How To Create Tilt Shift Effect In Photoshop

Tilt-shift is an consequence that when applied to an image or in this case, a video, will create the illusion of miniaturization, making it seem as if the video is shooting a model set and not real life. To create one of these videos outside of Photoshop would crave an expensive photographic camera and and an even more expensive lens, which tin price into the thousands of dollars. In this tutorial I will show you how to create this effect using only Photoshop and how to apply it to almost any video.

Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.

Stairs Video
Iterate Script

Download Original Footage

Before you begin. Let's take a wait at the original footage. Make certain to download it from here.

Pace one

Before opening Photoshop, install the Extension that was included in the tutorial assets. Open the Adobe Extension Manager, which should exist found in the Adobe folder.

PC users, if for some reason, it will not let you lot install the Extension, shut and re-open the Extension Manger by correct-clicking on the program in the start card and selecting "Run every bit administrator".

With the Extension Manager open up, click the install button, and locate where you saved the Iterate Action extension.

Footstep 2

Open up Photoshop then choose File > Import > Import video frames to layers.

For those users using CS5 or higher you'll need to utilise the 32bit version of Photoshop that should have been included in your install. You lot have to use the 32bit version because unfortunately Import video frames to layers utilizes the Quicktime API which remains a 32bit application.

For PC users, you should observe the 32bit version in the Start carte du jour, right next to the 64 bit version, if it's not there check the (x86) folder, still not there and then re-install, the 32bit version was unchecked during the initial installation.

For Mac users, open up the Photoshop folder in a finder window and Command/Ctrl-click on the Photoshop icon, then click on Go info, click the bank check marker to run the program in information technology'south 32 bit manner.

Import video to layers offers a few options for importing. Depending on the video, yous tin can take hold of the whole thing or just a selected range. Make sure that "Make Frame Animation" is checked and so for this video limit the imported frames to every 15th frame. Doing this is going to not just cut the length of the video it'south besides going to mimic a finish-motion effect which will aid sell the overall effect.

Note: You tin can work with video frame layers in the 64bit version. To do so import the video using the 32bit version, relieve the file equally a .PSD file, and then open the file upwards in the 64bit version.

Step 3

Before moving on, it volition be helpful to setup your workspace, in the acme right corner there are a number of workspace presets, y'all can select the Movement preset to load a number of popular tabs. Nonetheless for this tutorial you lot will just exist needing the Animation tab, Layers tab, Action tab and History tab.

To begin applying the tilt-shift effect press (Q) to enter the Quick mask style. Printing (D) to reset your Foreground/Background colors, so select the Slope tool. In the top left of the screen there are a number of Gradient styles, select the Reflected Gradient which is the fourth style from the correct. While property the Shift key, depict a line from the bottom of the staircase to just above the railing.

You'll now encounter a light red slope running horizontally beyond the screen. This carmine surface area will be the expanse of focus for the tilt-shift result, don't be afraid to play with different widths and positions for the mask. Moving the mask college or lower will let you to place the area of focus for the outcome. The focal point doesn't necessarily have to exist centered to be effective. For more complicated video's yous could paint in the the mask but for about videos, this pace should be sufficient.

Once satisfied with the placement of the mask press (Q) to exit the Quick mask mode. You should now have and upper and lower selection.

Annotation: This selection MUST remain in place throughout the rest of the tutorial. Exercise NOT deselect or else the effect will non work.

Pace 4

With the option in place, Choose Filter > Blur > Lens Blur. For this video the default settings are chip too much, so reduce the Radius to 20. Drib the Curvature to 27 and kill the Noise. Exist brash that this filter tin take some time to refresh on slower machines, and so exist patient. When you are happy with the upshot press OK to use.

Footstep 5

For the side by side two steps y'all'll want to endeavour and exaggerate the effulgence and color to help sell the effect. Choose Prototype > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast, bump the Effulgence by 50 and the Dissimilarity past 25.

Then Cull Epitome > Adjustments > Vibrance and bump the Vibrance by +100 and the Saturation by +25. Experiment with different setting'south, now is the fourth dimension to discover which settings create the almost dramatic event.

Step 6

Now that you have an outcome that you lot are happy with, it'southward time to utilise it to the rest of the video. First save your file out every bit a .PSD file, then undo everything back to Step four. Make certain that you Practise Non deselect the selection created in step 3.

To create an Action, open the Action tab, press the new Activeness push button near the bottom of the tab. Name the Action "titlshift", making sure it is saved in the Default Actions folder, (This will be important subsequently) then printing Record. The round button at the bottom of the Action tab should plow cherry when recording.

