Lab 4: Photoshop and Cinemagraphs
Cinemagraphs are extremely interesting pieces of multimedia as they combine concepts of both photography and videography. Although many people may see these as separate forms of media, when these ideas are combined they create impressive art pieces which are difficult look away from! By adding small areas of movement to a photo, you still maintain the integrity of a photo but add much more realism and life to it. In this lab, I wanted to experiment with a subject which has a lot of movement such as these swans and capture not only a still moments, but also their natural styles of movement through cinemagraph.
Inspiration
While looking for inspiration I found a video from Peter McKinnon which guided me to make the cinemagraph below. In his guide he made the process of creating a cinemagraph of coffee pouring super simple so I wondered if it was also possible for something more abstract which lead me to work with the video of swans.
I created the cinemagraph below with original video created by Taryn Elliot
I created the cinemagraph below with original video created by Taryn Elliot
Design Info
The original video of the swans was published by Karolina Grabowska. With this video our goal will be to isolate the left swan as our moving subject, while leaving the rest of the video completely still.
Design Process
1. Import the video
We can start by importing this video by dragging the video from your folder into the photoshop environment. This should automatically open the timeline for you to edit.
2. Trim the Video
Within this timeline we can find the part of the video which is best suited for our cinemagraph. By clicking and moving the blue cursor on the timeline, you quickly skim through the video. When you have found a few seconds of the video you like, click the edges of the video and drag it inwards until you reach the boundaries of the video you want.
Within this timeline we can find the part of the video which is best suited for our cinemagraph. By clicking and moving the blue cursor on the timeline, you quickly skim through the video. When you have found a few seconds of the video you like, click the edges of the video and drag it inwards until you reach the boundaries of the video you want.
3. Creating a Mask
As we only want the left swan to be moving, we must extract a single still frame from the video, and create a mask which opens up a transparent section to the video behind it. To do this, move the cursor to the start of the time line and press "Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E" which will create a new layer of the first frame. Ensure this layer is outside the video group layer and above it as seen in the images below. While this still layer is selected, press the mask button in the layers tab to add the mask
Now, using a brush with a black colour and soft edges, we can colour the portions the swan is moving. To be able to see the mask easier, press the "\" button. This will make the areas you have brushed to be red. The best way to do this mask is by marking an area, then playing the clip. Continue with the brush until the entire area the swan moves in is covered.
As we only want the left swan to be moving, we must extract a single still frame from the video, and create a mask which opens up a transparent section to the video behind it. To do this, move the cursor to the start of the time line and press "Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E" which will create a new layer of the first frame. Ensure this layer is outside the video group layer and above it as seen in the images below. While this still layer is selected, press the mask button in the layers tab to add the mask
Now, using a brush with a black colour and soft edges, we can colour the portions the swan is moving. To be able to see the mask easier, press the "\" button. This will make the areas you have brushed to be red. The best way to do this mask is by marking an area, then playing the clip. Continue with the brush until the entire area the swan moves in is covered.
4. Kind of a Cinemagraph?
At this point when you play the video you will notice that only the left swan moves, which is great! but it doesn't look so great because of the harsh cut at the end. To make this smoother, we can create a reverse loop. Reversing a video in photoshop is not as simple as you may think, but Kofi K figured out a way to do this which is what we will follow in the upcoming steps.
At this point when you play the video you will notice that only the left swan moves, which is great! but it doesn't look so great because of the harsh cut at the end. To make this smoother, we can create a reverse loop. Reversing a video in photoshop is not as simple as you may think, but Kofi K figured out a way to do this which is what we will follow in the upcoming steps.
5. Converting to Frames
The simplest way of reversing our cinemagraph is by creating individual frames and revering their order. This will inherently reverse the clip. To do this click on the Menu button on the top-right corner of the timeline tab. Then proceed to Convert Frames, followed by Flatten Frames into Clips as seen in the left image below. This will divide the video into several clips.
The simplest way of reversing our cinemagraph is by creating individual frames and revering their order. This will inherently reverse the clip. To do this click on the Menu button on the top-right corner of the timeline tab. Then proceed to Convert Frames, followed by Flatten Frames into Clips as seen in the left image below. This will divide the video into several clips.
6. Converting to Frame Animation
Now using a similar process, we can click the menu button again, and convert the clips into frames by pressing the Make Frames from Clips option. This is then followed by pressing the Convert to Frame Animation option. This will then place each frame in the timeline in a sequence.
Now using a similar process, we can click the menu button again, and convert the clips into frames by pressing the Make Frames from Clips option. This is then followed by pressing the Convert to Frame Animation option. This will then place each frame in the timeline in a sequence.
7. Reversing the frames
Now that we have a sequence of frames, we can create a duplicate set and reverse its order. To do this, click the menu button followed by Select All Frames. Then click the menu button again, followed by Copy Frame and then Paste Frames. This will create a duplicate set of all of the frames and paste it at the of the timeline. Since these frames are still selected, we can reverse the order by clicking the menu button, followed by the Reverse Frames option!
Now that we have a sequence of frames, we can create a duplicate set and reverse its order. To do this, click the menu button followed by Select All Frames. Then click the menu button again, followed by Copy Frame and then Paste Frames. This will create a duplicate set of all of the frames and paste it at the of the timeline. Since these frames are still selected, we can reverse the order by clicking the menu button, followed by the Reverse Frames option!
8. Export the Cinemagraph!
With reversing completed, the cinemagraph is finished and ready to be exported! Export this by clicking File -> Export -> Save for Web which will bring up the popup window seen in the left image. In this window, ensure to set the file type to GIF and the looping option to Forever
With reversing completed, the cinemagraph is finished and ready to be exported! Export this by clicking File -> Export -> Save for Web which will bring up the popup window seen in the left image. In this window, ensure to set the file type to GIF and the looping option to Forever
Final Result
With this, enjoy your live image! A thing to note would be the file size of these cinemagraphs. Depending on the video it may result in an output which is larger than 50mb which behance does not support. To get around this, export the GIF at a lower resolution such as 720p (1280x720 pixels) which will produce a smaller file.
Thank You!!
I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read through my process! I would like to especially thank Peter McKinnon and Kofi K who had awesome videos which I followed to produce some fun cinemagraphs!
