- How do I create sequentially numbered stills (image files) from my movie or animation files?
In order to do this, create a BatchList of each animation/video you want to process.
Select File > Open > Animation/Video and open the file. Choose Tools > Create BatchList, or right-click on the animation and choose Create BatchList. In the Save As dialog that appears, select the destination for saving the individual frames, then click Save. DeBabelizer must first save the frames in order to create the BatchList. DeBabelizer will create a BatchList containing the individual movie frames. You can then create a script to perform other operations and apply it to the images in the BatchList.
- How do I process multiple AVI movies in DeBabelizer Pro?
Simply create a new BatchList consisting of the desired AVI files and create a script containing the desired operations to be applied to each AVI file (if necessary). Right click in the BatchList window and select Update Frame Count so that DeBabelizer sees all your frames. Then incorporate them in a Tools> Batch Automation> Save process.
- Can DeBabelizer Pro create a GIF animation from a list of still images?
DeBabelizer Pro can create GIF animations. You can use DeBabelizer Pro to remap all your images to an optimum palette, or SuperPalette, then create your animation.
Note: Your frames must all be the same size. Also, in order to avoid palette flash when viewed in a Web browser, all the frames in the animation must use the same palette. You can accomplish this using DeBabelizer Pro's SuperPalette technology, which will also decrease the size of the file.
- Create a BatchList and SuperPalette. First, create a BatchList of the images you want to use in your animation. Be sure they are in the correct order in the BatchList, since the animation will use this same order. You can drag and drop the file names to get them in the order you want. Next, choose Batch > Create SuperPalette from the menu, or right-click in the BatchList window and choose Create SuperPalette. In the New SuperPalette dialog, set the number of colors you want to use in the animation, then click OK. DeBabelizer will create an optimum palette for the images.
- Create a script to remap the images to the SuperPalette and save. Next, choose File >New > Script to create a new script. Choose Script > Insert Command > Palette > Set Palette & Remap to insert a Set Palette and Remap operation in the script. In the Script window, double-click the Set Palette and Remap operation to set its parameters.
- In the Set Palette and Remap dialog, use the right arrow next to the Palette drop-down list to locate and select the SuperPalette you created earlier. Make sure the Remap Pixels option is selected. If you are creating an animation for the Web, you may want to deselect the Dither option to decrease the size of the file. Insert a Save As command in the script, and set the parameters (by double-clicking on the operation in the script window) to save the images in the directory where you want them, either saving new images (advised) or saving over the originals.
- Create the animation: Create a new BatchList of the modified images, then choose Batch > Create Animation/Video. In the Save As dialog, set the file type to GIF, then click the Writer Preferences button and set the File Options to Multi-image per file and whatever other options you want. As long as the images are all the same size and bit-depth, click OK to both the dialogs that appear.
- Can DeBabelizer Pro handle QuickTime movies?
DeBabelizer Pro can convert between AVI and QuickTime, and can copy or recompress existing soundtracks in movie files.
- Can DeBabelizer Pro find the best 256-color palette for an AVI, and then remap it to that palette?
You can easily do this with supported movie formats in DeBabelizer Pro by following these steps:
- Create a SuperPalette: Open the movie in DeBabelizer Pro. Select Tools > Create SuperPalette from the menu bar. In the SuperPalette Properties window, determine the target number of colors for your SuperPalette, then click OK.
- Remap the movie frames and save the movie: Once the SuperPalette has been created, simply click and drag the ActionArrow from the SuperPalette window onto the movie window. This will remap all your frames to the new SuperPalette. Finally, select File > Save As and save your movie to a specified destination and/or file name.
Note: We recommend you save the movie to a different folder and/or file name so you don't overwrite the original.
- Why is DeBabelizer Pro adding white frames to the end of my QuickTime movie?
This occurs because QuickTime, not DeBabelizer, will always add white frames to the end of a movie if the audio track is found to be longer than the video track. Try using the recompress option (instead of simply copying) in the QuickTime writer preferences, using the same Audio Rate (kHz) and Size as the original.
- Can I create an animated GIF from still images?
To create a GIF animation from a sequence of still images, use a Standard Workflow - Save process.
Here's how:
- First, place the graphic files in a Batch or folder. DeBabelizer Pro assembles the animation in the same order as the source, so be sure the files are in the order you want.
- Choose DeBabelizer Pro 6 > Preferences > Writers > GIF. In the GIF Save dialog, choose "Movie - Use Frame Time" and set the frame rate and other preferences. Select the "Skip this box next time" checkbox, and click OK.
- Choose Automation > Standard Workflows… and click the Save tab.
- In the Standard Workflow - Save dialog, specify your source and save destination, choose GIF > Custom GIF from the Type pop-up menu, deselect the "Verify replace" checkbox. Set the color depth and naming options, then click Apply.
- Why is opening large QuickTime movies slow?
