Import video files and image sequences

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.

Import image sequences

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ignores the alpha channel in the video.

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.

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.