#vapoursynth tutorial

GIFFING USING VS + PS

1. VAPOURSYNTH & ITS INSTALLATION

VS is free to download and use. it is truly an amazing tool which allows you to resize, denoise, sharpen your gifs all at once and save the output in gifs, frames , mp4 and mov.

You can install vapoursyth from here. The site has download software and installation guide for both MacOs and Windows. Please watch and read the installation guide thoroughly, it is a very well written one and if you follow along, installation will be done easily.

It is best to use a video with minimum resolution of 1080p but a good 720p would work sometimes. This is how gifs look after sharpening a normal 1080p video:

2. SOURCING GIFABLE MATERIAL

➞ You can start with downloading a 4K Video downloader. It will allow you to download clean and best available resolution videos from youtube. ➞ If you don't want to download a software, you can use screenrecording. - Windows : windows key + alt +R - MacOs: shift + cmnd + 5 ➞ .TS files - for seventeen .ts files, you can go to rosebay

3. TUMBLR SIZING

Tumblr has it own resizing rules so that your gifs aren't blurry after you've uploaded them. Keep this in mind when you're using VS resizing tool.

4. USING VAPORSYTNH

After you've installed the VS properly. You'll have a VS script shortcut on which you'll drop your video file for giffing. Once you drop your video file on the VS shortcut, a window like this will pop up:

After you've put your timestamps and gif duration, a resizer will open up in chrome ( or your default web) along with a VS Script Window (sometimes it’ll take a min to open).

GIF Size: WIDTH (left space) and HEIGHT (right space). Use the bottom left triangle to adjust you clip. Make sure 'Preprocessor' is set to 'None' and "debilinear'.

Use KNLM for denoising and FineSharp for sharpening by selecting them and ticking the small check box beside them. DONOT mess with the denoise and sharpening cursor on the resizer tab, we'll adjust setting on the VS Script.

There are CCs who use BM3D for denoising but it never worked for me. Always gave me an error. KNLM has worked without an error for years for me.

NOW, there are CCs who like to set frame per second ( qtgmc) on the resizer itself but qtgmc is designed to work with interlaced video. Don’t waste your time with fancams, it won’t do shit.

[ Interlaced content: live performances, variety shows. Typical formats: .ts/.tp/.m2ts Progressive content: fancams, vlive/instagram videos, some variety shows (basically 1080p/720p/480p/…, anything with a p. Typical formats: .mp4/.avi ]

Copy whatever code that comes on the top right.

YOUR VS SCRIPT:

First, remove the # on line 9 to increase your cache size so that your VS doesn't slow down or crash. It is already removed in mine, but you'll have to remove the # on the start of line 9.

Remove everything from line 17 till before "video = core.fmtc.bitdepth(video, bits =16)" and paste the code you copied from the resizer on line 17.

After you've pasted the code, we put in our denoise and sharpen settings by changing these things. denoise: 2, 6, 4 , 2 finesharp: 2

Now, Encoding aka Saving the output. Script > Encode Video and another window will pop up which allows you to select in which way you want to save your ouput.

I would highly suggest using the PNG sequence because it is easily editable and is saved in hd from. GIF output can often be dithered.

Ensure that header in in Y4M mode

Click on Start to start your encoding process. Don't close any of the window tabs before the encoding is completed.

Your output will be saved under "D:\VapourSynth64Portable(200722)\gifs\output".

Before you start encoding another batch of frames or a gif, please cut and paste the previous output in another folder because each new batch of output gets saved in the same folder with the same name, thus, automatically replacing the files.

after you’re done with accessing your output PNGs, close all the windows and repeat the same for a new set of PNGs for another gif.

TRIMMING GIFS

If your saving as PNG sequence, you can simply trim your gif by removing the unwanted frames!

If you're saving as a GIF output, after loading your gif and converting it into a smart object, you can cut it using the 'scissors' button on the timeline. Place the cursor thing from where you want to cut the gif from and press the scissors button. It will split the gif in two. Select the unwanted one and press delete.

REMOVING FLASES FROM GIFS

To remove flashes in gifs in a simple and easy way is to save them as a PNG sequence. With that you can clearly see which frame has a flash and simply delete that before loading in photoshop as stack.

5. LOADING THE GIFS IN PHOTOSHOP

Firstly, turn on your timeline mode. WIndow > Timeline

To LOAD GIF FILE IN PS FOR COLOURING File > Open > Select GIF > Enter ( a normal gif output will have a 0.02 FPS delay )

(if you want to sharpen or add any effects to the gif then:) - Click the small button on the left bottom of the timeline to convert into into video timeline.

Select all frames on your right and convert them into a Smart Object (select all > right click > covert to smart object)

Add whatever filters you want.