Step 7

Now that Photoshop is recording, you can brainstorm by re-applying the Lens blur upshot. Cull Filter > Blur > Lens Mistiness or printing Command/Ctrl + F to use the last filter. And then Choose Prototype > Aligning > Brightness/Contrast and apply the same setting's equally before. And so Choose Epitome > Adjustment > Vibrance and apply the same settings as before. Double check that Photoshop but recorded these three deportment. If Photoshop accidently recorded an actress step, don't worry, press the stop button, elevate the unwanted footstep to the garbage can at the lesser right corner, then printing the round record push to brainstorm recording once more.

Now that the Filter and Image Adjustments have been recorded you need to tape an Activity that will move the Blitheness frame frontwards. If you just selected Animation frame two, Photoshop would record "Select animation frame ii" which when you played the Action back information technology would non advance forwards but remain on frame 2 indefinitely. To record a generic Action that moves the pick forrard one frame, press the Fast Forrard button at the bottom of the Blitheness tab. This will record an Action that tells Photoshop to "Activate next animation frame".

All the same you are non done yet, telling Photoshop to activate the side by side blitheness frame is not enough, if yous left it at that you would motility the Animation frame forward but Photoshop'southward ability to apply your setting'southward would remain on Layer 1. A petty confusing, merely what is happening is that an Animation frame only furnishings the visibility of a layer, not whether Photoshop can edit that Layer. To fix this you need to add one final stride in our Action. Equally with the Animation frame you need to apply a generic control to move forward one layer, press Alt/Command + ] to record the Activity "Select forward layer".

These final ii actions are critical to the looping script you lot are going to use. All the looping script is doing is pressing the play push a set number of times for us, past having Photoshop motility the option forward, it is going to let the looping script to motion upwards the layers in the file applying the effect.

With this last step recorded, printing the square Stop lesser at the lesser of the actions tab to stop the recording.

Author's Note

It'southward time to exam your Action. Press the Play button a couple of times to ensure that it is applying the issue the fashion you want and that it is moving the selections forrard. Now is the fourth dimension to make adjustments if needed. Remember to save the certificate if y'all oasis't already.

Before you lot keep, I need to have a moment and give credit to Dr. WooHoo who has generously provided the Iterate script free of charge to the world. It was published in the May/June 2009 issue of Photoshop User Mag and is also available on his website here.

Step 8

If yous have ever played around with Photoshop Actions, yous may have come across this odd limitation within Photoshop'south extensive Automation tools. For whatever reason, Photoshop cannot loop Actions to multiple layers within a single file, it is this limitation that Dr. WooHoo script corrects. If you lot haven't already installed the Iterate script then save your work, close Photoshop and jump back to Stride ane. If the extension'southward been installed, so cull Window > Extension > Iterate Actions.

Click the Loop button.

Enter the Actions name exactly as yous spelled it. Remember the Activeness must exist located in the Default Actions folder or else the script will not exist able to run the Activeness.

It will then ask how many times to repeat the Action. Printing OK and it will start applying the Action to each layer, this may accept some fourth dimension.

(Don't worry if your off a frame or two, you can always manually run the action if the script misses a few frames, However make certain you don't tell the script to run more than times than you have frames, once the script hits the last frame, it will starting time over with frame one.)

Footstep 9

Once it'south done applying the effect, play the video through a couple times, If you are happy with the terminal effect, its fourth dimension to return the video out. First pace is to change the frame delay from it'due south native 0.04secs to 0.1 secs. To change the filibuster, select Frame One then scroll down and Shift-Click on the terminal Frame, yous should and so see a blue outline effectually all the Frames. Click on on the pocket-sized black arrow just nether the right corner of the i of the Frames, and change the delay to 0.1 secs. Changing this setting's will adjust the rendered video playback speed, leaving it at 0.04secs would accept the video playing dorsum a bit as well fast.

And then Choose File > Export > Render video. Name your file and select where yous want to salve information technology. Then you have a couple of options for exporting your video.

Option One: Export as a compressed video file, perfect if the video is a stand up alone piece.

Option Two: If your using this video as part of a larger project, export the video as an image sequence, yous'll retain the highest paradigm quality possible, yet this method will require the use of some other program, such as After Effects, when it comes time to consign the paradigm sequence as a video file.

To return every bit a movie, click on Setting's then on the Video Setting's button

My personal preference leans to the .mov format using H.264, the file size will exist tiny and the video quality will remain splendid. Press OK and in a moment your video will be ready to amaze the world.