Bring your still imagery to life

If you want to learn how to make animated videos, then animating pictures is a good way to dip your toes in. While the term “animation” may have you thinking about your childhood cartoons, it actually refers to any moving image. If a graphic, logo, or photograph starts to shift from its original state, it’s been animated.
All of the following techniques are examples of animated imagery:

• Zooming in or out
• Fading in or out
• Moving across the screen
• Rotating
• Expanding or contracting
• Blurring
• Panning
• Tilting
• Swiveling

Of course, you can also apply these techniques to the art of cartoon animation. In fact, using Runway’s suite of image animation tools and other creative options, you could develop your very own animated short or add simple moving visuals to a commercial, documentary, feature or short film, and more. Even simple text animation can make a huge impact.

There are plenty of times when animation elevates an image or video. They can transform nearly any project or moment from run-of-the-mill to remarkable. Whether you’re putting together a short reel for Instagram or a three-hour director’s cut of your new masterpiece, picture animation can bring life to otherwise motionless moments.
Here are a few theoretical use cases to grease your creative wheels:

• Marketing – Imagine you’re creating advertising assets for a new electric toothbrush. While you could post an image of the toothbrush with some text to social media, that still photo is unlikely to catch much attention. Instead, what if the toothbrush appears to be vibrating—just like it would in real life? And why not have the company’s logo fade in part way through? These simple examples show how even a little movement can improve a concept.
• Film – Perhaps you want to create a psychedelic dream sequence in your 60s-inspired movie. Or maybe your horror film calls for a scene in which all the photos on the living room wall come to life. Instead of using practical effects to realize these visions, you can animate the imagery in post-production.
• Landscape photography – No matter how high-quality a picture is, it never does the destination justice. Perhaps one reason is that all of the motion is missing. Well, if you add it back in, you can show all of your followers or friends exactly how you experienced those mountains or waterfalls. By separating the layers of a picture and adding animation, you can make clouds appear to float by or waves crash upon the shore.
• Spotify canvases – If you release your music on Spotify, you can add a canvas—the short loop that plays on full-screen when listeners play your song. For a simple canvas idea, try animating the album cover to have elements appear or contort in time with the music.

Ultimately, the sky’s the limit—let your creativity run wild with Runway.

Animation lets you create motion out of stillness. In other words: it’s making movie magic.
Because moving pictures are far more engaging than static images, animation helps you add visual interest to your animated photo and video projects. How so, exactly?

• It allows you to turn a bland product photo into a captivating asset for your website and social media.
• It lets you transform the title card of your movie or music video into a studio-quality intro.
• It takes your slideshow presentation to the next level.

Image animation also allows you to impress your audience. Until recently, creating a convincing photo animation took years of skill and a highly specialized program. But now, with powerful tools like Runway, creating an animated image is a few clicks away.