I’ll make an animation [EasyPromptAnime]

In the Beginning

I recently had one interesting experience when trying to start a project on GitHub. I started by cloning the entire repository as I normally do. Without any doubt, I followed convention and cloned the entire contents of the repository to my machine using the git clone command. Normally this should be sufficient, but it was not for this project.

After taking the time to clone the repository, I carefully read the project documentation and realized that instead of cloning all the files, I only needed to download a specific batch file and run it. At first I was unaware of this fact and spent a lot of extra time. This batch file was to get the necessary dependencies and set up the project properly.

The lesson I learned from this experience is the importance of carefully reading the documentation before starting any new project without preconceived notions. Especially with open source projects like GitHub, developers sometimes have clever ways to save time, and overlooking them can lead to unnecessary hassle.

Finally, by running the batch file, the project was set up correctly in a matter of minutes. This is a great example of how our development process continues to evolve as technology advances. And it shows that we too need to continue to evolve and adapt to new flows.

https://github.com/Zuntan03/EasyPromptAnime

Reflecting on this failure, I will refer to the GitHub page and introduce a program that allows animations to be created at the prompt. Install the program on your own PC (local environment).
Easy Prompt Animation / EasyPromptAnime” has the following functions and features

1. Animation generation:
   • Users can generate smooth, high-resolution (Full HD) animations by simply typing in a prompt (possibly a text instruction).
2. Automated Processes:
   • The tool automates processes such as setup, two-step upscaling of images, and frame rate interpolation.
3. Reuse of configuration files:
   • It is possible to divert and use configuration files from another tool called “AnimateDiff prompt travel”.
4. Updates and features:
   • A history of updates at various dates is provided, including MP4 import for adding motion to videos, LoRA overview, and the addition of new features (e.g., “prompt_fixed_ratio”).
5. Community of users:
   • Twitter handles of popular users and users who have written HowTo articles are listed, allowing users to see support and examples from the community.
6. Comparisons and Demos:
   • This section appears to include model comparisons, demos of specific features, and examples of videos beyond Full HD.

This tool is very useful for users who want to easily create animations and for creators who need to quickly generate high-quality videos. It appears that users can customize their videos using a text-based interface without complicated settings. Now, let’s actually make it work on your own PC (local environment).

First, download “Setup-EasyPromptAnime.bat” from the src of the page. Place it in a folder that is easy to understand and run (double-click) it. Upon examining its contents, you will see that it is designed to perform the following steps

1. Temporarily move to the directory where the batch file resides without changing the current directory ( pushd %~dp0 ).
2. Checks for the presence of the findstr command and exits with an error if it is not present.
3. Checks if the batch file path contains non-alphanumeric characters and exits with an error if it does.
4. Checks if the Python version is 3.10.x, prints an error and exits if it is not the specified version.
5. Checks to see if the git command exists, and if not, prints an error and exits.
6. Clones the EasyPromptAnime repository from GitHub. If there is a problem, it prints an error and exits.
7. Use the robocopy command to move the files from the cloned repository to the current directory.
8. Call src\Setup.bat to perform additional setup. Exit if there are any errors.
9. Run EasyPromptAnimeEditor.bat in a new command prompt.
10. Finally, restore the current directory (popd) and delete the batch file itself.

This batch file is used to automate the entire process of setting up EasyPromptAnime, from checking dependencies, cloning the repository from GitHub, moving files, additional setup, and launching the editor. Instead of cloning the repository, this batch file verifies the user’s environment to make sure it meets the necessary conditions before cloning the repository and performing the necessary setup. So, it is necessary to have the Windows version of Giit and Python with version 3.10.x installed.

In addition, it is a common operation to run other batch files within a batch file, but if you look at the contents of this batch file, you will see that it uses the call command to run src\Setup.bat. The call command suspends the execution of the current batch file and executes the specified batch The call command suspends execution of the current batch file and executes the specified batch file. When execution of that batch file is complete, execution resumes from the next line of the original batch file.

It also uses the start command to launch EasyPromptAnimeEditor.bat in a new command prompt window. start starts a new process and runs it in a new window. This allows the user to use the editor in a separate window and know that the setup process is complete.

Running a batch file

Double-click the batch file and when you see “Your PC has been protected by Windows,” click on More Info to run it. Then wait for the above batch file steps to complete.

The GUI tool Easy Prompt Animation should launch automatically.

If you want to create an animation immediately, click the “Create Animation” button in the default state. From the prompt, it shows a single maid waving her hands in the crowd.

The question is, can we create the animation successfully? Because it contains the AnimateDiff prompt travel repository, and according to the instructions for installing AnimateDiff prompt travel, it requires PyTorch 2.0.1 with CUDA 11.8 support. Therefore, make sure you have a CUDA-capable NVIDIA GPU and the appropriate CUDA version installed. Fortunately, I have this environment on my computer so I can create animations. The first startup will take longer than usual because of the configuration.

The progress is shown in the following screencast. The animation is now automatic.

You can also change the prompts and models; it looks like you can use some of the models from Stable Diffusion.