Turn a video into an animated GIF, or a GIF into a video
Make a GIF from a video in the Studio or the Converter, keep it under a size limit, edit a GIF and save it again, or turn a GIF back into a video.
01Open the clip in the Studio
Go to Studio and click Choose files, drop the clip onto it, or send it over from Completed with the Studio button in its row (Open this file in the Studio).
02Trim it down first
Play to where the part you want starts and click Set start, or press I, then Set end, or O, where it should stop; the -5s and +5s buttons move the play position when you are close. A GIF grows fast with length, so a few seconds is usually the sweet spot.
03Choose gif (animated) as the format
Click Export… and set FORMAT in the Export window to gif (animated). The GIF card appears: FRAMES A SECOND (10, 12, 15, or 24, with 12 to start with), WIDTH (480, 640, 800, or 1000 px, 480 to start with), and KEEP IT UNDER (No limit, 10 MB, or 5 MB) for a chat or a page with a limit. A GIF has no sound. Up to 1.7.7 the Studio was called the Editor and these choices were in its Export tab.
04Know what ClipHearth decides for you
ClipHearth builds a colour palette from your own clip, because a GIF can only hold 256 colours; without that step gradients and skin tones fall apart. With KEEP IT UNDER, a GIF that comes out too big is made again, smaller and slower, up to five more times. A long clip can still end up above the limit: ClipHearth then keeps the smallest try and says so in its line in Completed, for example 6.2 MB, over the 5 MB limit. Trimming is what helps most.
05Override the size when you need to
For a size other than the four widths, pick it on the Shape and size page under SIZE, such as 720p, or Custom size with the exact number; the GIF card then says the size from Shape and size is used instead of its width. SIZE never enlarges the picture, and every pixel you add makes a GIF bigger much faster than a video.
06Export it
WHAT THE EXPORT WILL DO repeats the choices in its GIF row, for example 12 frames per second, at most 480 px wide unless resized, no sound. Export to Queue sends the job to the Queue and the finished GIF lands in your output folder. Your source clip is never overwritten, so you can export again with a different size or a shorter trim.
07Edit a GIF, or lay one over a video
A GIF opens in the Studio as a clip on the Video row, with its own frames, speed, and transparency, and the arrow keys step through its frames. Trim it, split it and take frames out, change its speed, crop it, or add text and marks like any video. Opened on its own, it goes out as a GIF again: the Export window starts on gif (animated) at the frames a second and width nearest its own. Its transparent areas are black in the video. Added with Layer under OVERLAYS, a GIF lies over the video instead, repeats for as long as its block lasts, and keeps its transparency.
08A whole video to a GIF in the Converter
When nothing needs editing, open Converter, add the video with Select files, and pick GIF as the format. Balanced makes at most 15 frames a second and 640 px wide, Small file 10 and 480, and High quality 24 and 960; FPS and WIDTH in the advanced settings take their place when you set them. The palette is made from the whole clip and the GIF loops. Keep the file under is not offered for a GIF, so use the Studio's KEEP IT UNDER for a size limit.
09A GIF to a video
The Converter works the other way too: add the GIF and pick MP4 or another video format, then Start conversion. The GIF becomes a video without sound, and its transparent areas turn black. The GIF itself stays as it was.
Didn't solve it? Write to us - attach a diagnostics log if you have one. Missing a feature? Tell us what you would use it for; several of the recent ones started as a suggestion.