GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) tells a short story in a direct, engaging visual format. Unlike short videos, GIF files are quick to load. It has gained immense popularity on instant messaging apps and social network sites. How can we make a GIF from the video to convey the message and express our emotions?
In the article below, you will find 3 tried-and-true GIF makers (MiniTool MovieMaker, Ezgif, GIPHY) and learn how to make a GIF from videos using these tools.
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Part 1. How to Make a GIF from a Video?
01. MiniTool MovieMaker (for Windows)
MiniTool MovieMaker is a free, feature-packed video editor on Windows that is equipped with many useful editing features. It allows users to easily create videos from pictures, add background music, rotate, flip, split/trim, reverse, slow down/accelerate videos, apply video transitions/visual effects, add customized titles/captions to the video, mute video, and extract sound from a video, etc.
Besides, you can use MiniTool MovieMaker is a free GIF maker to convert video to GIF with only a few mouse clicks. This software accepts many media file formats include MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, WMV, 3GP, MKV, MPG, VOB, and RMVB. In addition, it helps you to convert the downloaded GIF to WMV, AVI, MP4, WebM, MOV, etc. With MiniTool MovieMaker, you will find it easier than you ever imagine to turn a video into a GIF, please follow the steps below.
Step 1. Download and install the program on your Windows 7/8/10 PC, after installation is successful, launch it and close the pop-up window.
Step 2. Click “Import Media Files” to open the file explorer, then browse for the target video on your computer → select it → then clicks “Open”.
Step 3. Trim the video carefully and remain the section that you’d like to export as a GIF. The length of the animated GIF should be no longer than 6 seconds.
To trim the video, just select it on the timeline at the lower part of the interface, click the Split button (shown as the gray scissors icon) → choose Full Split → to move your mouse to the TRIM tab → drag the slider to a proper start point, click the Start scissors icon → drag the slider to decide the endpoint → click the End scissors icon, and click “OK” to confirm. If you want to undo your last operation, simply use the CTR+Z keyboard shortcut.
Step 4. Tap on Export on the top of the UI, then set GIF as the output format in the Format box. Give the GIF a new file name, choose a destination folder, and click the Export, the software will get started to convert the video to GIF.
02. Ezgif (online tool)
Ezgif is a simple online GIF maker that allows you to convert videos to animated GIFs, and do basic GIF editing. For example, you can go to the official site to create, cut, crop, rotate GIFs, add text, reverse, optimize, and apply some effects to GIFs.
You can upload your MP4, WebM, AVI, MPEG, FLV, MOV, 3GP videos to the developer’s official site Ezgif.com to create GIFs. Or if you want to perform GIF to video conversion, you can also use it to convert GIF to WebM, GIF to MP4, etc.
Read the following Ezgif tutorial on how to make a GIF from a video.
Step 1. Go to the developer’s website, click the Video to GIF category, then tap Choose File to select a target video from your computer, and click the blue Upload video! button.
Step 2. After the file upload is done, please select the accurate start time and end time of the GIF file, then click on Convert to GIF! button. Here is one thing – if you do not designate the start and end times, Ezgif will make a GIF from the first five seconds of your video.
Step 3. Click the Save button at the bottom corner of the Output GIF box, you can get the newly created GIF animated file downloaded you your computer.
Part 2. How to Make a GIF from a YouTube Video without a Hitch?
Over 500 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube in a single minute, making YouTube one of the best sources to find inspiration for making reaction GIFs, emotion GIFs, action GIFs, and more. From time to time, you may want to create a GIF from a YouTube video directly. But both tools mentioned above are suitable for the users who want to make GIF images from the videos stored on your computer or phone. Is it possible to make a GIF from a YouTube video without downloading it upfront?
03. GIPHY
On the homepage of the GIPHY website (GIPHY.com), you can explore many trending GIFs and animated stickers. More importantly, this online GIF maker also allows you to upload your MP4, MOV, JPG, PNG, GIF files to create new GIF images. Furthermore, if you want to make a GIF from a YouTube video link, or media URLs from Vimeo, give GIPHY a try. Do this to make a GIF from a YouTube video online.
Step 1.Log in with your account on the GIPHY website and click the Create option on the top.
Step 2. Visit YouTube and copy the full link of the video that you need, go back to the GIPHY website and paste that link in the URL box.
Step 3. Move the sliders slowly to select the correct start time and duration of the GIF file. When that is done, click “Continue to Decorate” to add some caption/stickers/filters to the GIF to give it a polished look.
Step 4. Click “Continue to Upload” → add tags and source for the GIF animated image → then click “Upload to GIPHY”. Go to Media → click Download download the newly made GIF to your computer, you can also share the file embed it into a website blog.
Final Thoughts
I hope this post will be helpful to you when you are not sure how to make a GIF from a video. All the tools mentioned above are free to use. When you need to convert a video to a GIF in the future, you can follow the detailed guides step by step.