Making an alias animation frame

After flipping the fish, it might be effective to have the fish pause before they swim back to the sides of the frame where they started. By having identical pictures play together in an animation, you create the effect of a pause.

You can also create a pause by double clicking the number left beneath the frame name. 100 % means that the frame will be displayed 100 per cent of the time of the main speed. If you type 90 % or less it will be displayed shorter, if you type 110 % or more, it will be displayed longer.

To copy an animation frame, you could make a duplicate of the last frame. Another way is to use the Make Alias button. An alias of a frame looks just like the original, but it uses less memory in RVSE Animation Maker and on your hard disk.

When you make a duplicate, it is truly a second copy of an animation frame, and it uses as much memory as the original. When you make an alias, the new frame is a reference to the original frame. You can also think of it as a link to the original frame.

When you play an animation that has an alias frame, the alias is really telling VSE Animation Maker to play the original at that point in the animation. Because this new frame is only a reference to the original, you cannot edit or change an alias frame. If you try to edit an alias frame, a warning box appears, asking if you want to edit the original frame.

Try creating a pause in your animation by creating an alias:

1. Open the last frame in the fish animation, if it isn’t already open.

2. Click Make Alias. VSE Animation Maker creates an alias animation frame and gives it the same name as the original.When VSE Animation Maker lists this animation in the frames window, the name has an angle bracket to the left of the name. For example >fish7 is an alias of the fish7 frame.

Now the fish are ready to swim back to the side of the animation frame where they originally started. To continue this part of the animation:

1. Click the Duplicate button and name the next frame.
2. elect and move each fish slightly (about 1/8 inch) outward toward the edges of the frame.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until the fish are back where they started.
4. Click the To drop-down menu and select the last frame in your animation.
5. Click the Play button. VSE Animation Maker shows your fish swimming to the middle of the animation frame, flipping, pausing for one frame, and swimming back to the sides.

Alias frames don't work with GIF animations because alias frames are not supported by the GIF specification. However, alias frames work in AM set animations.