THE MASTERMIND ANIMATED GIF MAKING TUTORIAL VERISON 2.0

Tools Needed
VirtualDub MPEG2
Ulead GIF Animator 5
Flask MPEG
Allok AVI DivX MPEG To DVD Converter
ANYDVD

VirtualDub MPEG2
http://www.divshare.com/download/5978667-b57

Ulead GIF Animator 5
http://www.divshare.com/download/5978730-ac1

Flask MPEG (Optional)
http://www.divshare.com/download/5978753-994

Allok AVI DivX MPEG To DVD Converter (Optional)
http://www.divshare.com/download/3754677-db5

Xillsoft Video Converter (Optional)
http://rapidshare.com/files/158882011/Xilisoft_Video_Converter_3.1.rar

ANYDVD (Optional)
http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

DISCLAIMER: This tutorial was created out of trial and error from my personal experiences in Animated GIF making. I don't claim to be an expert so any use of the information provided may vary in results.

ANYDVD: When making animated GIFS from a DVD source, you most likely will run into a copy protection problem when loading DVD (Vob) files into programs such as Flask MPEG or VirtualDub MPEG2. Anydvd is a software program that removes copy protection from a DVD. Its well worth to buy, but if you don't want to pay for it you'll need to find a cracked version of it somewhere on the internet.

EDITING VIDEO WITH VIRTUALDUB MPEG
Click and open VirtualDub MPEG then move your cursor to the upper left corner and click on 'file'. Move your cursor to 'open video file' and click on it. Find your AVI or DVD video in whatever folder you have it in, click on it then click open. If you're working from a DVD then you should locate the drive you have the DVD in, click on the DVD, click on 'Video TS' and locate the VOB files. The files that contain the main movie would be numbered like VTS_01_1, VTS_01_2, VTS_01_3, VTS_01_4, etc. Your video should load and appear on the screen. The main things I personally use VirtualDub for is lightening, sharping video and chopping scenes. To lighten video, move your cursor to 'video' at the top middle on the screen and click on it then move your cursor and click on 'filters'. Click on 'add' which will then show you all the filters in VirtualDub. I usually use 'Levels' to lighten or darken video; scroll down and click on it. To see what exactly you're doing when you lighten the video, click on 'show preview' then click on the 'scroll' and move it to the scene or part of the video you want to lighten. Now go back to the 'Filter: Levels' box and lighten or darken the video to your satisfaction. Play around with the Input levels and output levels until you reach something that looks good to you. You should also play around with the sharpen 'Filter'. On DVD's I've have sharpen set at 3-5 while on AVI's I would set it at 1 or 2. After you've finished editing the lighting and sharpening, close out the 'Filter Preview' box, click Ok on the 'Filter: Levels' box then click Ok on the 'Filters' box.

Now you need to chop your scene(s). You should see a 'scroll' with 13 buttons under it. Take the time to play around and see what each button does. I believe from left to right the buttons are Stop, Play (left screen only), Play (Both screens), Start Of Video, Backward (Frame By Frame), Forward (Frame by Frame), End Of Video, Fast Backward (Frame By Frame), Fast Forward (Frame By Frame), Fast Backward, Fast Forward, Start Chop, End Chop. Ok, now scroll to the scene you want to chop and when you have it at the frame you want to start from click 'Start Chop' then scroll to the frame you want to end the scene at and click 'End Chop'. Now you'll need to save the scene so move your cursor to 'file' at the upper left corner of the screen and click it then scroll down and click 'save as'. Give the file a name and save it in a folder of your choosing. Repeat the same process when your want to save another scene of the video. After you have chopped and saved all parts of the video you want to make GIFS from, go ahead and close out VirtualDub.

GIF MAKING
Now we move on to the GIF making. Go to the folder you saved all your scenes in and right click on it, opening it with 'Ulead GIF Animator 5'. Allow the program to load then when the 'Duration' box appears click Ok. This will then load your video frame by frame. Depending on the quality of your video it may appear 720x480 on your screen or a size over 300 in height. I usually resize the video to 350 height so move your cursor to 'Edit' at the top of the screen then scroll down to 'resize image' and set your height at 350. Make sure your 'quality' setting is set at best. Click Ok and the program will resize your image. I generally resize it to this height first so I can crop out black bars and stuff around the edges of the video. To crop out black bars or anything else you don't want, click on the square with the triangle pointer inside it. Move your cursor over whatever you want to crop, click and hold down then move your cursor around and you will see it forming a square. Whatever is inside the box you keep the rest is cropped out. Now move your cursor to 'Edit', scroll down to crop canvas, and click it. Your video is now cropped with clean edges.

Now it's time to resize again to 220 height or whatever height you want. The reason why I resize my GIFS to this height is because I aim to keep file sizes under 5MB. Most Image hosts on the Internet won't host anything over 5MB. I may delete some frames or resize it down some more. Basically play around with it until you get the GIF the way you want it. Next, give your GIF a name and save it in a folder of your choosing. Once you've completed one GIF you can start on another by clicking on 'file' then 'open video' and repeat the process all over again. In cases where you want to have your GIFS run at a certain speed (example, slow-motion) you will need to click on 'file' then 'Animated Wizzard'. The 'Animated Wizzard - Set Canvas Size' box will appear; set your height at 480 and width at 720, then click next. Click on add video, find your video, and click open. Click next and the 'Frame Duration' box will appear. I usually like to set it anywhere between a 9-13 (Delay Time). You may need to play around with this until to get it the way you want it. That's pretty much it on how I make GIFS. Keep in mind I'm always trying to find better ways to make GIFS so as I come across new information I will share it.

LINKS
http://www.burgers-transition-site.de/news/index.html
http://neuron2.net/