Cinemagraphs

Most of the new cameras coming to market have HD quality video. There is a technique that can take advantage of this capability called a cinemagraph. It is not a still photograph, nor a video, but a GIF file that is a combination of both. The result of using this technique is a still image that contains movement in a few subtle details. The effect can be mesmerizing.

The cinemagraphs that are online aren't videos that can be embeded in this site, so they can't be shown here. However, if you go to this website: TAXI you can view a number of these images to get an idea of how creative they can be. If you have a MAC, drag one of the cinemagraphs from this website onto your desktop and then open the image in "Preview". (There probably is a similar program on a PC). You can see in the sidebar every image that makes up the cinemagraph and gives it movement within the still image.

A cinemagraph can be created in CS5 through the use of layer masks. I gather from the description of how it is done that it can be time-consuming work depending upon the level of sophistication you wish to put into the resulting image. For a good description of how to make a cinemagraph go to: Fernandojabez.com or to these two articles on the subject: AAD1 and AAD2.

You should really check this technique out as the resulting images do catch a viewers eye and hold its attention. To view a variety of these types of images go to: If we don't remember me.