Animation and video suite for the Gtk/Gnome desktop environment
http://ganim8.sourceforge.net
Download
THIS PROJECT IS NOW UNMAINTAINED.

---

Site Search:

With the words the phrase

Without the words:

LATEST NEWS [4/29/2005]: These pages have just moved to a NEW SERVER. The site might be under construction for some time.
LATEST NEWS [2/17/2003]: gAnim8 version 0.3 has been released! Check out the features page for a list of the latest great features.   New screenshots added!.    Download the latest version.
LATEST NEWS [2/16/2003]: All gAnim8 components now feature internationalization/gettext support. gAnim8 now available in SPANISH! Download the latest version.
LATEST NEWS [2/16/2003]: gAnim8 Conversion Tool version 0.2 has been released. Download the latest version.
LATEST NEWS [2/16/2003]: GtkSnapshot version 0.1 has been released - a new Gtk-based screen capture utility, and a new addition to gAnim8. Download the latest version.

---

ABOUT VIDEO SUPPORT IN GANIM8


IMPORTANT CHANGE IN VERSION 0.3:
As of version gAnim8 0.3, video support is now implemented through the use of the MUCH more advanced FFMPEG . The old 'mpeg2decode' is no longer used, because it is slow, has limited functionality, and supports only a few file types .


The VIDEO support in gAnim8 is still EXPERIMENTAL . Here are the facts:

At this time only videos under 1MB (1200 frames or less) are supported . If you open videos bigger than that, you do so at your own risk (see below) .


INTENDED USAGE:
The VIDEO support in gAnim8 is NOT intended for opening/editing/saving large VIDEOs . It is NOT intended to turn gAnim8 into a full-fledged 'movie studio' . The VIDEO support is intended for such things as opening a small VIDEO, grabbing 1-25 frames from the VIDEO, and using those frames to make a smaller animation (i.e, an animated Gif from an VIDEO or a smaller VIDEO from the original VIDEO) . The VIDEO support is useful for those wishing to grab a frame or frames from an VIDEO, or those wishing to make a mini animated 'preview' of an Video . Any other usage is not 'supported' . So, if you use the VIDEO support for anything other than what I have just described, you do so at your OWN risk . If you try to open a 20MB VIDEO and it crashes your computer, do NOT send in a 'bug' report, as the only thing 'malfunctioning' will have been your reading comprehension .


SOME SUGGESTED USES:
- Creating a small SWF (Shockwave Flash) or RealPlayer presentation from an animated GIF or small video .
- Creating a small animated GIF rendition or 'preview' of a video file .
- Making a small video of an animated GIF
- Converting a small video of one format to a small video of another format
- Recording a short video from a Video4Linux device using gAnim8's 'Record Video.." tool


REQUIREMENTS:
In order to do ANYTHING with Videos (opening or saving), you MUST have BOTH 'ffmpeg' and the 'convert' program from ImageMagick installed on your system .

FFMPEG - The 'ffmpeg' package (containing the 'ffmpeg' binary - version 0.4.6 or better - required for video read/write support)

ImageMagick (containing the 'convert' binary, version 5.2.3+, version 5.4.6.1 or better recommended - adds support for 110+ image formats, and is also needed for video support)


GETTING FFMPEG:
The 'ffmpeg' package can be found on speakeasy.rpmfind.net and at the FFMPEG web site (ffmpeg.sourceforge.net) .

GETTING IMAGEMAGICK:
The ImageMagick package can be found on both speakeasy.rpmfind.net and www.imagemagick.org .


IMPORTANT: gAnim8 is NOT intended for opening, saving, or editing large videos . At this time only videos under 1MB (1200 frames or less) are supported . gAnim8 is NOT a 'movie studio' - it is an animation suite, intended for opening/saving/editing SMALL animations and videos . If you choose to ignore this warning - expect to wait a LONG time for your video to open . In addition, LOTS of temporary disk space will be used (possibly hundreds of MBs), and the whole GUI of gAnim8 will run much, much slower . Large VIDEOs over 1MB can take MANY minutes to open . Use at your own risk!


gAnim8 has NO control over the speed of decoding videos . This is controlled by the external program 'ffmpeg' from the 'ffmpeg' package .

gAnim8 has NO control over the speed of encoding videos . This is controlled by the external program 'ffmpeg' from the 'ffmpeg' package .


SUPPORTED VIDEO FORMATS - FOR OPENING (Video types gAnim8 can READ):
MPEG
AVI (Windows Video)
ASF (Windows Video)
WMV (Window Media Video)
SWF (Shockwave Flash, old, version 1.0)
RM (RealPlayer, older format)
M4V
MOV/QT (Quicktime)

SUPPORTED VIDEO FORMATS - FOR SAVING (Video types gAnim8 can WRITE):
MPEG
AVI (Windows Video)
ASF (Windows Video)
WMV (Window Media Video)
SWF (Shockwave Flash, old, version 1.0)
RM (RealPlayer, older format)
M4V

gAnim8 does NOT support any other VIDEO formats . If it's not listed above, it's not supported . The types of videos that can be opened and saved depends heavily on how recent and functional your copy of 'ffmpeg' is . Make sure you have a very recent version of FFMPEG .


OPENING VIDEOS:
To open a video, select "Open..." on the menu, and select one of the supported video types (see above) . Opening an VIDEO can take a moment . Please be patient . A 'preview' window will open . You may then select the frames from the VIDEO video you want to incorporate into your animation . As of gAnim8 version 0.3, you can drag-and-drop frames onto the gAnim8 window: The frames will be automatically imported into the animation . If you select a RANGE of frames to import, it is HIGHLY suggested that you do not choose more than 25 frames (as you will may be waiting a LONG time for all of the frames to be processed and incorporated into the animation) . If you ignore this warning, you do so at your own risk . IMPORTANT NOTE: When opening a video from the menu with the 'Open...' command, gAnim8 will only display the first 200 frames of your video . There is a reason for this: Trying to show more than 200 frames in the video preview window has been known to make the X Server completely CRASH, as too much screen real estate is being used . (I'm working on it!)


IMPORTING VIDEOS:
If you wish to import a whole video at once, you may do so by dragging and droping a supported video from a file manager (such as GMC) onto one of the 'Insert' buttons in gAnim8 . Importing a video will quickly insert a lower-quality version of your video directly into the animation sequence . Basically, what this feature does is quickly convert your video into an animated .GIF, then embeds that animated GIF into your animation sequence . If you are importing a LARGE video, be prepared to wait a moment or more .

For now, If your video is more than 200 frames, and you wish to have ALL the video frames included in the animation (not suggested - gAnim8 isn't a 'movie studio), you will have to IMPORT your video, instead of OPEN your video .


RECORDING VIDEOS:
You can record a video from a V4L device (new in gAnim8 version 0.3!) by clicking 'Tool', then 'Record Video...' on the menu . This feature, of course, requires FFMPEG to be installed on your system . It's not that advanced or fancy, but it gets the job done . Currently, there is no way to 'preview' the video you are recording until after it has been recorded . (Allowing both gAnim8 and FFMPEG to access a V4L device at the same time would take some serious hacking.)

SUPPORTED VIDEO FORMATS - FOR RECORDING:
MPEG
AVI (Windows Video)
ASF (Windows Video)
WMV (Window Media Video)
SWF (Shockwave Flash, old, version 1.0)
RM (RealPlayer, older format)
M4V

---