Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
OK, so to open the GIF file
one needs to first of all create the animated GIF
it's at this folder
it's in an external hard disk
in a folder called "Images"
I named it "GIMPGAP"
So I drag it
«Alt»+«Tab» to where GIMP is
drop it over there
So it opens all the frames as layers
If we «Shift»-click on the layer visibility icon
we will notice the changes in the animation
for as long as we activate the exclusive [layer] view
one by one
In this way we are able to visualize this simple letter moving animation
walking through all of the layers as if they were video frames
It will allow you to view the movement of the letters
If we «Shift»-click on an already activated layer view icon
we activate the rest of the layer view icons in the layers dialog
Now we need to encode it in an AVI file
Once GAP is installed, the «Video» menu option will appear at the top
Let's click on the «Master Video Encoder» in the middle of the menu list
it will open and close a series of console windows, but the window we will use is the GUI(Graphic User Interface) window
Here lie the layers numbers
Looking back at our «Layers» dialog, we realize that there are 24 of them
since the list starts with frame #1
which is the background, and the second, third and fourth frame and so on
if we «Alt»+«Tab» back to the «Master Video Encoder» of GAP
We realize that the frame order starts from the 23rd to the 0th
it arrives at the 23rd threshold because it starts from 0
to invert the animation, one would change the placing of such thresholds, placing «0» at the start and «23» at the end field
ensure that «Layers Input» mode is selected for the "Frame Range"
the size of the video will be 204 times 129
that will throw an error
we must assign it a value of «128»
so that the FFmpeg library will be able to encode the video correctly to an MPEG4 format
The "Frame Rate" is set at «1» frame per second
we must change it to a higher frame rate so that it does not slow down
The original GIF animation is set to 3.33 frames per second
I have the calculator open
if you haven't done so already press the 'Windows' key followed by «calc»
press «Enter» to open the Windows calculator
it is obtained by dividing 1000 by 300
Each layer lasts 300ms
Let's type in the numerical keyboard or in the upper number keys: «1000», then the slash sign(«/»)
followed by «300» and «Enter»
the answer is "3.33"
this is the value to input in the "Frame Rate" field
3.33 frames are displayed in one second
for the predefined frame rates field, we will let it be, as is, since we already specified it
by typing «3.33» in the previous field
the videonorm is left undefined
since we have specified the video parameters in the previous sections
other libraries can be chosen but FFmpeg encoding is the best
AVI1 is also fine
anyway, on «Parameters»
the first field is the type of container, default is "AVI"
which is compatible with Movie Maker
the format is set to «raw», which is basically lacking encoding
let's change it to «mpeg4», so that it encodes the video to one of the most popular Internet video formats
this will spare some disk space, while maintaining decent quality
ignoring redundant or irrelevant information
unfortunately in my case "mpeg4" did not work
you might want to try it out, but it did not work for me
I will use the «msmpeg4» version 1 or 2
so let's choose this one in this occasion
since we are using no audio, we will leave the audio format as it is
as well as the audio bitrate
all audio options will be ignored anyway
for a video as small as this one, «256» kilobits per second is reasonable bit rate
the higher the bit rate the higher the quality of the video
since the disk storage, and information per second is higher
Now for the more technical details, this indicates how much change
the bitrate will go through between frames
let's opt for «2»
this is only supported in certain encoders
let's leave the value «2» for the "Minimum Video Quantizer Scale"
this is the "Maximum Quantizer Scale", let's choose «31»
don't increase the parameter too much, otherwise it will create a far too inferior file
The "Maximum Difference Between The Quantizer Scale" we will leave it at «5»
leave the "Intra Only" box unchecked
let's set "GOP" at «10»
the B-frames refer to preceding and trailing I-frames when encoding
to spare information redundance
let's set it at «2»
the maximum allowed B-frames in sequence
leave "Set Aspectratio" unchecked
Now let's find out where it will be saved
the output is set to the «J:\»
USB storage device I have acquired
in the folder «Images», and the file is named «GIMPGAP.avi»
that's all we are interested in, for now
Bare in mind though, that there are audio options as well
one could choose an audio input file
this other tab serves the audio configuration which we will ignore
this "Extras" tab deals with the debug, macro and storyboard files
the next one is the "Encoding" tab, when the configuration is finished
will show how many frames
and how much time remains
now let's click on «OK»
I had already saved «GIMPGAP.avi», so it will attempt to overwrite it
the error messages appear
"gimp-file-save" was asked to execute with invalid drawable arguments
this warns about B-frames not being supported by the MSMPEG encoder chosen previously
in this error
"gimp-file-load" is expecting an XCF native GIMP file for the argument, since it is a GIF
we need to save the file as an XCF format so that the error is avoided
it attempted to create the first frame but failed. Click on «OK»
let's use the keyboard shortcut: «Ctrl»+«Shift»+«s»
to save it as an XCF file
we substitute «gif» with «xcf» on the file name
this will create a native GIMP XCF file
I have already saved it, in your case you will have to click on «Save»
once we have saved it here
we drag it to where GIMP's window client area lies
either in or outside the canvas boarder
unfortunately, GIMP does not open the file as a new image
it instead adds the layers to the already open GIF file
To solve it, we will press «Ctrl»+«w» to close this image file
without saving it
once again we drag, this time the "GIMPGAP.xcf" file
to GIMP's window client area
as we can verify, "GIMPGAP.xcf" is now open, instead of it's layers being added to another file
I accidentally closed the "Layers/Channels/Paths" dockable dialog
we could open the layers dialog, but that wouldn't have the rest of tabs docked beside it
instead we will open the "Layers/Channels/Paths/Selection/Pointer" dialog, which we recently closed
Now let's call once again the "Master Videoencoder"
this time, if we explore the "Filters" menu
we will notice the keyboard shortcut
«Ctrl»+«Shift»+«f»
that will spare us some time of menu navigation
pressing «Ctrl»+«Shift»+«f» will run the latest used plug-in by opening its dialog
The selected range starts at the 23rd layer and ends at the 0th layer. Bare in mind
that GAP numbers the layerstack in reverse order of the layers dialog
Let's start by changing the height to «128»
so that the MSMPEG encoder encodes the video correctly
due to the encoder demanding a height sized to a multiple of 2
so valid values are: 2,4,6,8,10,12, etc., in other words: Non-negative and non-zero, even numbers
of course that altering such values will change the aspect ratio of the original images, and will probably distort it
The "Framerate" is set to «3.33»
the "Videonorm"->«Undefined»
the encoding library set to «FFmpeg»
other libraries are less powerful
Let's leave the "FFmpeg" "Parameters" as they are, since the previously input values were saved
so, let's click on «OK»
it should work now
verify that the directory and filename are correct
click on «OK», followed by «Overwrite»
it is done encoding 24 frames quickly, since it is a small resolution and frame count
This error message is irrelevant, since the file saving operation mentioned here did not interfere in the encoding
and this warning message is relevant only to understand that B-frames were not created
click on «OK», you will have your AVI lying in the specified directory
I use VLC as the default video player
opening it will allow us to view the video animation
Everything looks fine
Now you are free to use it in any AVI supporting video editor like Movie Maker, VirtualDub, etc.
uploading this video to hosting sites like Youtube and Vimeo is also possible
Thanks for your attention.