Converting a video file into a sequence of still images is a common task for various post-production workflows. Blender provides a straightforward method for achieving this using its Video Sequence Editor (VSE) and rendering capabilities. Here's a step-by-step guide based on the necessary settings in Blender.
Steps to Convert Video to Image Sequence
To transform your video footage into a series of individual image files (like PNG or TIFF) within Blender, follow these steps precisely:
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Import the Movie File in Blender Video Sequencer:
- Open a new or existing Blender project.
- Switch your workspace layout to Video Editing or manually add a Video Sequence Editor window.
- Go to the Add menu in the Video Sequence Editor header (or press
Shift + A) and select Movie. - Browse to and select your video file. It will appear as a strip in the sequencer timeline.
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Go to Render Properties:
- Navigate to the Properties panel, typically located on the right side of the screen.
- Find and select the Render Properties tab (it looks like a still camera icon).
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Change Color Management View Transform to Standard:
- Within the Render Properties tab, scroll down to the Color Management section.
- Locate the View Transform option.
- Click on the dropdown menu next to it and change the setting from its default (often Filmic) to Standard. This ensures that the colors rendered are closer to the original video's data.
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Go to Output Properties:
- In the same Properties panel, switch to the Output Properties tab (it looks like a printer icon).
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Select File Format PNG/TIFF:
- Within the Output Properties tab, find the Output section.
- Locate the File Format option.
- Click the dropdown menu and select either PNG or TIFF from the list of image formats. PNG is generally a good balance of quality and file size, while TIFF is often preferred for maximum quality and compatibility in professional workflows.
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Select RGB/RGBA, 8/16 Color Depth, and Preferred Compression NONE/Any:
- After selecting the image format (PNG or TIFF), additional options for that format will appear below it.
- Color: Choose RGB if you only need color information or RGBA if you want to include an alpha channel (transparency). If your original video has transparency, choose RGBA.
- Color Depth: Select 8 bits per channel for standard output or 16 bits per channel for higher color fidelity and dynamic range (useful for color grading, but results in larger file sizes).
- Compression: This option varies slightly between PNG and TIFF.
- For PNG: You can typically leave it on the default or choose a compression level. "None" will produce larger files but might be slightly faster to write.
- For TIFF: Common options include NONE, LZW, ZIP, etc. "None" provides no compression. LZW or ZIP are lossless compression methods that reduce file size without losing image data.
Once these settings are configured, you will also need to specify the output directory and filename prefix in the Output Properties panel. Blender will then render each frame of your video sequence as a separate image file into the specified directory. You can initiate the render by going to the main Blender menu Render > Render Animation (or Ctrl + F12).
