photoxels
It’s cool when you see animated GIFs the first time (I added the flash effect in the add above). It’s even better when you see a still photo (or what you thought was a still photo) suddenly animate part of itself. That’s a cinemagraph.
A good cinemagraph does not start the animation right away. The viewer has to be “fooled” into believing it’s a still photo. When the animation starts, there’s wonder.
Some subjects lend themselves to a cinemagraph treatment better than others. A cinemagraph can look cool or spooky. Here are some examples: the water dripping fom the tomatoes could make a stunning ad for fresh vegatables (or are tomatoes considered fruits); the woman stirring her coffee continuously is spooky.
For some of them, I have simply wondered why the model didn’t just stand still for the few seconds required and save the photographer/videographer all the post processing hassle and time in Photoshop. (That would be cheating. It would just be a movie, not a cinemagraph.) Like in the excellent video below on how to quickly make your own cinemagraph. (It’s a great video, much better than others I’ve looked at, and I understand it’s just an example.)
Since Tyra Banks from America’s Next Top Model has seen one, flipped over it and invested into Flixel Photos, Inc., be forewarned if you are a regular viewer of ANTM: Cycle 20 will include (cue dramatic music)… cinemagraphs.
You can expect to see lots of photos of Tyra Banks standing still while her hair billows behind her or her earrings dangling enticingly.
Want to make your own cinemagraph but does not want to fool around in Photoshop? There’s an app for that. Flixel has a cool app that allows you to make your own cinemagraph quite easily. There’s a free as well as a $9.99 Pro version.
That’s why I said we will soon be inundated with cinemagraphs. I hope you are ready for the onslaught.
