Simple Animation Options

[Buddy Thomason]

As a recent convert to Mac from PC, and a Photoshop CS4 user, I am looking for a simple animation solution (equivalent to Easy GIF Animator for PC). The task is to take my already prepared and processed images and link them in the order I choose while controlling standard variables such as duration, transition etc. I've not found much information or support for the animation(frames) option in the window menu and don't really know what that's about. Searching for animation solutions compatible with Mac brings up major 3D programs that are overkill for my modest needs in this area. Any ideas would be appreciated. Here are links to examples that illustrate the simplicity and overall effect I'm looking for:

THANKS in advance for your ideas and suggestions!

[Martin_Doudoroff]

Buddy:

First, if you’re not already familiar with VersionTracker.com, do become so. It’s a great way to track down esoteric software. You’ll even find at least one GIF animation app there.

Second, interesting question. While animated GIFs certainly do still work, they don’t get a lot of love any more because of their limited palette, poor efficiency and the lingering taint of noxious patent litigation.

There used to be ways to create animated GIFs from within Photoshop, or rather, the ImageReady application that was once packaged with it. Adobe Fireworks used to have that capability, too. I have no idea where that functionality currently resides in CS4, or if it does at all.

Assuming that you need redistributable media (for the Web or whatever), these are the alternatives that I know of:
1) video (e.g., quicktime)
2) Flash
3) javascript-controlled (dynamic) animation

The video option means you'll assemble frame stacks using some sort of tool that will then render out a video file. Definitely take a look at iStopMotion. You can download a free trial. I’m not positive it will do what you need, but it might, and it’s pretty nifty.

Flash is flash. Adobe’s Flash CS4 product is the obvious tool.

Javascript-controlled animation that is delivered dynamically by web browsers is growing in stature and sophistication. Here's a simple example that popped up first in Google. I don't know if there are any interactive authoring tools, yet, or not.

Hope this all helps somehow.

Martin

[Jerry Skrocki]

Here is a link to the steps involved in creating an animated GIF in Photoshop CS4.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 * Frame animation workflow

Photoshop CS4 Extended adds the timeline feature to the process.

Jerry

[Dennis_Vied]

For we have-nots, CS3 animation is accessed under Window>Animation.

[Buddy Thomason]

Martin - Thanks for the tip about VersionTracker.com. I will pursue that.

I'll also look into Flash and Javascript though I suspect (could be mistaken) that would involve a learning curve/time sink that I can't afford just now.

I did not know about iStopMotion. Unless I'm mistaken, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride was made using a slew of Canon 1D MKII cameras and either that or similar program. iStopMotion is also capable of operating the still or video camera on the set. I do have a use in mind for the future but unfortunately it isn't suitable for my current purposes.

Jerry - Thanks for pointing me toward the Photoshop frame animation tutorial. It's an interesting sub-type of animation but limited in that every frame starts as a duplicate of the original frame in a separate layer where it can be edited. I'll fool around with it a bit because there might be ways to use it that aren't immediately apparent.

I'm frankly amazed that nobody has written a program for Mac that will let you select several frames out of a burst and link them to produce some limited action. I guess video is just too easy and too common - but it's not the same. Video leaves not much to the imagination so there's little room to engage the viewer at the intellectual and emotional level wherein the viewer is stimulated to 'fill in the blanks.' I won't say more here since it's a philosophical discussion probably more appropriate for another area of this or other photography forums.

I appreciate the responses so far. Here are a few more examples FYI:

And finally... The chipmunk says NO to you!

[Martin_Doudoroff]

Originally Posted by Buddy Thomason

I'll also look into Flash and Javascript though I suspect (could be mistaken) that would involve a learning curve/time sink that I can't afford just now.

Well, yes and no. It's all relative, and it all depends on what you specifically wish to accomplish. The fact is that you can do an amazing amount by simply dropping filenames into javascript that other people have written without ever really learning the code. Moreover, once you have something that works, you just reuse it ad nauseum. So, to aid your research, here’s a little demo I through together:

slideshow.zip (1.4MB)

If you download that zip file and decompress it, you’ll find therein a folder containing a web page index.html. Run that in your browser and you’ll get a nice little Edweard Muybridge loop (a running horse). The other files in the folder consist of the pictures in the loop and some publicly available javascript files that comprise the Prototype Framework. Nothing you necessarily need to delve into.

But open index.html up in a text editor and you’ll see you can easily drop in any sequence of images you want. And they can be 16 million color jpegs instead of nasty 256 color GIFs!



This is just not a big deal. Of course, this isn’t the nice little self-contained package that an animated GIF is, but it also has its advantages.