What is a cinemagraph?
A cinemagraph is a photograph which features small movements that loop, this becomes a video clip which is then exported as an animated GIF.
Example of a cinemagraph
Ways of creating a cinemagraph (Mobile Phone)
Due to the sudden rise in popularity within the cinemagraph world there are now mobile apps for creating these animated gifs. Ideally the creator should be using the method we’re using below but if you are wanting to create cinemagraph’s on the fly then this is the best solution. Fortunately there are apps for both iOS and Android so most main stream smart phones will support it.
Recommended apps
- Flixel
- am
- Echograph
- iCinegraph
Professional Solutions
When you’re not out and about with your iPhone and want to create high quality cinemagraphs using professional video cameras and edit suites the procedure becomes a little more involved.
Flixel is an obvious choice as it’s a very simple application and works perfectly, however it comes with a hefty price and those of us that already pay for the Creative Cloud suite another software expense sometimes seems a bit too much. Fortunately there is a method for creating cinemagraphs with Photoshop.
Creating a cinemagraph with Adobe Photoshop
For this tutorial I will be using the following:
- DSLR Camera
- Tripod
- Hawaiian Beach*
- iMac
- Adobe Photoshop
To start, you’re going to need an idea for your cinemagraph. I have used a group of people walking along a beach and the idea is to keep them still but keep the sea moving.
You need to import the .MOV file you have exported from a video editing software or directly from the camera.
- Open Photoshop
- File > Import > Video Frames to Layers…
- Choose your range of frames, for the purpose of this tutorial I will be using the entirety of the clip because I have already cut out the bits I don’t need in Premiere Pro, I suggest you do the same.
- If like me you have used ungraded footage, I would suggest grading it now using adjustment layers as it gets this stage out of the way and means we can focus on the cinemagraph creation! Note: It’s important that ‘Timeline’ is selected below as this enables features further on in the tutorial.
- Create a new folder/group and select all the layers except layer 1(to do this select ‘layer 2’, hold shift and select the last layer) and put the layers in the new folder.
- For now lets collapse the group and work on the moving part of the scene.
- Using the marquee tool / other selection tools select the area of the image you want to move, then highlight the group and click the mask button(the white box with a hole in it at the bottom of the layer section).
- Press the ‘eye’ button above the layers called ‘unify layer visibility’ when layer one is selected.
- Now if you click play you should have a working cinemagraph!
- Go to File > Save For Web….
- Click save.
- Now your .GIF is ready for the web!