DeBabelizer Pro opens each frame as a separate file, and so must request each frame from the file. QuickTime, used primarily for movie playback, must page through the movie to reach that frame, and then pass it to DeBabelizer. If possible, create shorter segments of the movie and then put them back together using a Standard Workflow - Save process.
- How can I change the frame rate of a QuickTime movie or GIF animation file?
To change the frame rate of a movie or animation file, you must use a Standard Workflow - Save process.
- In the Standard Workflow - Save dialog, set the process to Open each image in File and select the multi-frame file.
- When the Multiple Cells In File dialog appears, select the "Skip dialog" checkbox and click OK
- When the GIF Save, QuickTime Save, or other Save dialog appears, set the preferences and select the "Skip dialog" checkbox. For an animated GIF, choose the Movie - Use Frame Time option from the pop-up menu in the GIF Save dialog.
- You can also set the preferences for the type of file you want to save from the Writer Preferences. Choose DeBabelizer Pro 6 > Preferences > Writers > and select the file type from the submenu.
- How can I change the number of frames in a QuickTime movie while retaining the playback time?
To do this, you'll have to do the math to recalculate frame rate once you decide on the number of frames you want.
- Use the QuickTime Movie Open dialog to select which frames to open. This dialog appears when you use the Open dialog to preview a QuickTime movie, or when you choose DeBabelizer Pro 6 > Preferences > Readers > QuickTime Movie. Choose "Frames in Range" from the Open: pop-up menu, then use the Step By option to indicate skipped frames (for example, a "Step By: 2" setting will skip every other frame).
- In the upper-left corner, note and record the current number of frames and seconds, and the frame rate. Use this information to calculate the frames per second needed to retain the length based on the new number of frames.
- Next, use the QuickTime Compression Settings dialog (which appears when you save an image to the QuickTime movie format, or when you choose DeBabelizer Pro 6 > Preferences > Writers > QuickTime Movie) to enter the new number of frames based on your calculations.
Important: If there is audio information in the original movie, it will be lost in this process.
- Why does using Cinepak compression when remapping a QuickTime movie to a palette result in a larger file?
A QuickTime movie's file size is largely dependent on the type of compression used. QuickTime's supported compressors, or "codecs", are usually optimized for thousands or millions of colors, so 8-bit movies will generally be about the same size as 24-bit movies. If you use dithering when remapping the movie frames, the dithering information will also increase the size of the file.
Note: Saving an 8-bit Cinepak in any program will usually result in a degraded image, compared to the original - this is also inherent in using Cinepak for 8-bit compression.
- I'm creating a multiple-frame file from different-sized images. I get an error message about the size of the images, and I'm prompted to crop or pad them. Why is this happening?
When you create a movie or an animation, the images must all be the same dimensions and color depth. Because you are scaling by percent (rather than height or width), if any of the images in the list differ in size from the first, this message will appear, and DeBabelizer Pro must crop or pad the image in order to continue the process. To set up this type of process, use an Image Size (Scale) operation in a workflow, and set it up to scale the images to a specific size. You can either allow the scaling to maintain height/width proportions (in which case the dimensions you specify may be modified to retain the image proportions), or you can set the scaling to allow distortion and use your exact dimensions. If you choose to maintain proportions, include a Canvas operation (in addition to the Image Size operation) that uses the exact dimensions you want. You may have to designate a pad color to use on areas of the image that are scaled to smaller dimensions than those you specified.
Important: The FLI format has an added restriction in that all frames must be 320 x 200 pixels in size. You should size your images correctly before saving them to this format.
- How do I use a Standard Workflow to automatically save several QuickTime movies as a series of individual files?
DeBabelizer Pro's Standard Workflow – Save process enables you to easily process the images contained in a multiple-frame file or a group of multiple-frame files and save them as individual, single-frame files while retaining their original sequence.
Here's how:
- Choose Automation > Standard Workflows… and click the Save tab.
- Specify the Batch or folder containing the animation files you want to process.
- Set the parameters for the process, including any workflow you want to apply to the source frames.
- Specify the file format, color depth, and destination folder.
- Click the Auto Naming Options button and set the naming parameters. Use any of the Original Name options and select the "Add cell number" checkbox. If you are only processing one multiple-frame file, you can select one of the "Use this & increment" settings.
- Back in the Standard Workflows - Save dialog, click Apply.
Note: Select the "Skip this box" option the first time the Save dialog appears. You may want to reset your preferences by choosing DeBabelizer Pro 6 > Preferences > Cancel All Skip Boxes when you have finished.
To process a group of multiple-frame files and save them to their original, multiple-frame form as separate files, set up the process as above, but with a few modifications:
- When you set the save parameters, be sure to specify a file format that supports multiple-frame files (you may need to set that format's writer preferences).
- In the Automated Naming Options, deselect the "Add cell number" checkbox.
- In the Standard Workflows - Save dialog, select the "1 animation/file" checkbox.
- Deselect the "Verify replace" checkbox (otherwise a dialog will appear each time DeBabelizer Pro appends a frame to a file).
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