Cinemagraphs… I’ve had a bunch of them on my desktop for a looooong time and I’ve been meaning to talk about them. I think this was the first one I ever saw online.

And then I had to know about and find more of them. Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg are credited with the technique, which leverages our beloved animated GIF. Jamie had a blog on Tumblr that I spent a lot of time browsing at one point. Mainly I was looking for cinemagraphs but I also think she’s talented and I like her aesthetic. Though there is a part of me that’s like… who are these people? This is not my life, but I suppose it is what you make it. In any case, it looks like that Tumblr blog now redirects and they have kindly curated a cinemagraph collection on the new site. Here are some of my oldest favs, and new joints from thems what created the scene. Sorry if this breaks your computer. Time to upgrade!

Opening them on individual pages might help.

Basically what you’re seeing is a video where portions of the frame have been frozen, and others are left to animate. Then it loops. The result is sort of surreal and intimate which is what I like about them. I wanted to make one, then I didn’t. Now there’s an app for that, and I want to make one again. Most of the folks using the app don’t seem to understand the genesis of the cinemagraph and use it as a generic animated GIF creator, but then again some people do and others are doing different interesting things with the technique.

I fully intent to make some, either with the app or with the more pro grade tulz. Dartmouth was kind enough to bestow the educational discount on that jam. I went legit! So ah, keep an eye out for that.

Probably don’t.