Ten in Ten: Day 2

[spatz]

So, to give myself a break from all the fic I've been writing, I decided for Day 2 to teach myself how to make GIFs...with middling success. I understand most people use Photoshop, but I don't have it and don't want to pirate it, so on the recommendation of Gizmo Freeware Reviews, I tried GifApp. It's a nice simple program, but not ideal for fannish purposes.


The hilarious out-of-screen tackle that Reese makes in 1x12 Legacy:


I did end up with a GIF that works and does what I want it to -- even tried my hand at some dramatic slo-mo--



--and I liked that the program could GIF straight from a video source. However, it had a number of problems.
1) no way to add text
2) no way to control file size, and therefore ability to upload to Tumblr (<1MB for gifs)
3) you can control the relative dimensions of the image, but not actually resize the image (ditto Tumblr: <500 pixels wide)
4) you can't save a project, exit, then restart work. All the work has to be done in a single session. Hmph.

*sigh* Anyway, I'll have to try again with a different program. Maybe this method, though it sounds needlessly complicated.

Any of ya'll have recommendations regarding freeware or tutorials for this? There's about a million out there, and I'd love to hear from someone with actual experience.

ETA: now inmyriadbits tells me she has Photoshop Elements. Thanks, Linds. :P

Comments

[giandujakiss]

Hee! I did love that scene - I am a sucker for that particular joke (i.e., person is oblivious to the madness behind him/her)

[spatz]

I keep snickering every time I look at it, it's true. (though I also genuinely love the fight scene after, where Finch gets worried and John is all, "I wish gunshot wounds healed faster." ♥) It's like all the off-screen fights they have, which are also hilarious.

(btw, inmyriadbits says if you like that trope, you should watch The Middleman. Unless you already do, in which case we can laugh together over that scene in The Flying Fish Zombification *g*)