Mastermind's Definitive Guide To Making Animated GIFS

Tools Needed:

VirtualDub MPEG2
Ulead GIF Animator 5
Flask MPEG
Allok AVI DivX MPEG to DVD Converter
ANYDVD

VirtualDub MPEG2
http://rapidshare.com/files/80623630/Virtual_Dub-MPEG2.zip

Ulead GIF Animator 5
http://rapidshare.com/files/80703115/Ulead_GIF_Animator_5.rar

Allok AVI DivX MPEG to DVD Converter
http://rapidshare.com/files/80624693/Allok_AVI_DivX_MPEG_to_DVD_Converter.rar

Flask MPEG
http://rapidshare.com/files/80629326/Flask_MPEG.zip

ANYDVD
http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

NOTE: AnyDVD is the only peice of software that you'll need to pay for (unless you find a crack for it) if you intend on making GIFS from DVD's. AnyDVD removes any copy protection from a DVD. Not all DVD's are copy protected, but if you come across some AnyDVD is a great tool to have.


EDITING VIDEO
Click and open VirtualDub MPEG then move your cursor to the upper left corner and click on 'file'. Move your cursor to 'open video file' and click on it. Find your AVI or DVD video in whatever folder you have it in, click on it then click open. If you're working from a DVD then you should locate the drive you have the DVD in, click on the DVD, click on 'Video TS' and locate the VOB files. The files that contain the main movie would be numbered like VTS_01_1, VTS_01_2, VTS_01_3, VTS_01_4, etc. Your video should load and appear on the screen. The main things I personally use VirtualDub for is lightening and sharping video and chopping scenes. To lighten video, move your cursor to 'video' at the top middle on the screen and click on it then move your cursor and click on 'filters'. Click on 'add' which will then show you all the filters in VirtualDub. I usually use 'Levels' to lighten or darken video; scroll down and click on it. To see what exactly you're doing when you lighten the video, click on 'show preview' then click on the 'scroll' and move it to the scene or part of the video you want to lighten. Now go back to the 'Filter: Levels' box and lighten or darken the video to your satisfaction. Play around with the Input levels and output levels until you reach something that looks good to you. You should also play around with the sharpen 'Filter'. On DVD's I've have sharpen set at 3-5 while on AVI's I would set it at 1 or 2. After you've finished editing the lighting and sharpening, close out the 'Filter Preview' box, click Ok on the 'Filter: Levels' box then click Ok on the 'Filters' box.

Now you need to chop your scene(s). You should see a 'scroll' with 13 buttons under it. Take the time to play around and see what each button does. I believe from left to right the buttons are Stop, Play (left screen only), Play (Both screens), Start Of Video, Backward (Frame By Frame), Forward (Frame by Frame), End Of Video, Fast Backward (Frame By Frame), Fast Forward (Frame By Frame), Fast Backward, Fast Forward, Start Chop, End Chop. Ok, now scroll to the scene you want to chop and when you have it at the frame you want to start from click 'Start Chop' then scroll to the frame you want to end the scene at and click 'End Chop'. Now you'll need to save the scene so move your cursor to 'file' at the upper left corner of the screen and click it then scroll down and click 'save as'. Give the file a name and save it in a folder of your choosing. Repeat the same process when your want to save another scene of the video. After you have chopped and saved all parts of the video you want to make GIFS from, go ahead and close out VirtualDub.

GIF MAKING
Now we move on the GIF making. Go to the folder you saved all your scenes in and right click on it, opening it with 'Ulead GIF Animator 5'. Allow the program to load then when the 'Duration' box appears click Ok. This will then load your video frame by frame. Depending on the quality of your video it may appear 720x480 on your screen or a size over 300 in height. I usually resize the video to 350 height so move your cursor to 'Edit' at the top of the screen then scroll down to 'resize image' and set your height at 350. Make sure your 'quality' setting is set at best. Click Ok and the program will resize your image. I generally resize it to this height first so I can crop out black bars and stuff around the edges of the video. To crop out black bars or anything else you don't want, click on the square with the triangle pointer inside it. Move your cursor over whatever you want to crop, click and hold down then move your cursor around and you will see it forming a square. Whatever is inside the box you keep the rest is cropped out. Now move your cursor to 'Edit', scroll down to crop canvas, and click it. Your video is now cropped with clean edges.

Now it's time to resize again to 220 height or whatever height you want. The reason why I resize my GIFS to this height is because I aim to keep file sizes under 5MB. Most Image hosts on the Internet won't host anything over 5MB. I may delete some frames or resize it down some more. Basically play around with it until you get the GIF the way you want it. Next, give your GIF a name and save it in a folder of your choosing. Once you've completed one GIF you can start on another by clicking on 'file' then 'open video' and repeat the process all over again. In cases where you want to have your GIFS run at a certain speed (example, slow-motion) you will need to click on 'file' then 'Animated Wizzard'. The 'Animated Wizzard - Set Canvas Size' box will appear; set your height at 480 and width at 720, then click next. Click on add video, find your video, and click open. Click next and the 'Frame Duration' box will appear. I usually like to set it anywhere between a 15-9 (Delay Time). You may need to play around with this until to get it the way you want it. That's pretty much it on how I make GIFS. Keep in mind I'm always trying to find better ways to make GIFS so as I come across new information I will share it.

 

thanks MM, when you deleted the last one i thought you were mad. glad to see this back up again.

 

I was going to write the whole thing over again, but said fuck it. I just made some slight adjustments and left it at that.

 

well it is still better than the blank page you had when you deleted it.

 

i got photoshop with image ready included and try to do that rollover up 1 and up 2 stuff and cant get it to work for shit. I need more practice. Im going to cut off my tv and really read this and soak it up.

 

Interesting

 

Noice!

 

Very nice tutorial

 

nice

 

Thank you very much

 

Thankyou Mastermind. I found this very informative. Thanks for taking the time to instruct us. Here's an AnyDVD crack for ya: http://forum.phun.org/showthread.php?t=141593

 

Please Help!
Every time i open Ulead GIF Animator 5 it freezes and an error message pops up (although I was able to use it the very first time). This always happens as soon as "Initial video I/O" starts to load. I tried reinstalling it, but Im still getting the same problem.

Here's a screenshot:



After I click on "To see what data this error report contains"

 

Wow, cool. I wondered how to quickly turn dvd to avi. Thanks to you I can start a threads I always wanted to start in a more visually attractive manner.

My first GIF from a dvd is....

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=image&file=alba1.gif

Jessica Alba from Paraniod

 

MM2X2 is the man

 

Thnx for the tut... Very good info

 

This could be very helpful information for me. Thank you for posting.

 

violet if you need any gifs made just let me know. You man servant is, well, at your service.

 

I want to make some more GIFS, but I'd prefer not to pay for an unlocked version of Ulead GIF Animator. Is there a way around the registration, or do all of the GIF creators here have paid versions?

Thanks!

 

mastermind, i am a fan of your work, and thanks a lot for ulead, i had been searching for it, for a long time

 

is the ulead gif animator cracked