Here we'll cover the settings and options available when selecting the GIF tab in PBU. GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. Essentially, a GIF is comprised of a sequence of still images that cycle through to appear as a moving picture, similar to video.
GIF Mode
Disabled: Turns off the ability for your guests to create GIFs.
Auto Apply: Automatically applies the selected GIF when a guest selects Animate.
User Select: Allows your guests to choose which GIF they would like to make from a list of previously selected options.
Random: Randomly applies a GIF design from a list of previously selected designs.
To duplicate a GIF, right-click the thumbnail and select Create Duplicate.
GIF Settings
Use Onion Skin: Allows the guests to see a semi-transparent version of their previous photo so they can determine their positioning in the subsequent photo.
Enable Redo: Allows the ability to retake a frame in the series. (Not available for Burst GIFs)
Enable Live Filter: Applies a photo filter to the live preview.
Focus Before Bursts: Forces the DSLR to use auto focus before a Burst GIF starts recording
Enable GIF Edit: Allows the user to adjust the guest's placement after capturing a GIF.
Save GIF Frames: Checking this box tells PBU to save each individual frame of the GIF as a separate image in a sub-folder of the watched folder called Frames. The GIF itself will still be saved in the watched folder (Not recommended for Burst mode GIFs that have many frames).
Burst preview update delay (ms): Adjusts the speed at which PBU displays Burst frames during capture. This can help speed up capture if the Burst GIF uses high resolution green screens. A higher setting means fewer frames will need to be rendered during capture, thereby improving capture speed.
Multi-GIF Page Layout: Select a Page Design from the drop down list and your GIF will appear within the photo holders of that design.
Image Size: Determines the final output size of your animated GIFs. Larger image sizes will take longer to process. We recommend Medium (600 px) or Large (1200 px).
NOTE: If you are planning on sharing your GIFs via Facebook, keep in mind that if the final GIF file is over 7 MB, a thumbnail WILL NOT appear when on the Facebook Wall when shared.
Make New GIF
When you select Make New GIF, you'll be presented with the window below:
Create GIF
Name:The name of your GIF.
Load Bulk: Select this to load the graphics you intend to use for the GIF. It will load all of your JPEG backgrounds and PNG overlays as green screens at once, and assign a GIF frame to each green screen. First you'll be prompted to load Background Files, then automatically prompted to upload any Overlay files. If you do not have one or the other, select cancel when prompted.
Your Backgrounds and Overlays will be paired depending on file name sequence. Their count and resolutions should match. If you load a different amount of backgrounds versus overlays, you'll be prompted regarding the discrepancy and if you wish to continue or not. If you continue, some of your frames will not have backgrounds or overlays. If you do not intended to use backgrounds or overlays, you do not need to use Load Bulk.
Number of Pictures: Adjust this value you add or remove GIF frames. Generally we recommend 3-30 frames but it is solely up to user preference and intent. The more frames you have, the longer your GIF will take to process.
Frames Per Second (FPS): Determines the speed of the GIF. Adjusting this will change how quickly frames of your GIF will appear within a second. Generally, 2 fps or more creates a nice effect but it will all come down to preference and intent.
Thumbnail Frame #: Adjust this to select a frame number that will appear as a thumbnail image when your guests use the Kiosk to share. This will also be the printed frame if you do not use Print Full Size.
Frame Options
Frame #: Displays the number of frames you have currently available in your GIF. Frames can be adjusted by changing the Number of Pictures option in the section above. Frames can also be adjusted by the amount of backgrounds/overlays you imported using Load Bulk. Frames are listed in sequence in which they will be played and captured, so Frame 1 corresponds to the first photo taken, Frame 2 is the second photo taken, and so on.It is not necessary to take a photo for each frame. We generally recommend having 3-30 frames but it is solely up to user preference and intent.
Green Screen: Previously created Green Screens will appear here. Apply a green screen to each frame to create a digital background in the animated GIF. Please note you will have to choose a background for each frame individually.
Photo: This section allows you to specify a photo action for the respective frame number. These options will change based on which frame you have selected at the time.
- Take Photo: This will take a photo for the frame that is currently selected.
- Don't Take Photo: This will not take a photo for the frame that is currently selected.
- Use Other Frame Photo: This will allow you to specify another frame's photo to be used during the currently selected frame and associated green screen (optional). If chosen, a drop down option will appear allowing you to choose a number that corresponds with another frame number.
Repeat First Picture: This option will use the first photo taken and apply it to all the frames of the GIF.
Frame Message: Enter text in this box that you want to appear on the screen for each frame that user takes during GIF creation.
Custom Text: Allows custom text to be input on a frame if enabled in the associated green screen.
Duration: Determines the length of time (in milliseconds) that the selected frame will appear for during the GIF. This is useful if you wish to make some frames longer or shorter than the others. If you change it to 'Custom' on any particular frame you can adjust the duration of that frame in Milliseconds. It reverts to default when you highlight a different frame as the duration is particular to each frame.
Advanced Options
Filter: Allows you to apply a filter to each GIF.
Temporal Filter: Apply the Glitch filter to your GIF.
Position Adjust: When editing a GIF after a session and using green screen backgrounds...
- Single Frame: Changes the placement for one frame
- All Frames: Changes the placement for every frame of the GIF
Flipbook Frames: Adjust which frames of the GIF will be used for a Flipbook.
Reverse/Boomerang: Plays the GIF forwards once then plays in reverse for a "boomerang" effect. This will remove the first and last frame of the reversed portion so that there are no duplicate frames in sequence. For example, using Reverse/Boomerang on a 10 frame GIF will result in an 18 frame GIF.
Print Full Size: Prints GIFs at maximum quality and resolution. This can lead to increased processing times. When selected, you'll be prompted to choose which frame of the GIF you would like to print full size. For more information, please visit our Print a Frame as GIF tutorial HERE.
Enable Burst Mode (ms): This will allow your camera (DSLR/Webcam) to rapidly take photos for your GIF. The result is a GIF that is somewhere between a normal looking animated GIF and a video. A very cool effect! When selected, a box will appear allowing you to adjust the delay in milliseconds between each frame that is taken. Generally 100 - 250 milliseconds is a good range. For more information on burst mode, check out our Burst Mode tutorial HERE.
Configure Page Design: Allows frames of the GIF to be saved in a previously made Page Design. For more information, check out our tutorial on using GIF with Page Design HERE.
Configure Video: Saves your GIF as a video file. Highly recommended to ease the sharing of GIFs to social media and to improve processing time! The video will be saved with the settings specified in the Video tab of PBU settings.
Apply overlay after filter: If using a filter and green screens with overlays, this option will prevent the overlays from being affected by the filter.
Examples
Congratulations! You have been formally introduced to the GIF tab of PBU!