ROTOSCOPING PROJECT TUTORIALS

 

STUDIO PROJECT: LOOPING ROTOSCOPE ANIMATIONS

STEP 1: Record video + share with your computer

You can resize or trim the video in your Phone video app, or a basic video player or editor like Quicktime Player (For Macs) and VLC for Window's-Based machines. Photoshop can read most common video files such as .mov and .mp4 - if Photoshop cannot recognize your file in the step below, you will need to convert your video to one of the above formats before importing.

Record a clip between 5 - 10 seconds long, with at least 4 seconds of action. Try to keep the camera as still as possible, unless you want to include camera movement in your animation. When filming, try to have the moving subject fit into the frame without a lot of background or empty space behind it, so you have enough detail to work with. You can always “zoom out” once you have imported the video layers in the next step.

STEP 2: IMPORTING VIDEO FRAMES TO LAYERS

  1. Import Video Frames to Layers: File > Import > Video Frames to Layers > Select File > Open

  2. Dialog Box Import Video to Layers : Adjust Clip Length (if needed) by moving the sliders at the bottom of your timeline & click the play/stop button to view the selected range

  3. Estimate the time of clip in seconds, then multiply by 30
    Then select "Limit to Every___ Frames" Start with 2 or 3 (depending on original length, you want AT LEAST 45 frames to start with > Check Make Frame Animation > Click OK

  4. Timeline Frame Window: Window > Select "Timeline"
    Press Space Bar within Timeline to play through your animation
    Make sure you have AT LEAST 45 frames

  5. Deleting Frames in the Timeline: Select frame(s) to delete > click the Trashcan > check YES

  6. Save your project: File > Save > Make sure the format is saved as a Photoshop Document (.psd) & title your file > Make sure "Layers" is selected > Hit Save

STEP 3: RESIZING animation SIZE, DIMENSIONS AND cropping


Setting Up Video Frames, Image Size + Cropping the Canvas

  1. Check the Size of your Image and the Document:
    Image > Image Size... > Set Width and Height to the same pixel value (use dimensions outlined in project requirement) > OK

  2. Changing Dimensions of your Photoshop Document & Making it a Square:
    Image > Canvas Size... > Select Pixels > Set Width & Height to the same pixel value > OK

  3. Cropping within the Image:
    Select the Crop Tool > Hold down shift and drag out your Square (release the mouse) > click and drag your box around to see what will be cropped > click ESC to exit the crop screen or click ENTER to apply the crop
    Note: if you are unhappy with the crop go back a step in your photoshop history and redo your crop

STEP 4: adding blank video layers

In this video below, I mention a longer video with more explanation - I decided just to post this one, as I think it has more info than the longer video did and communicates it in less time.

Once cropping and size are all set:

  1. Select all frames (AT LEAST 45) in the timeline > change frame duration to “.08”

  2. Go to Timeline Settings Menu (4 line icon in the top right corner of timeline panel) > Convert to Video Timeline

  3. Go to Timeline Settings Menu > Panel Options > Make sure “Frames” is selected, not “Timecode”

  4. Ensure that video goes to at least 90 frames

  5. Go to Timeline Settings Menu > Set Timeline Frame Rate > Set to 12 FPS

Step 5 - Rotoscope Drawing Process

Additional OPTIONAL Graphic Tools + Creation Tutorials

STEP 6: Exporting

Also, a few reminders of your options with this different video format:

  1. Pop out of Canvas and watch in a new tab if any of the features aren't working

  2. There are fullscreen and CC (Sub-title) options available in the right hand corner. For being YouTube auto-captions, these are pretty clear. I think they must have improved their algorithm. Please email me with any accessibility needs.

  3. If you are feeling pressed for time, but don't want to miss anything, you can watch with audio in 1.5 speed by hitting that little gear icon.