Add your colouring and save.

TO SAVE AKA EXPORT GIF

File > Export > Save to WEB

6. LOADING PNG SEQUENCE FRAMES FOR GIFFING

File > Scripts > Load into Stack > Browse Browse will open your File Manager. Select the frames you want to be loaded as a stack. Let them load and click OK.

After PS is done loading your frames, Follow these steps:

Click create frame animation. It’s show only one frame so you have to click this ≡ symbol on the top right of the timeline.

Then click Create Frames from layers and it’ll make all frames.

Then click ≡ again and click “reverse frames” because ps loads stacked frames in reverse so you have to un-reverse it.

4. Most importantly, we need to set frames per second because we didn't set anything on the resizer. Frames per second can make a huge difference in how fast or slow you want your gif to be. 0.05 FPS is just my preferred setting.

To input your desired FPS settings, select all frame from the timeline, right click on any frame > Other > Input your desired setting. ( anything above 0.08 will make the gif too slow )

5. Click on 'Create Video Timeline' to turn this into a video timeline. (bottom left of timeline)

i made an action that does all steps from 1 to 5. Download it here <3

6. Then select all your layers from the side panel and convert it into a smart object so that you can sharpen it and add other filters.

7. Add your adjustment layers for colouring and save it!! Saving process as same as before. (File > Export > Save to WEB)

GIFFING USING ONLY PHOTOSHOP

If you don't want to go through hassle of installing and using vapoursynth, you can use this photoshop only method. You can simply cut the video and load them as frames.

File > Import > Video Frames to Layers

A window like this will pop up:

Use the triangle cursors to set the start and end of your clip. Make sure Make frame Animation is check. Press OK.

IMP: After you frames have loaded, you'll see the frames have loaded at a 0.04FPS. You can change it according to your preference but the speed is different (slower) for these gifs even if they're both at 0.05fps, that is because the number of frames is different than number of frames from a VS png sequence for the same clip.

You can adjust the fps the same way mentioned above.

You can see the difference even with the same FPS settings. The frames in the second gif are VS generated whereas the first one is PS generated.

After setting you desired FPS, click on the Make Video frame animation button at the bottom left on the Timeline tab,, Select all frames/ layers on the right and convert them into a SmartObject.

Now comes the main part, Resizing the gif according to tumblr. For this, Image > Canvas Size. Input your desired dimentions and press OK.

Then, Click of CTRL + T (Free Transform) and adjust the gif along the canvas. like this:

Press Enter. You gif is set. all you need to do is, add your sharpening (filters > smart sharpen).

You can also refer to this amazing tutorial by @jeonwonwoo for photoshop giffing.

BLURRING CAPTIONS IN GIFS

For this you only need a gif in a Smart Object, Marquee Tool and Gaussian Blur.

Marquee Tool is the small dotted rectangle tool. Click on it and then make your selection around the caption by clicking and dragging your cursor.

normal selection

Add to selection (to the normal selection) ( best for multiple captions, it lets you select in multiple places at once) Example:

after selection, go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blue > 3.0

IMP: If you want to add Blur using marquee tool on a smart object that already has a smart sharpen filter (or any filter) on then you need to convert that smart object into a smart object again.

after you've added your colouring adjustment layers, save your gif. File > Export > Save for Web

WATERMARK

To make you custom watermark shape, you can follow this wonderful tutorial by @yunaevis

How to set the custom watermark or any watermark, you can follow this tutorial by me. ( bonus: it'll also teach you how to use actions for watermarking)

BASIC COLOURING

Start off Curves. Click and drag the curves from the middle to upwards. This will increase the brightness .

For skin, we begin with Selective colours. Messing with Reds and Yellows, give the skin more even saturation. You can accentuate blacks and increase brightness + contrast too.

BEFORE AND AFTER:

for a detailed basic colouring tutorial, you can follow this tutorial!

1. How to download Vapoursynth

Go to this link and download the very last .zip file (it's the newest version)

A new bar will come up, and just click download

You also might get this, but press download anyway:

(I promise it doesn't have any viruses ^^")

Once downloaded, you should see a "VapourSynth64Portable(200722)" in your files. Click that, and if you see "apps_other", "bin", "extras", and several others, you're good! Now time to download the VSDC.

Downloading this is pretty easy, just go here and click download button:

The process is quite simple, as you just have to go through a setup wizard, and you'll be good to go. And Vimeo is just a chrome extension, but I'm assuming you already have a screen recorder, so we'll skip that part. Now time for the editing part!

