GIFs: The Animated Way To Communicate!

The GIF or Graphics Interchange Format is a true oldie in the web world. It is an animated file format that takes a sequence of images or frames and plays it on a loop like a small video.

GIFs are everywhere you look on social media nowadays. According to Huffingtonpost, GIFs have rocketed to the topmost place when it comes to Internet communications. Brands and companies are using it to further their marketing strategies. For example, GIFs are used to show off a brand’s products, explain a process, or create a micro presentation. They are also being used to play ads, animate data, and highlight the company culture. 

To dazzle everyone with your animation skills, you have to know how you can create GIFs. There are various methods and tools of doing that. Some of these are: 

• Creating GIFs from a YouTube Video – If you want to make a GIF from a YouTube video or an Instagram Vine, go to Gifs.com and paste the URL of your chosen video there. You can also add captions and crop images in this tool.
• Creating GIFs by Uploading a Video – Giphy GIF Maker lets you create GIFs with online video URLs and upload your video files to transform them into a GIF. With Giphy’s simple-to-use interface, you can edit your video into a GIF by choosing its starting point, duration, adding a caption, and sharing it across social media.
• Creating GIFs from an MP4 – Record a short video in MP4 using your smartphone or DSLR, or record your Mac screen with a built-in app like QuickTime Player or a third-party app like Cleanshot that lives in your menu bar. This app can output GIFs right from the screen capture and save a direct link to your GIF to share with others. Check out this guide on setapp.com to learn more about how to change your MP4 video to GIF.
• Creating GIFs by Stitching Photos Together – Several tools across the internet allow you to create GIFs by stitching together photos. One of the tools is Giphy Slideshow, where you can choose multiple images in the order you want them to appear in your GIF and the duration each image will have in it. 

You can also use Gifmaker.me, which is similar in its workings to Giphy Slideshow. But, it also features an extra Control Panel that allows you to change the canvas size, speed of transitions, and the repeat times of your GIF.

Imgflip is yet another tool, similar to the two mentioned above, with which you can create a GIF using multiple pictures or a video. Here, you can further add text to your GIF and fine-tune the image sizes.

• Creating a Screencast GIF – You will need to install apps like CloudApp and Recordit (available for both Windows and Mac) to create GIFs directly from your computer screen. Both apps are very easy to use, allowing you to take screen recordings and webcam videos and download them as GIFs. You can also share your creations with the URLs these apps generate with each recording.
• Creating GIFs Using Photoshop – Photoshop is an application that runs smoothly on both Windows and Mac. This app not only gives you flawless image editing skills, but you can also convert your videos into GIFs. It transforms each frame of the video into a frame within Photoshop. To import a video, click File and then go to Video Frames to Layers under Import. You can choose how much of the video you import. If you want longer GIFs, you can pull in every other frame, which should be sufficient quality.
• Creating GIFs on Your Phone – Mobile apps like Giphy Cam let you have the liberty to create GIFs on the go, with or without your computer. Launch the app and record your GIF with a burst of sequential images or a short video. You can add filters, text, or stickers if you so choose. The last step is, of course, to save your creative GIF and share it.

If you need to edit a pre-existing downloaded GIF or one you created, you can use Giphy’s GIF editor. This tool lets you edit and enhance your chosen GIFs and lets you add stickers, filters, and captions. Choose a GIF to edit by entering its URL or link. You can also upload an image from your computer. When your GIF is ready for editing, you can add any stickers from Giphy’s library or add filters before adding a caption and exporting the finished item.

Whether you are an individual looking to have fun with animation or furthering your product’s market through social media, learning how to create GIFs is going from luxury to necessity in today’s world.