If there is one file format that has stood the test of time is the GIF format. However you decide to pronounce it (jif or geef), it has become a must have inclusion on social networks. People use it to show a certain facial expression or a mood using GIFs and it has become an important way for people to share on social media.
Initially, we had to search for the gif that we want on the Internet and upload it on the various social networking sites. Now gif support is integrated natively on these sites like Twitter and Facebook and makes it easy for one to look for the gif they want.
However, what if you wanted to make a gif? This usually happens when you are watching a video on YouTube for example and you’d want to create a gif from a specific scene. We are lucky since Giphy has a handy tool for us to create gifs from videos with ease.
When you go to Giphy’s GIF maker, it gives you options on how to create your GIF. You can either create one using multiple photos or another GIF, an uploaded video and also a link to a YouTube or Vimeo video.
For example, if you want to create a GIF from Sauti Sol’s Short & Sweet YouTube video, just paste the link at the space provided.
It will automatically open another page where you can now trim the video to the exact moment you want to create a gif from.
Giphy’s GIF maker allows you to create upto 15 second long gifs. This is the section where you scrub across the footage and get the precise start and ending points of the gif by manipulating the start time and the duration of the gif.
When you tap the “continue to decorate” button, it loads a page where you can add your captions, stickers, filters or even draw on the gif. Most people generally focus on captions where you can change the colour, their style and how they are animated.
When you are done and click on “upload”, another screen loads where it shows the source URL for the Youtube video and where you can add tags for the video. you can also set your gif to be viewed publicly or not.
Once you click upload, it loads an animation saying ‘creating your GIF’ and then loads another page where you get to download or embed the GIF. See my newly created GIF below:
It is an incredibly easy tool and I’ve used it severally to get GIFs that I miss while searching for one, or just for the sake of capturing an awesome part of a video.
