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Cinemagraphs

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These pictures go beyond just animated gifs, they are photographs with movement. The movement should be about atmosphere, not action. Inspired by the iwdrm and From Me to You blogs.

The distinction between Cinemagraphs and gifs

Here are a few how to's on how to make your own Cinemagraphs. If you have any others, message the mods and let us know! The more accessible this medium, the better.

Some apps for making Cinemagraphs:

Flixel

Echograph

Cinemagram

Some guide lines:

1) No regular .gifs. That defeats the entire purpose of this subreddit. They will be removed. Could someone conceivably frame a still image of the cinemagraph and hang it on the wall, because it would also make a great photograph? If the answer is no, the mods will delete the post, because it's a .gif not a cinemagraph.

2) They don't have to be flawless, but do your best too. The point of this subreddit is high-quality Cinemagraphs.

3) Make sure to put [NSFW] tags. That should go without saying.

4) If you found it on stumbleupon or on a major site, chances are it's already been posted. Take the 5-10 seconds to search and see if it's been clearly posted.

FAQ (Will be updated as more arise)

1) How do I make a cinemagraph my desktop background?

2) "Do I need to give credit/cite my posts?" YES. If the cinemgraph is not your original, you must post the source and give credit. It is unfair to the creator not to.

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all 34 comments

[–]reallifedog 15 points16 points ago

i think reddit is losing sight of what a cinemagraph actually is.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 33 points34 points ago

Not a cinemagraph, jesus Scopolamina, stop spamming here for your karma, you are ruining it!

[–]ThatDrunkViking 16 points17 points ago

To the people downvoting, how is this a cinemagraph? This is just a looped gif. And if you are down-voting because I'm hating on Scopo, it's because he is spamming stuff that isn't relevant to the sub just for karma, he is the new Trapped_in_reddit, 1.2 million karma in 4½ months.

[–]Over_Thinking_It 5 points6 points ago

I didn't downvote you, but arent all cinemagraphs looped gifs just with a portion frozen? The popular one with the guy in the middle of the park with the newspaper is a looped gif. The opening and closing of eyes is a looped gif. Smoke is looped. Drops. Lights. etc.. I don't see a difference between this gif and any of the other gifs that are labeled cinemagraphs. I would understand if the lady is moving, but she seems frozen and the bunny running around is pretty seamless.

Edit: Forgot "the" existed.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 3 points4 points ago

She could just be standing still, without any effort. The amazing thing about the guy with the newspaper is that the world around him is frozen. Also, in my opinion (which judging by the comments seems to be shared), a cinemagraph has to have some sort of artistic feel to this. This gif might as well have been something off America's funniest home videos.

[–]Over_Thinking_It 3 points4 points ago

Yes, the newspaper one is a GREAT cinemagraph, a lot better than this one, but that doesnt mean that this one is not a cinemagraph. And I agree that a cinemagraph has to have an artistic feel to it as well, but that is very subjective and in my opinion is kind of a ridiculous guideline (though I understand the intentions). I could tell you that this gif represents the complete joy that a pet can have for its owner even if the owner is just standing in place. Is that art? Who knows.

My definition of a cinemagraph is simple and as follows:

  • A portion that is frozen that naturally would be moving. For example, a human, not a toaster.

  • The isolated movement should be natural looking and should avoid a rough looping transition. It doesnt have to abide by all the laws of physics, but the looping transition should be smooth.

Everything else after that would just be judging on whether its a good or bad cinemagraph.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 0 points1 point ago

Those guidelines fit pretty closely to mine, but then again, would the owner naturally be moving if it were a movie instead of a cinemagraph. I guess that's what does it for this picture, in my opinion.

[–]Over_Thinking_It 1 point2 points ago

I think we're on the same page. One of the first things I did was try to see if the lady was moving. It guess its my perspective. I see it as a frozen person because if you look at this clip for 20 seconds or so(if this was a movie), you would see some type of movement from the person, even if it was a subtle shift in weight.

Now, if the bunny was running around a book or something that doesnt move naturally, then I wouldnt like this gif at all.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 0 points1 point ago

I see what you mean and I don't like it, but my future rebuttals would probably just be: "But it doesn't feel right", or something of the like.

[–]punderful 1 point2 points ago

I think the name should really be changed. I actually think what most folks look for in a good cinemagraph is not something that looks like a frozen video, with some motion.

I think what people like in a cinemagraph is something that looks like a photograph, an artistic photograph, with unexpected or interesting motion.

When you think about it that way, instead of the reverse, I think it makes more sense. We're looking for something inherently artistic. Not a video with parts frozen and looped.

Gif = video with parts frozen. Cinemagraph = photograph with parts moving.

The reason stills from movies are so popular is because they generally have a very artistic quality to them. Hence the original name cinemagraph, because those are the most popular. But for the same reason not ANY video is considered an artistic endeavor, not every looped gif is considered a cinemagraph.

[–]HarryLillis 2 points3 points ago

Yeah, when I first saw the gif I upvoted it because I liked it, until I noticed a second later that it was in Cinemagraphs and was clearly irrelevant.

[–]DeskFlyer 0 points1 point ago

If more people would report it for not meeting the guidelines, the mods would take notice and delete it.

