A GIF is a continually looping animated series of still photos or silent videos. GIF is an acronym that stands for Graphic Interchange Format and was developed in 1987. In contrast to actual videos, which require you to click on a play button, a GIF file loads instantly.
GIFs are perfect for use in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, email, Twitter, and Docs. But how do you turn a specific section of a YouTube video into a GIF?
This article will walk you through how to make animated GIF images from a YouTube video quickly. It is usable on any laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone.
Steps to make an animated GIF from a YouTube video using GPHY
Here is all it takes to make an animated GIF image from YouTube using GPHY:
1. Open YouTube then browse for the video you want to convert into a GIF.
2. Copy the URL address, then head over to GIPHY.
3. Press the make button in the upper right corner.
4. Into the field labelled “Any Url,” paste the YouTube URL.
5. Next, use the sliders to change the right-hand screen’s settings so that the video clip you wish to convert to a GIF appears.
6. Following that, click Continue to Decorate.
7. You can make changes to your GIF here by including information like stickers, filters, drawings, and text for your GIF’s caption.
8. Press Continue to Upload when you’re done modifying your GIF.
Steps to make a GIF image from a YouTube video using Kapwing
Follow the following stes to create GIF image from YouTube videos:
Step 1: Paste the URL to YouTube Video
Paste the URL of the YouTube video you wish to change into a GIF into the Convert Video tool on Kapwing. There will be no watermark and Kapwing can support all videos that are less than 30 minutes long and 500 MB in size.
Keep in mind that Kapwing can accept other types of URLs as well, including those from Twitter, Instagram, Google Drive, Vimeo, TikTok, and more. A video shot on your phone, an MP4 file, or a MOV file are also options for upload. That was the first step of how to make animated GIF image from a YouTube video.
Step 2: Convert a section of video to GIF
Now you can see the complete video layer available in the timeline as soon as your video has loaded in the Studio editor.
To extract the portion you want to turn into a GIF, use the sliders at the end of the section. It is advised to search the video for the specific section you need. After that, use the “Split” option to remove the beginning and end portions.
Though you can make a GIF from any length of the video, you should try to convert clips that are no longer than ten seconds. Your GIF may be pixelated or may have a low resolution if your segment is longer than 10 seconds.
Once your video has been edited, preview the resulting GIF to see how it will appear. Altering the video’s speed, cropping it, or adding a text overlay are some additional edits you can make. To appear in slow motion, I slowed down the GIF.
To save your GIF as a GIF, hit the dropdown arrow available next to the “Export” button.
It is ideal to trim the video to about ten seconds before you convert it to a GIF to ensure it outputs at a reasonable frame rate. The output will be muted because GIF files don’t contain any audio. Make your GIF an MP4 if you want to include music in it.
You can use Kapwing to convert a YouTube video clip into a GIF if you have an iPad, iPhone, or Android phone. Launch Safari, go to Kapwing’s Convert Tool and paste the YouTube video URL to make a YouTube GIF on an iPhone. The “Export as GIF” option can be found in the Export dropdown menu after adjusting the GIF’s duration using the timeline.
Step 3: Export and Share GIF
Click the dropdown arrow next to the green “Export” button after choosing the section you want to export. For the converted GIF to be processed, select “Export as GIF.”
When the GIF is finished being processed, click the Download button or, if you’re using a phone or tablet, long-press to save the GIF. The watermark in the final GIF will be removed once you sign into your Kapwing account, so if you don’t already have one, sign up or alternatively, log in with your Facebook or Google account.
If you want to share your GIF on Instagram, download it in the form of an MP4 file, because GIFs are not approved on Instagram. If your GIF file is extra large, try setting a lower size to reduce the resolution. You can go back and try more adjustments, for that click “Edit.”
Now you know how to make animated GIF images from YouTube videos. There are other apps and websites out there which help in enhancing GIFs. You can now explore all the options as you know the method.
