Using layered Photoshop files in Video by Zaweba

Designers often hand over artwork as a layered Photoshop file: a background, a logo, a block of text, each on its own layer. Video by Zaweba can bring that file in two ways, flat as a single picture or split so that every layer has its own track. The second route turns a still design into something you can animate piece by piece.

Flat or layered

By default a .psd imports as one flattened picture, looking just as it does when all its layers are shown together. That is right for a finished still, such as a poster or an end card, where you only need the whole image.

When you want the parts, right-click the file and choose Place the layers on separate tracks. Each layer goes onto its own video track, stacked in the same order as in the file, and keeps its opacity and blend mode. The result looks the same as the flat version to begin with, but now each piece can move, fade and change on its own.

Supported files are 8-bit RGB and greyscale. If a .psd uses a different colour mode or a higher bit depth, ask for it to be saved in 8-bit RGB first.

Bringing a design to life

With the layers on tracks, use keyframes to give each one its own motion. A background can drift slowly while a logo scales up and the text fades in a beat later. Small offsets in timing make a static design feel lively, and because the designer's layout is preserved, the end frame still matches the artwork they signed off.

Keep the layer names sensible in the source file if you can. They are what you will see on the timeline, and Layer 37 is a poor guide when you are hunting for the headline.

Preparing a file for video

A few things in the original file make life easier. Ask for the canvas to match your project's frame size so nothing needs scaling. Ask the designer to merge layers that will always move together, so you are not managing twenty tracks for one logo. And ask for the background on its own layer, or no background at all if the design will sit over footage.

Blend modes come across, so a soft glow set to screen in the design will still glow on the timeline. Check them in the preview anyway; how a blend looks depends on what sits beneath it, and footage underneath can change the effect.

Illustrator and EPS artwork

Vector artwork is covered too. Illustrator .ai and EPS files are drawn when you import them, so logos and diagrams supplied in those formats can go onto the timeline without first being converted by someone with the right software. That is handy for brand assets, which are often kept in these formats.

Small cautions

Placing layers on tracks can add a lot of tracks at once. Do it in a fresh area of the timeline, or in a separate sequence you build the graphic in, so you do not shuffle your main edit about. If you only need one or two pieces of the file, place the layers and delete the tracks you do not need.

When the design changes, you may need to place the layers again from the new file. Agree on the artwork before you spend long animating it.

Layered imports sit alongside Video by Zaweba's own titles and its link to Kinetion by Zaweba for animation. For many jobs, animating a designer's layers directly in the editor is the quickest route from a still layout to a moving one.