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Swill

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Methods for Creating Gifs
« on: July 20, 2015, 07:39:41 PM »
I want to start creating gifs from video collection but I'm not sure how to get started.  Many of the how-to tutorials require using Photoshop but I don't have that.  I've heard that the VLC player can be used to create gifs - anyone have success with that?  Also, I'm trying to avoid those gif creation services like imgflip that place watermarks on the completed file

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gonZo

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2015, 08:03:20 PM »
What operating system are you using? I'm posting VLC/GIMP instructions for desktops/laptops here, but if you have an iPad or iPhone, for example, there are some interesting inexpensive alternatives.

The method involving VLC works on MacOS, Windows, and Linux, but it also requires GIMP. You use VLC to isolate a sequence in a video and save it as stillframes. Then you use GIMP to build the gif from the frames, set the playback speed, etc., and output the gif file. Here's a quote of the instructions:

Quote from: http://sky-stealer.tumblr.com/post/23440323246/how-to-make-gifs-using-vlc-media-player-and-gimp

To pull just the section of the video you want to make a GIF out of:

Open the video in VLC.
Under View, select "Advanced controls".
Position the playhead about 5-10 seconds before the action you want to record.
Press the red Record button.
Press play on the video.
When you've finished recording the action, press the record button again.
You now have a clip containing just the action you want in your Videos library!
Now that you have the clip you need, it's time to make that GIF! We'll cover the basics of creating a GIF from the video, but once it's in GIMP, there's no limit to what you can do with the video.

To create a GIF from a video file, first trim the video down using the VLC method described above. Then:

Open GIMP. Click Video > Split Video into Frames > Extract Videorange.
Open the video file you created earlier.
Click "Video Range" to preview the video you're importing.
Scrub through the video preview to find the first and last frames of the selection you want.
Enter the first frame number from the preview panel into "From Frame" on the right. Place the last frame number in the "To Frame" box below it.
Ensure that "Create only one multilayer image" is checked. Click OK. This will create a new file window with your animation in it.
(Optional) You can use GIMP to do any editing here, if you're proficient with the app. When you're ready to export, move on.
Select File > Export As.
Navigate to the folder you want to output to. Give the file a name appended with .gif at the end.
Ensure "Loop Forever" is checked. Click "Export."
And you're done! This method may take a little extra work simply because, for the unfamiliar, GIMP's interface can be a bit troublesome, but if you're on a Mac or Linux machine, GIMP is right there by your side.
 
« Last Edit: July 20, 2015, 08:43:27 PM by gonZo »

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Swill

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2015, 09:17:10 AM »
My laptop has windows.  I also use an iPad too.

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gonZo

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2015, 08:40:47 PM »
On the iPad, you can use an iPhone app named Giffer (and Giffer Pro). The video has to be on the iPad for it to work, but it does the whole job, and the process is much simpler than the VLC/GIMP method.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2015, 08:43:23 PM by gonZo »

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Palomine

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2015, 10:20:24 AM »
Thanks for this info gonZo... I don't have any iPad or iOS device, but I like knowing about this info. Semi-related, I heard about this iOS app for filmmakers on NPR the other day during a movie review/interview segment:

http://www.filmicpro.com/

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Swill

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2015, 02:28:16 PM »
The best tool I've found so far is at http://ezgif.com/video-to-gif.  It lets you upload .mp4, flv, avi files and then you edit the size, crop, and add other effects.  The best part is that they don't include a watermark on your output file.  So right now I'll play a video in VLC and record the relevant parts.  The recorded clip is saved to the "My Videos" folder in Windows.  Then I upload the recorded clip to ezgif and go from there.  You'll also need to copy the link location of your completed gif and then upload it to a file host like imgur because ezgif claims it doesn't support hotlinking.  The only drawbacks so far is that ezgif doesn't seem to recgonize wmv files and some of the avi's I try to convert into mp4s.

Does anyone know how to upload full-size gifs into the body of a forum post instead of just as an attachment?  Every time I upload a gif (or really any type of image) into the body of the post, it's automatically reduced to a thumbnail size.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2015, 02:33:51 PM by Swill »

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TheZookie007

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2015, 01:50:12 AM »
There are a number of online utilities that will take a YouTube video, allow you to isolate a snippet of it, and produce a video of just that snippet, like TubeChop. Online utilities like Make-a-GIF and  ImgFlip allow you to convert that video snippet to a .GIF. ImgFlip (which is free) adds a (fairly discreet) watermark but the (paid) ImgFlip Pro doesn't.
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Shara

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Re: Methods for Creating Gifs
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2015, 07:16:31 AM »
yeah, most programs... if you don't wanna edit anything can be found online. If you actually need to edit stuff as well before rendering the gif you probably want after effects and photoshop
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