Embedding animation in electronic mail, text messages and websites

An apparatus for providing animation in an electronic message, comprising:

• a processor;
• a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium;
• and
• instructions, stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executed on the processor, for performing a method, the method comprising:
• capturing three or more images in a sequential order from a location;
• receiving data indicating a first image of the three or more images;
• designating two or more sequential images of the three or more images that differ from the first image with respect to motion of a user selected element, wherein the motion is detected by comparing the user selected element in the corresponding sequential image with the user selected element in the first image;
• identifying two or more blocks of pixels, each block of the corresponding two or more blocks of pixels capturing the motion of the user selected element of a corresponding one of the two or more sequential images;
• cutting the identified two or more blocks of pixels from the two or more sequential images to produce cut images;
• inserting into the first image the two or more cut images onto the first image as layers such that each cut image other than a first cut image is layered on a preceding cut image and each cut image is inserted into in the first image in a position corresponding to the position of the cut image in the corresponding sequential image;
• and
• saving the first image and the inserted cut images as a single web-enable graphic image file.

A method for displaying animation in an electronic message, comprising:

• receiving an image, the image generated by a method comprising:
• capturing three or more images in a sequential order from a location;
• receiving data indicating a first image of the three or more images;
• designating two or more sequential images of the three or more images that differ from the first image with respect to motion of a user selected element, wherein the motion is detected by comparing the corresponding sequential image with the first image;
• identifying two or more blocks of pixels, each block of the two or more blocks of pixels capturing the motion of the user selected element and corresponding to one of the sequential images;
• cutting the identified plurality of blocks from the sequential images to produce cut images;
• and
• inserting into the first image the cut images as layers such that each cut image other than a first cut image is layered on a preceding cut image and each cut image is inserted into the first image in a position corresponding to the position of the cut image in the corresponding sequential image;
• and
• saving the first image and the inserted cut images as a single web-enable graphic image file.