Microsoft Releases a Program for Making Cinemagraphs, or “Cliplets”

Cinemagraphs, or still images that have a dash of movement, have become very popular as of late. So popular, in fact, that Microsoft Research is jumping onto the bandwagon.

The company has released a new tool for creating cinemagraphs, which they call “cliplets“:

A still photograph is a limited format for capturing moments that span an interval of time. Video is the traditional method for recording durations of time, but the subjective “moment” that one desires to capture is often lost in the chaos of shaky camerawork, irrelevant background clutter, and noise that dominates most casually recorded video clips. This work provides a creative lens used to focus on important aspects of a moment by performing spatiotemporal compositing and editing on video-clip input. This is an interactive app that uses semi-automated methods to give users the power to create “cliplets”—a type of imagery that sits between stills and video from handheld videos.

Their free new Cliplets app lets you easily turn a 10-second video clip into a Harry Potter-esque cinemagraph.

Here’s a quick video introducing the new program:

Cliplets is available as a free download for Windows 7.

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