Photoshop Renders Gifs Faster Despite Setting And Displaying The Correct Framerate In The Program

[Filippo Marchetti]

Hello.

I have a serious problem which is seriously starting to damage my career (specially considering the recent popularity of .gif files to showcase your work).

I have been trying to fix it for a year and i had it with all the releases of photoshop since late 2015 and across different installation on Mac OS X; i'm also having little luck researching the problem online.

I have created a custom example to showcase the issue in detail and to provide as much information as possible.

(Note that this happens with every single video i produce, both at 25 or 30 fps)

I create a 30 fps video of a ball moving each second to a new position, inside After Effects.

Here's the video: Comp 1_1 on Vimeo

I import the video (which is exactly 30 fps) into photoshop (doesn't matter the version, had this issue consistently since 2015)

I'm using the "Import Video Frames to layers" option, but i have the same issue if i render a png sequence from After Effects and then import it to Photoshop and setting the framerate to 30.

You can also see on the timeline at the bottom the 0,03 delay time (which is the correct time for a 30 fps video).

I render the gif (with the "Export - Save For Web Legacy" option), and then i open it in after effects putting it on top of the original video, with a 50% opacity.

As you can see the gif file is inexplicably shorter and obviously faster (you can see the offset of the red ball, despite being the exact same file and setting it to 30 fps in photoshop.

You can clearly see the different in length in the timeline as well (they should be the same length).

As a matter of fact if we check the info of the .gif file in after effects it shows a 33,3 fps framerate, despite double, triple, quadruple checking it was 30 fps both in photoshop and after effects.

It seems like photoshop is physically incapable of rendering a 30 fps gif, and i have very similar issues (with slightly faster playback) even with 25 fps files.

Animation is all about timing, so i don't see why i should have my carefully produced animation being played back faster for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

This is damaging my career because showcasing artworks with gifs on such sites as "Behance" or "Dribbble"is becoming very important these days.

Also, considering i pay for these programs, i seriously hope to find a solution.

Sorry if i sound a little bit annoyed but i have been wrestling with this annoying issue for almost 2 years and i'd like to know from the photoshop team if the program is simply incapable of making smooth 30fps gifs (and not 33,3) or if there's some kind of solution.

I don't know if the problem comes from After Effects or Photoshop but i'd like to point out i have absolutely no issues with framerate when producing videos.

This problem is .gif files specific.

Millions of users produce .gif files from their videos so i really hope to find some contributors to this discussion.

Anybody who will help me with this issue will have my deepest gratitude.

Thank you very much.

[davescm]

Hi

This looks like rounding. Can you check your actual frame display time for the gif. If it has been rounded to 0.03secs it will give the speed you describe.

30 fps = 0.0333 second per frame.

0.03 secs per frame = 33.333fps

Try highlighting all frames in the  timeline and setting to 0.0333secs

Dave

[Filippo Marchetti]

Thanks Dave.

How can i check the "Frame Display Time"?

[davescm]

Forget the above - it looks like the gif is set to 0.03 secs per frame even if you specify the more accurate 0.0333secs. I just imported a file to AE and got the same error as you.

Dave

[Filippo Marchetti]

Oh ok.

So any additional suggestions?

I see million of designers posting .gifs of their work online, and i have a hard time imagining all of them having my issue.

[Trevor.Dennis]

You can specify precise timings, but I am not sure if they are adhered to.  I have never thought of GIFs as an exact thing, and I tend to use 'No Delay' and let the watcher's computer spec determine how fast it runs.

[Filippo Marchetti]

Yes i know that, but if i set 0,0333 it approximates to 0,03.

If i try any other value (0,04-0,05-0,06-0,07 ecc...) the timing gets even more distorted.

The standard 0,03 is the closest one to the original 30 fps video but it's still faster.

[davescm · Accepted solution]

As far as I can see, it looks like this is a limitation of the GIF file format rather than Photoshop.

Wikipedia states animation delay is specified in hundredths of a second. Thus giving you a choice of 0.02s (50fps) ; 0.03s (33.33fps) or 0.04s (25 fps).

GIF - Wikipedia

Dave

[Filippo Marchetti]

Ok, so it is impossible to produce a 30 fps gif, right?

If so i can at least have closure on this issue.

I'll try to do a 25 fps animation now and see if the 0,04 delay will produce a smooth result.

[Filippo Marchetti]

Ok, i tested it with 25 fps and 0,04 delay and the speed is a 100% correct.

Well, next time i'll produce 25fps content if i'll want to have a gif file at the end.

Thank you very much for your help Dave.

Unless anybody else has something to add the thread can be archived.

Cheers.

[Filippo Marchetti]

I set 0,0333 (Which photoshop automatically seem to approximate to 0,03) and nothing changed.

After effects still shows the video as 33,333 fps, and it's still slightly faster than the original video.