2. Using VSDC Video Editor

The first thing you'll want to do is go onto the editor and press the "Import Content" button and that will open your files. Click the recording of the video that you want and just click "OK" for everything and then "Finish" until you get to an editing page that looks like the one in the picture below ↓

(I'm assuming that you know how to trimming videos, so I'm gonna skip that part)

This next couple parts are kinda just optional. Sometimes I'll sharpen the video, increase the saturation, or play around with the RGB curves. You can actually make your own presets for the RGBs, but that's for another post. The preset I use (that's already there for you) is the "Linear Contrast".

Just go to the "Basic Effects Window" and under "RGB Curves" you'll find "Templates". Right next to that will be a small bar that will say "None", but click it and look until you find "Linear Contrast", or whatever preset you're using.

Also for sharpening on VSDC, I use 50 at the maximum. Over that can make it look a bit weird (for me at least). This is also in the "Basic Effects Window", and you'll find it easy; use the slider to sharpen the video as much as you want.

Now to export the file. When you're done, go to "Export Project". You'll see a bar below that and make sure to click "Web" and then to the right, click" For YouTube". Then go down to "Profile" On the first bar next to it, click the bar, then find and click "4K (Ultra HD)" for the high quality! Also make sure to change the name of your new file (I recommend that you do). And I usually make sure I'll find it in the "Downloads" in my files. Click "Export Project" (it'll have a rocket on it). It'll then ask if you want to upload the video to YouTube, but click "No".

3. Moving File to Vapoursynth + Using Vapoursynth

Okay! Now to move this file to Vapoursynth! Open two of your file windows. On one window, have your new video you edited in VSDC ready. On the other, find the "VapourSynth64Portable(200722)" you downloaded earlier and click on it to show all the stuff inside! Now, drag your edited video to a little bar called "vapourscript (drop file on me)".

Once you've done that, a small black box will come up. Since we just trimmed the video to the length we want, put "00:00:00" as the starting timestamp and then click enter. For the duration, you'll want to put the length of the video. For example, if your video is 3.7 seconds, put "00:00:04", so none of the video gets cut off. Or if you can't remember the duration, put something really long like "00:00:09" (I usually do this since I'm forgetful lol), then click enter!

A bunch of stuff will happen on the window and then it'll open two things: A new tab called the "Resizer" that looks like this:

And it will also open a Vapoursynth Editor window that we'll use in a bit. Alright, now time for cropping. I usually use 350 x 350 but you can do whatever you want. You can type the numbers at the top next to "GIF Size". You can use the Opacity slider to help you see what the GIF is cropping and not cropping, but make sure to make it's at 100 when you're done. Once you got the video cropped to the size you want, you should be looking something like this:

Under the "GIF Size" is the "Preprocessor". Make the bar next to it "qtgmc 60 slow" (which is what I always use) and keep the bar next to that "debilinear". Just under that are the "Denoise Filters". I recommend KNLM if you want to use a denoise filter, but I usually don't. If you are using it, check the box, and use the slider. You'll see the number change in the white box in the top right. I usually keep it at 2. You can also type and replace the "1.2" with 2 or any number you want, based on your desire for the intensity.

I almost always use the FineSharp (it's under the Denoise Filters). If I'm using with without the denoise filters, I keep it at 1 or occasionally 2. But if I am using it with the denoise filters, I keep it at 1.24, usually. Again, you have to make sure the box next to the slider is checked, and you can either use the slider, or type and replace the number here:

Now you should be ready to copy and paste the code! See the little icon on your taskbar with the "vs" on it? Click it. If it it looks like this:

import vapoursynth as vs

core = vs.get_core()

Then you need to do this: Go to the top of the Vapoursynth Editor and hover over "File", then click "Open Script". It'll ask if you want to save, but just click "No". It'll open your files and you need to go to "VapourSynth64Portable(200722)" again. Now go to the "gifs" section, then click "script" and it should change your editor to this:

import vapoursynth as vs

import havsfunc as haf

import muvsfunc as muvs

import mvsfunc as mvs

import descale as descale

import G41Fun as fun

core = vs.get_core()

#core.max_cache_size = 1000 #Use this command to limit the RAM usage (1000 is equivalent to 1GB of RAM)

video = core.lsmas.LWLibavSource(source=r'video_cut\cut.mkv')

#Trim returns a clip with only the frames between the arguments first and last, or a clip of length frames, starting at first. a = first frame, b = last frame

#video = core.std.Trim(video, a, b)

#Whatever you copied from the resizer goes here

video = core.fmtc.bitdepth(video, bits=16)

video.set_output()

I know this looks like a lot, but I promise we're almost done! Copy all the coding from the white box in the top right of your "Resizer" tab. Now go to your VapourSynth Editor that you were just on. Paste all the coding into here:

#Whatever you copied from the resizer goes here

Replace all this with your copied coding ↑ except for the hashtag! Now that all your coding is into this editor, you can encode/export your GIF! Go to the top where "Script" is, and click "Encode Video" (or click "Preview" if you want to see what your GIF will look like). Now you'll have this new little window. On the "Preset", I usually have it on "Export to GIF (0.05)".

