'app' you used to create the 'gif' in the first place did a pretty good, although not unexpected' job of the animation....as you can appreciate, video takes an enormous amount of processing power that phones just aren't capable of so they get round it by compressing the life out of anything they process.

Part of that 'compression' process is to have one 'key-frame', (Your background layer), and then each successive frame to only contain the 'difference' between it and the background.

Using the above method will keep your options open to continue to edit the frames without the background layer getting in the way...that's if you don't still have the original 'gif' file nor a saved PSD file of your edits....which you should always do btw.

You may even find that this method, because of the reduced information being saved, will greatly reduce the filesize to something nearer the original.

I didn't mention this before just in case the first solution wasn't what you wanted but now we know it is then I'd recommend using this second method over adding the background layer to each frame as I suggested before.

Either way the end result is the same.

Regards.
MrToM.
 
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MOST excellent. Thank you VERY much.

Gotta love the internet, PS, people.....can learn just about anything...

;)

DrCarl
 
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