[–]Scopolamina[S] 0 points1 point ago

The mods won't delete it because they consider the definition of a cinemagraph subjective and this fits within the realm of acceptability. I posted 3 other "traditional" cinemagraphs at the same time and this is the one that got noticed. I'm just doing the same thing that I always do, providing quality content to subreddits that I enjoy.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 2 points3 points ago

Not at 1.2m karma in 4½ months. You aren't just "providing quality content", you are spamming and over-flowing subreddits you know are generous with their karma, with a large base of viewers and a low number of submitters.

I have seen so many posts from you on this sub and I fail to accept that each of yours posts is given any more thought than, oh I hope I get more sweet internet-points.

I really hope I have a totally wrong perception of what you are doing, because otherwise it saddens me.

[–]Scopolamina[S] -3 points-2 points ago

You aren't just "providing quality content", you are spamming and over-flowing subreddits you know are generous with their karma, with a large base of viewers and a low number of submitters.

The majority of my karma comes from subreddits that I've either created myself or helped build up from basically nothing. The subreddits that I've created and/or moderate have a combined subscriber base of over 1,000,000 people - that doesn't happen from posting low quality content.

When I'm not posting NSFW images, I like posting in places like /r/historyporn, /r/Cinemagraphs, /r/woahdude, /r/chemicalreactiongifs and others mostly because the content is interesting to me and because the subscribers are very discerning about the quality of the content that they upvote which means that I have to really curate the content much more than anywhere else. Believe it or not, I only post 10-20% of all the content I view because I'm actually filtering out all the unworthy stuff and only posting the best of what I find.

That's what's so frustrating to me - that I can spend all this time trying to give you guys the best of what is out there and making it convenient for you to view it and everyone just hates on me for it. I know the majority of people appreciate it or else my posts wouldn't get upvoted so consistently however the ones who are the most "vocal" are people like you who seem to have a problem with me finding and posting content in a place that you enjoy.

EDIT: I actually just added up all the numbers, it's actually just under 900K total subscribers for reddits I moderate.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 1 point2 points ago

Alright, great! I'm happy that I was wrong about you, I guess I'm just too used to people who get a hard-on every time they have a post above 100 upvotes.

I guess the reason I was also frustrated with you is that you seemed to just throw out posts and leave them be, I don't think I've ever seen you respond before. Of course I see that it is annoying to have to answer to the same questions in every thread, but before this you might as well have been a bot, to me.

I'll still downvote the stuff you post here which I don't find relevant and then we'll let democracy chose, although that seems to be going in your favor at the moment.

[–]Scopolamina[S] -1 points0 points ago

I guess I'm just too used to people who get a hard-on every time they have a post above 100 upvotes.

I'm sort of used to it

you seemed to just throw out posts and leave them be

Often I just don't have a lot to add to a conversation. My contribution to Reddit comes in the form of contributing a high number of quality posts and creating and building niche NSFW subreddits. You know what's more exciting to me than having 1M karma? The fact that less than 6 weeks ago the /r/suicidegirls subreddit had only 200 subscribers and just the other day we passed 10,000! Add to that the fact that we've had 2 actual Suicide Girls post pics on Reddit and I'm a very happy camper.

All I ask is that people not just downvote simply because "it's that Scopolamina asshole again". That's not really fair.

[–]Scarjaka 0 points1 point ago

Why is this not a cinemagraph? Is it because there's too much motion?

[–]pumpkindog 9 points10 points ago

ooo my "repost karma whore" res tag came in handy.

[–]ThatDrunkViking 6 points7 points ago

I can just see it from the -12 next to his name

[–]Smoke_n_Mirrors 4 points5 points ago

[–]electrolemon 0 points1 point ago

[–]Scopolamina[S] -3 points-2 points ago

I'm surprised it took you so long to pop up in this thread. Are you tired of all the SubredditDrama focused on all your bitching about what is and isn't a worthy cinemagraph?

[–]ThatDrunkViking 0 points1 point ago

Keep up the good work, I can't stand it.

[–]deja-vu-comment 8 points9 points ago

Is this gif perfectly looped?

Yes it is, other Barry. Yes it is.

.

[–]-Daniel 9 points10 points ago

Anyone seeking more info might also check here:

title comnts points age /r/
Running Laps [gif] 24coms 291pts 5dys Rabbits
Running Laps 0coms 0pts 6dys gifs
Running Laps [gif] 5coms 175pts 6dys aww
Running Laps [gif] 0coms 2pts 20dys funny
Bunny Forcefield 5coms 49pts 5mos aww
Round and round and round and round 30coms 520pts 5mos funny

source: karmadecay

[–]derekdanger 1 point2 points ago

well then technically it is not a repost, it is a x-post, never been in cinemagraps

[–]andifall 13 points14 points ago

... because it's not a Cinemagraph.

[–]SimilarImage 4 points5 points ago

Age User Title Reddit Cmnt Points
5 days Scopolamina Running Laps [gif] /r/Rabbits 24 291
6 days Scopolamina Running Laps [gif] /r/aww 5 175
4 months timonnpumba Round and round and round and round /r/funny 30 520

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[–]hagunenon -1 points0 points ago

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[–]ConsultMyCat 1 point2 points ago

That's mating behavior. Someone's gonna get bunny raped soon.