Also, under that, put the "Header" to "Y4M". Now, at the bottom, click "Start"! Lots of stuff will happen on the screen, and on the bottom that will show the progress of the encoding of the video. The more frames there are in your GIF, the more time it'll take to encode the video.

4. The Final Product!

When it's finally done, open your files and go to "VapourSynth64Portable(200722)" again. Go to the "gifs" section and then go to "output". There, you'll find the "output" and it'll have a little green check next to it. That's your final GIF! You can download it, now that it's completely finished! Here's my final product~

First things first, you need a video to work with (lol). I always like to cut the video parts I want to gif first and then put them through VS one by one to make it easier to work with (and to spare my laptop from dying processing everything) but I know people that prefer to run the entire original video through VS first, then cut the part they want to gif. Whichever you prefer is totally fine!

To add a video to VS all you need to do is drag it to the VS icon and drop it. You’ll get this window where you’ll have to specify the length of the video section you want VS to work on (yes you’ll have to write all the zeros):

Start of the section:

End of the section:

This will open that exact section on the program and you’ll be able to start to work with it from here.

You’ll get this window next (it’ll open on Chrome):

(Gonna add that, apart from this window, the Vapoursynth Editor will open too, but I’ll get to that later, just don’t close it)

You’ll have the settings on your left, your video in the centre and then another bunch of settings on the right.

The first bunch of settings allow you to modify the size of the gif (in this case I’ve chosen 268 (width) x 400 (length), to make a 2 gif gifset, but you can do up to 540 (width) and basically any length you want...idrk if there’s a length limit on tumblr tbh...). I don’t touch anything else apart from the Denoise Filters and the FineSharp setting. 

You need to tick those and then you’ve got two options: either change the settings using that sliding circle OR change them on the second settings bunch on the right. I do it there because I find it faster and more precise but you do you.

NOW to change the settings on the right side, what you ONLY want to change is the part where it says “1.6″ and “0.22″ because the values correspond to the Denoise Filters and FineSharp settings I told you before (if you use the sliding circle on the left side you’ll see these values changing automatically as you move the circle from left to right).  

The Denoise Filters (the “1.6″ you want to change) are gonna smoothen the surface of the video, they’re gonna get rid of those little grains you see on videos that are not hd. 

The FineSharp setting (the “0.22″ you want to change) is gonna harsh the lines and make them more defined.

Here, it depends on the original video you’re working with and the quality it has: if you have a very high quality video you’re not gonna want to use a very high value for any of those settings bc you’ll end up with a super blurred gif that’s gonna look weird. If the video is lower in image quality, you’ll have to play with the values. 

The sh*tty thing about this is that, as you start changing the values, the result doesn’t show up on the gif in the middle immediately, meaning that you’ll have to run the code and open the gif on Photoshop to see the result. So it’s a matter of trial and error. If your resulting gif doesn’t show up on PS the way you want it to show up, you’ll have to go back to VS, change the combination of both settings, run it again through the software and check it again on PS.

The values I normally use for both settings usually range from 1.5-1.8 for the Denoise filter and 1.6-1.9 for the FineSharp. It really depends on the original video you’re working with, so always try to find the highest quality videos you can to make gifs from them.

Now once you’ve got your settings ready, all you need to do is copy the code,

open the Vapoursynth Editor window I told you about at the beginning and paste it where it says “#Resizer content goes here”:

Then, at the top bar, click on “Script” and in the drop down menu chose “Encode video”:

This will open yet ANOTHER window:

All you have to change here is where it says “Header: No Header”. you’ll want to click on those blue arrows and chose the option that says “Y4M”.

If you don’t chose this option, the encoder will give you an error message and won’t work, so if you ever get any errors check out you don’t have this unselected. 

Once you have this all you need to do is press start (at the bottom right of the window) and let the program do its magic. It’ll start encoding the video and giving you lots of words and stuff and you’ll feel like a hacker breaking into some Country’s Government security system. 

The moment it finishes encoding it’ll give you a “Finished encoding” message in green and you’ll have to press “Save” (in the middle right of the window) for it to save the video to your VS Output folder.

From here all you have to do is open PS, import the video and start working with it there!

This is the comparative with and without VS:

I haven’t used any PSD on top of them just so you can see the real difference.

Hope this was useful!