Programs you must have:
GIMP- GNU Image
Manipulation Program
GAP- Gimp Animation
Package
Additional programs you
may want:
DVD Ripping software of
your choice. (I prefer DVD Shrink.)
Freemake Video Convertor.
Export Layers plugin for
GIMP
A GIF making program you
like. Gimp does the job, but I like JASC Animation Shop better.
I have been working on the
self inflicted wound that is Anime Mine for a couple of years now.
I've grown fond of making animated GIFs instead of just posting
stills. (They sometimes get a like.) For an upcoming post I want to
show case a moving image of Tamami from Angel Tales.
Normally I would use VLC and take snapshots every frame. This is
exceptionally tedious. Unfortunately I have yet to find a program that
can easily make an animated GIF from video, or just extract the frames I
need. I have found a process that is long, almost as tedious as VLC, in
fact can be very frustrating, but does work.
I already have the DVDs
ripped. Now to import the episode to Freemake Video Converter to
isolate the exact scene that I want. You only want to deal with the
frames you need, not the tens of thousands that will be made if you
don't edit it down.
Drag and drop the episode
into Freemake and click the scissors to the left.
Now we have the video
editor. For expediency I won't go through all the controls. In fact
I'll skip to the scene.
Now to import to GIMP.
Click on Video and then
Split Video into Frames. Next click on Extract Videorange.
That will pop out and extended view. Take the slider marked in red and
slide it all the way to the right. Then don't touch anything else on the
right side. It's buggy and will mess up if you do. Under the slider is a number. That is how many frames are in this clip.
You need to input that number in the "To Frame" box. Next check "Create
only one multilayer Image." Then click okay.
I don't really like the
way animated GIFs look when made with GIMP, so I'll export all the
layers as separate images. Go to File and Export Layers, click the button oddly
named “Export Layers,” take the slider for Compression level to
zero and hit export.
(Looks like a bad frame, now is a good time to take it out.)
Now I will fire up JASC
Animation Shop to make the animated GIF, but this has gone on long
enough and I'll save that tutorial for another time.