When you edit a layer’s properties over time, the computer builds an animation by interpreting the change. In Adobe Photoshop, animation information is stored in keyframes. Keyframes represent extremes of animatible properties. For example, if you wanted to have a circle move from left to right, you would need to create two keyframes, one with the circle on the left and the other with it on the right. You would then have the computer analyze the change and build the rest of the animation for you.
11 Click the stopwatch ( ) next to the Opacity parameter to enable animation. A keyframe is created at the beginning of the Timeline.
Select the stopwatch to the left of Opacity to defi ne an opacity keyframe.
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Creating animation for video
323 Lesson 12, Creating Images for Web and Video
12
The stopwatch enables animation when it is clicked on. If clicked off , it disables animation.
A by-product of disabling the animation of a property is that all the keyframes for that property are deleted.
12 In the Layers panel, type 0 in the Opacity text fi eld and press the Enter or Return key.
Adjust the opacity so the text layer is not visible.
13 Double-click on the Current Time fi eld (top left of Animation panel). The Set Current Time dialog box appears. Type 3:00 and press OK. This moves your Current Time Indicator to the three-second mark on the Timeline. The Current Time Indicator (the blue wedge at the top of the Timeline) indicates your animation’s current time.
14 In the Layers panel, type 100 in the Opacity text fi eld, and press Enter/Return. This creates a new keyframe where your Current Time Indicator is located.
This is the nature of timeline-based animation in Photoshop. If animation is enabled for a parameter, any change made to that parameter will create a new keyframe at the location of the Current Time Indicator.
15 Return the Current Time Indicator back to the starting point by clicking on the 0.0 at the beginning of the Timeline.
16 Press the Play button ( ) at the bottom of the Animation panel to preview the animation.
The text fades in over three seconds. You can press the Stop button ( ) when you are fi nished viewing the animation.
17 Choose File > Save As. The Save As dialog box appears. Navigate to the ps12lessons folder and type ps1205_animation.psd into the File name text fi eld. Select Photoshop from the Format drop-down menu and press Save. Keep the fi le open for the next part of this lesson.
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324
Creating animation for video
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Digital Classroom
12
Rendering a video fi le
1 Select File > Export > Render Video. This opens the Render Video window.
Note that the Render Video Window is divided into four areas: Location, File Options, Range, and Render Options.
Location: Allows you to specify a name for the fi le that you are going to export and a location to save that fi le.
File Options: Controls the type of fi le you want to create from your animation.
QuickTime export will create video fi les in a wide variety of common formats for mobile, video, and web distributions, while the Image Sequence option renders video as a series of sequential still images. This area also allows you to specify the exported fi les’ dimensions.
Range: Controls the amount of the animation to export. By default, it will export the entire animation timeline, but you can limit the export range to lesser parts of the Timeline.
Render Options: Controls whether an alpha channel is included in the output fi le along with the fi le’s frame rate. Some exportable formats will not allow you to include an alpha channel.
2 In the Location section, type ps1205 into the Name text fi eld, click the Select Folder button, and navigate to the ps12lessons folder, then press OK.
3 In the File Options section, make sure that QuickTime Export radio button is selected and QuickTime Movie is selected from the drop-down menu on the right. The Size drop-down menu at the bottom of the File Options fi eld should be set to Document Size. The default setting used here produces a QuickTime movie optimized for playback on a computer, as well as a variety of mobile devices.
The settings button to the right of the drop-down menu can be used to format a QuickTime movie for other media such as TV and video.
4 In the Range section, make sure that the radio button next to All Frames is clicked on.
5 In the Render Options section, select Premultiplied with White from the Alpha Channel drop-down menu and also make sure that the Frame Rate drop-down menu is set to Document Frame Rate.
6 Press the Render button to create your video fi le. The rendering time will vary, depending on your computer hardware.
7 Choose File > Close. You can return to the native Photoshop fi le to make edits at a later point, if necessary.
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