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I have done an animation although I had wanted to keep the file size down by using the setting scene within which the animation runs only once. The trouble is, in Xara the setting scene would have to be the background. Overlays only apply to one previous frame, not to all of them. In this particular animation the animated part has to be at the back. Not seeing any way to do what I wanted to do in XaraX, I just used the setting scene in each frame and as I expected the file size is far too large for the gallery. I didn't even bother uploading it. It's well over 2 megs and on a 56K modem would take nearly 6 minutes to download. I tried optimizing in Ulead, but that didn't reduce the file size.
Is there any solution?
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I have done an animation although I had wanted to keep the file size down by using the setting scene within which the animation runs only once. The trouble is, in Xara the setting scene would have to be the background. Overlays only apply to one previous frame, not to all of them. In this particular animation the animated part has to be at the back. Not seeing any way to do what I wanted to do in XaraX, I just used the setting scene in each frame and as I expected the file size is far too large for the gallery. I didn't even bother uploading it. It's well over 2 megs and on a 56K modem would take nearly 6 minutes to download. I tried optimizing in Ulead, but that didn't reduce the file size.
Is there any solution?
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how about posting the .xar file instead of the gif?
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Hi Deb,
File size is a constant struggle with animation’s to be posted on the web. How large (Height and Width) is your animation? If it is large, say 600 x 400 then reduce it by half to 300 X 200 which will reduce the file size by 4 because it is an area function.
The next thing to try is reduce the number of colors from 256 (it is a .gif file now) to 64 or if you’re lucky down to32 colors)
The last and most painful (for me) is to remove some of the frames and try to change the timing of some of the frames to make up for the frame reduction.
This is why flash movies are so popular - they are very efficient with file compression but you can also add sound to them so it is very easy to make them VERY large, ever see “please wait file is loading” ? 8-)
If all of the above doesn’t work and have more questions or would like me to look at your .xar please let me know I’d be happy to try and help.
Bob C.
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Deb
Each pixel in each frame of a GIF image or GIF animation has to be identified. Think of a piece of graph paper with 200 x 300 squares and each sqaure represents a pixel. Numbering begins bottom left and position 0,0.
A GIF file resports, the pixel at 0,0 is RGB x, x, x. The pixel at 0,1 is RGB x, x, x,. The pixel at 0,2 is RGB... and so forth. The the plugin filter in the browser reads all this and posts the correct pixel in each grid square.
The more complex your image is, a photograph for example, or an image with a lot of complex gradient fills, the larger your file size will be, because Mr. GIF has to report a value for each and every pixel.
Now, if your image has large areas of flat color, then Mr. GIF can make an all encompassing statement such as, Pixels 0,0 through 0,300 and down to pixels 24,0 to 24,78 are RGB x, x, x, Mr. GIF has reduced the file size considerably because he has make one statement covering a broad section of similar pixels with one statement. This is how a GIF file achieves compression.
Look at the animations of Featured Artist Marcus Geduld. Some of Marcus's animations have dozens and dozens of frames. But his file sizes are miniscule and his animations load almost in real time. (On my ancient computer at any rate).
Gary
Gary Priester
Moderator Person
<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~garypriester">
oh stub me believer</a>
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I did reduce the size of the image in each frame by 1/2, which got it down to something over 700 kbs, and I tried uploading that to the gallery as a .xar file, but it still exceeded the maximum file size allowed, which is 300 kbs. So I wound up putting it in my own web storage space and displaying it in the gallery using html.
Gary, since you have seen the animation, and asked a few questions, I'll answer them here. The interior of the ship is a photo I found on the web. It wasn't quite nighttime in that photo, it was dusk, so all the parts where you see the starlit night sky are parts I cut out by drawing an outline and then "arrange + combine shapes + slice shapes". (Thanks to the Photoshop vs XaraX thread on extracting subjects from photos, I'm finding this is pretty easy to do). The starlit night sky is a background from some free backgrounds website. The only thing that is drawn is the quarter moon. You're right, it would be better if there was a horizon somewhere, but if it made you feel seasick it must have worked. In fact one person on the cruise got so sick they were going to airlift her off the ship if she didn't recover. In a past life I must have been a sailor [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
I have visited Marcus's gallery before. But if I was working with those kinds of images I think I could keep the file size low also. I think I could have kept this one lower too, if only there was a way to make use of the photo of the interior of the ship in only one frame [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I have visited Marcus's gallery before. But if I was working with those kinds of images I think I could keep the file size low also. I think I could have kept this one lower too, if only there was a way to make use of the photo of the interior of the ship in only one frame <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Marcus, and Quentin and a few other Xaraninators have created the fine animations that they have because they have worked with the limitations of GIF animation.
Trying to create a movie with bitmap images is not a practical use for GIF animation as you are discovering.
You might try specifying the first frame of your animation as Background (this automatically places the photo in each frame) and leaving the moon out of this frame. Also try to reduce the number of colors in the photo to 16 (Bitmap Effects). Set the display frame for: number to 0.
Now add your moon to the other frames.
Do not copy and paste the bitmap into each frame. This will be done automatically when you select Background for frame 1.
See if this does not reduce the size of your animation.
Gary
Gary Priester
Moderator Person
<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~garypriester">
oh stub me believer</a>
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The moon is not the animation. The moon is grouped with the rest of the night sky and the whole is the animation. If I made it the background, would it not be stationary? And then I'd have the photo of the ship moving up and down?
Since the photo of the ship is the big file, how do I reduce the file size by making it the animated part?
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Sorry Deb if this is a bit late. I'm frantically trying to get WebXealot 28 finished for tomorrow.
Do what I suggested by making the bitmap the background image.
Create the hole (whole?) as a separate shape. Use Apply Clip View to mask your sky elements inside the hole shape. Then edit the contents for each frame.
Gary
Gary Priester
Moderator Person
<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~garypriester">
oh stub me believer</a>
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I get what you are saying, but will have to work on it tomorrow. I deleted the holes, after I sliced them out, so I don't happen to have the shape of them on hand. I'll have to go back to the beginning in order to save the shape of what I sliced out before putting the skyscape to the back.
I will do it. It will be a lesson that will impress upon my mind, for future reference.
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Doing it as you suggested works, but only brings the file size down to 352 kbs, still too big for the gallery. I'll have to work on it a little more...
