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Import video files and image sequences

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  18. Video and animation
    1. Video editing in Photoshop
    2. Edit video and animation layers
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    5. Paint frames in video layers
    6. Import video files and image sequences
    7. Create frame animations
    8. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
    9. Create timeline animations
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  19. Filters and effects
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Note:

For Photoshop versions earlier than Photoshop CC, some functionality discussed in this article may be available only if you have Photoshop Extended. Photoshop does not have a separate Extended offering. All features in Photoshop Extended are part of Photoshop.

Open or import a video file

In Photoshop, you can open a video file directly or add video to an open document. When you import video, the image frames are referenced in a video layer.

  1. Do one of the following:

    • To open a video file directly, choose File > Open.

    • To import video into an open document, choose Layer > Video Layers > New Video Layer From File.

  2. In the Open dialog box, for Files Of Type (Windows) or Enable (Mac OS), choose either All Readable Documents or QuickTime Movie.
  3. Select a video file and then click Open.
Note:

You can also open video directly from Bridge: Select a video file and then choose File > Open With > Adobe Photoshop.

Import image sequences

In Photoshop, when you import a folder of sequenced image files, each image becomes a frame in a video layer.

  1. Make sure that the image files are in one folder and are named sequentially.

    The folder should contain only those images you want to use as frames. The resulting animation will be more successful if all files have the same pixel dimensions. To order frames correctly for the animation, name the files in alphabetical or numeric order. For example, filename001, filename002, filename003, and so forth.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To open an image sequence directly, choose File > Open.

    • To import an image sequence into an open document, choose Layer > Video Layers > New Video Layer From File.

  3. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the folder with image sequence files.
  4. Select one file, choose the Image Sequence option, and then click Open.
    Note:

    Selecting more than one file in an image sequence disables the Image Sequence option.

  5. Specify the frame rate, and click OK.

Place a video or image sequence

In Photoshop, use the Place command if you want to transform the video or image sequence as you import it into a document. Once placed, the video frames are contained within a Smart Object. When video is contained by a Smart Object, you can navigate through the frames using the Animation panel, and you can also apply Smart Filters.

Note:

You can’t paint or clone directly on video frames contained by a Smart Object. However, you can add a blank video layer above the Smart Object, and paint on the blank frames. You can also use the Clone tool with the Sample All Layers option to paint on blank frames. This lets you use the video in the Smart Object as a cloning source.

  1. With a document open, choose File > Place.

  2. In the Place dialog box, do one of the following:

    • Select a video file and click Place.

    • Select one image sequence file, select the Image Sequence option, and then click Place.

    Note:

    Make sure all the image sequence files are in one folder.

  3. (Optional) Use the control points to scale, rotate, move, or warp the imported content.
  4. Click the Commit Transform button  in the options bar to place the file.
Note:

You can also place video directly from Adobe Bridge. Select the video file and then choose File > Place > In Photoshop.

Reload footage in a video layer

If the source file for a video layer is modified in a different application, Photoshop generally reloads and updates the footage, when you open the document containing the video layer referencing the changed source file. If your document is already open and the source file has been modified, use the Reload Frame command to reload and update the current frame in the Animation panel. Navigating through the video layer using the Previous/Next Frame or Play button in the Animation panel should also reload and update the footage.

Replace footage in a video layer

Photoshop tries to maintain the link between the video layer and source file even if you move or rename the source. If the link breaks for some reason, an alert icon  appears on the layer in the Layers panel. To relink the video layer to the source file, use the Replace Footage command. This command can also replace the video or image sequence frames in a video layer with frames from a different video or image sequence source.

  1. In the Timeline, or Layers panel, select the video layer that you want to relink to the source file or to replace the content.

  2. Choose Layer > Video Layers > Replace Footage.
  3. In the Open dialog box, select a video or image sequence file, and then click Open.

Interpreting video footage

Interpret video footage

You can specify how Photoshop interprets the alpha channel and frame rate of the video you’ve opened or imported.

  1. In the Timeline, or Layers panel, select the video layer that you want to interpret.

  2. Choose Layer > Video Layers > Interpret Footage.
  3. In the Interpret Footage dialog box, do any of the following:

    • To specify how the alpha channel in the video layer is interpreted, select an Alpha Channel option. The footage must have an alpha channel for this option to be available. If Premultiplied-Matte is selected, you can specify the matte color with which the channels are premultiplied.

    • To specify the number of video frames played per second, enter a Frame Rate.

    • To color-manage the frames or images in a video layer, choose a profile from the Color Profile menu.

Alpha channel interpretation in video and image sequences

Video and image sequences with alpha channels can be straight or premultiplied. If you’re working with video or image sequences containing alpha channels, it’s important to specify how Photoshop interprets the alpha channel to get the results you expect. When premultiplied video or images are in a document with certain background colors, it’s possible to get undesirable ghosting or halos. You can specify a matte color so the semi-transparent pixels blend (multiply) with the background without producing halos.

Ignore

Ignores the alpha channel in the video.

Straight-Unmatted

Interprets the alpha channel as straight alpha transparency. If the application you used to create the video doesn’t premultiply the color channels, select this option.

Premultiplied-Matte

Uses the alpha channel to determine how much of the matte color to mix with the color channels. If necessary, click the color swatch in the Interpret Footage dialog box to specify the matte color.

Photoshop Image with premultiplied channels
Item with premultiplied channels (top) appears with a black halo when interpreted as Straight-Unmatted (lower-left). When interpreted as Premultiplied-Matte with black specified as background color, halo does not appear (lower-right).

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