Digital Video Solutions: Motion Graphics in Seven Easy Steps
Question: Rod, please help me. I’m a graphic designer who knows absolutely nothing about video. I don’t understand codecs, keyframes, or frame rates. All I want to do is use my new Photoshop CS3 Extended application to make a simple animation and save it out as a video file. Can you give me a step-by-step tutorial to follow?
Answer: I’ve got you covered! I don’t usually do step-by-step instruction in this column, but I’m making an exception this time. You’re part of a growing legion of graphic designers that want to “get their feet wet” in the video production pool. Some do it because they want to expand their skill set, but most just want to accomplish a simple task and then get back to their regular work.
Since it seems like what you want to do most is animate some layers in Photoshop and save that animation as a video clip, we’ll focus on that workflow specifically. Just realize that you could also open preexisting video clips inside of Photoshop Extended and work on those as well. (Note: Before you start working with video in Photoshop Extended, you must install QuickTime 7.1 [or higher]. QuickTime is a free download from the Apple Computer website [www.apple.com].)
STEP ONE:
Create or open an existing multilayer Photoshop file. This is the file you’ll animate and then save out to a video file.
STEP TWO:
Go to the Window menu and select the Animation panel. At first glance it may look like the same Animation panel that has been around since ImageReady shipped with Photoshop. But if you look more closely, you’ll notice a new toggle switch located in the bottom right-hand corner of the panel. When pressed, it reveals a full video editor Timeline.
Notice that in the Timeline you have the same layers that are in your Layers panel (except for the Background layer). Each layer in the Timeline is directly connected to each layer in the Layers panel, so when you select a layer in one panel it’s automatically selected in the other panel.
STEP THREE:
Set the duration and frame rate for your animation. This will set the overall length of time that you want your animation to last. You set all of this up in the Document Settings dialog found in the Animation panel’s flyout menu located just under the “x” in the top right-hand corner of the panel. (See “Video Terms Explained” for more on duration and frame rate.)
STEP FOUR: Set keyframes for your animation. Keyframes are a point in time when you want an action to take place. The cool thing about keyframes is that you only have to set a few of them in your Timeline and the computer will interpolate all of the action that needs to take place in between each set of keyframes. For example, if you want to move a text layer from left to right or from the top of your screen to the bottom, all you have to do is set two keyframes for the Position property of the text layer.
To reveal the Position property, twirl down the text layer in the Animation panel (click on the right-facing triangle next to the layer). Click on the Stopwatch icon located to the left of the word Position to add a keyframe. Next, move your Current Time Indicator (the vertical red line) to a different time in your Timeline, say, at the 5-second mark. Now just move your text layer to where you want your text to end up at the 5-second mark. As soon as you let go of the text layer, a new keyframe is set.
[Insert Step 4]
STEP FIVE: To see your animation working, just click on the Play button in the bottom left-hand corner of the Timeline or simply hit the Spacebar.
STEP SIX: Save your animation. Just like any file, you want to save your animation so you can use it again or update it at a moment’s notice. Just save it as a PSD file and Photoshop will remember all of your layers, settings, and keyframes for the next time you need to use the file. (You could also import the PSD file into Adobe After Effects for more advanced compositing and special effects work.)
STEP SEVEN: Render your video file. This is where you’ll actually create your video file. Go to the File menu and choose Export>Render Video to bring up the Render Video dialog. The options may seem overwhelming at first, but there are only a few settings that you really need to worry about.
Simply name your movie file and select which folder you want to save it to on your hard drive. Click on the QuickTime Export pop-up menu and choose what type of video file you want to create. Whether it’s going to a cell phone, an iPod, or to a full broadcast-quality television show, all of those options are available here. In fact, if you have Flash 8 or Flash CS3 installed on your computer you can save your video out to a FLV file as well. Lastly, if you’ve already set up your document the way that you like (with frame rate and duration) you can skip everything else and just hit the Render button.
[Insert Step 7]
That’s it! You can now add Motion Graphics Artist to your list of accomplishments.
[ENDMARK]
SIDEBAR
Video Terms Explained
Duration is the overall time length of the video clip or of the animation you want to create. By default, if you haven’t imported a video clip, the Timeline will open set to a 10-second duration. However, if you’re working with a 30-second video clip, the document will automatically adjust the Timeline to 30 seconds. One important note: If you reduce the duration of an existing clip, it has the effect of trimming frames (including keyframes) from the end of your Timeline.
Frame rate (or frames per second [fps]), is usually determined by the type of output you plan to produce. For example, NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 fps; PAL video has a frame rate of 25 fps; and motion picture film has a frame rate of 24 fps. Depending on the broadcast system, DVD video can have the same frame rate as NTSC video or PAL video, or a frame rate of 23.976. So set your frame rate to whatever type of output you intend to use.
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