How to Make a GIF From a Video Using VLC and GIMP

No woe how you pronounce GIF, you can’t deny that GIFs are a oppressive brunt in Internet wit. They’re wildly convenient on the net, as they permit you to intake a lightweight form of cartoon that can bring some spiritedness to your web content without the performance price that comes with videos. This tutorial demonstrates how to administer a GIF from a video utilising two open resource powers: VLC and also GIMP.

Nice to recognize: did you recognize that you can now document your brandish as a GIF utilising the Windows Subduing Gizmo? Below’s how.

Philosophy 1: Intake a VLC Expansion

Possibly the most inalienable methodology to administer your GIF is to intake an extension for VLC. Below are the tools you’ll need for this:

• VLC
• FFMPEG
• VLC GIF Erector (Windows, macOS, Linux)

To download FFMPEG, weigh the Retrieve strategies & executable files section and also pick your operating mechanism. This is an open-resource syllabus for going versus upwards your video right into frames. It makes serviceability of command-spiel upwards for sound and also video conversions.

On Windows, unarchive the record you’ve downloaded and also install and also equalize the folder tag to ffmeg. Photocopy it on your C: drive. Next off, open upwards Command Incite as administrator and also form the working together with command to install FFMPEG and also contain it to Training course in Windows, after that press Get in.

setx /m PATH "C:ffmpegbin;%PATH%"

On Mac, you’ll also have to contain the FFMPEG directory site to the Training course record via a terminal home window utilising the working together with command. Replace [Your FFMPEG directory] with your route to the FFMPEG directory site.

export PATH=$PATH:[Your FFMPEG directory]

On Linux, you can install FFMPEG via your package manager. For instance, for Ubuntu/Debian intake this command:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

Once you have VLC and also FFMPEG unanimously placed, you should swipe treatment of one last quantify. You will certainly should contain the extension record in the ideal directory site for it to show up in VLC. For this tutorial we’re utilising a Windows contraption, so we opened upwards Record Wanderer and also pasted the working together with route at the top, after that imitated the extension record at this place.

%ProgramFiles%VideoLANVLCluaextensions

For the fussy paths for your operating mechanisms, weigh the extension’s GitHub web page.

Fabricating a GIF with the VLC GIF Erector

To invent your GIF, go in floater and also open a video in VLC. Navigate to Sight -> VLC GIF Erector.

The extension borrower interface will certainly now show up on your brandish. Intake the VLC bar at the bottom to navigate to the information minute in the video once you yearn it to start. Press the button Retrieve to package the GIF start time. Execute the horribly same for the end time.

Now, contain the directory site in which you yearn the extension to conserve your GIF. Render sure it’s the straighten route. Double-weigh if labelled for. Finally, tag your GIF (optional) and also press the Accumulate GIF button.

The Command Incite have to pop upwards next, indicating that the process is underway. Once the home window closes, you’re cost-free to weigh the directory site you’ve package previously. You have to locate the GIF there.

What If You Can’t Locate the GIF?

This is an woe we had to tackle after placing the extension. To heal this, we recommend attempting the working together with:

• Hazard inflicting a GIF from another video

• Inspect whether you placed FFMPEG competently by utilising this command in Command Incite: ffmpeg -version
• Run the command that VLC GIF Erector accumulates for you in Command Incite:

ffmpeg -ss {start_timestamp} -to {stop_timestamp} -i "{input_file}" -vf "fps={fps},scale=498:-1:flags=lanczos,split[s0][s1];[s0]palettegen[p];[s1][p]paletteuse" -loop {loop} "{output_path}/{output_filename}.gif"

Wear’t forget to contain your own timestamps and also magazines.

• Restart your contraption (this one massaged for us)

Pointer: here’s how you can intake VLC to download subtitles on desktop computer or on mobile.

Philosophy 2: Intake VLC and also GIMP

In pod you don’t pick the pointer of utilising an extension, you can try this unanimously natural methodology that supplies intake of GIMP to invent the GIF. Initially administer sure you have unanimously the tools:

• VLC
• FFMPEG
• GIMP

Invent a clip with VLC

The initially quantify is to wound your video utilising VLC to contain only the parts you yearn in the GIF. You can undertake this by utilising the syllabus’s recording matches.

On the pivot food volition throughout the top of VLC, click on Sight. Inspect the box beside Proceeded Alterations. The matches will certainly show up at the bottom of the VLC home window overhead the typical VLC matches.

Amenable the video that you yearn to extract your clip from. Intake the slider to pursuit via the video for the component you yearn to convert right into a GIF, and also locate the start variable of your clip. Detect the slider right in which you yearn it to start recording.

Once you’re in which you yearn the clip to start, click the red circle button at the bottom to start recording. Enable the video to fiasco around to in which you yearn your clip to end. Then, press the document button once again to vanquish it.

Your clip will certainly be positioned in either “C:/Users/Your Username/Videos” or “~/Videos” for Windows and also Linux, especially. Occasionally Linux could place it in your “/apartment” directory site. The video will certainly start with vlc-document, abided with by the day. You can after that relabel the clip whatever you would certainly pick.

Unlike the frames with FFMPEG

GIMP doesn’t job directly with video files, so you’re attending should convert your clip right into frames initially. That’s in which FFMPEG as speedily as once again comes in to respite your clip right into user frames.

In days gone by proceeding, we recommend relocating the video you developed in the previous quantify to the ffpmeg folder on your C: drive. Also invent a new subfolder labelled frames.

Amenable a Incurable home window in that directory site. In Windows and also most Linux desktop computer ambiences, right-click on an unfurnished suspension in the home window to receive a food volition that permits you to open a Incurable home window. On Mac, intake Limelight pursuit to open a Incurable home window.

In that home window, form the working together with command to intake FFMPEG to respite upwards your clip. Render sure you equalize tag-of-clip.mp4 with the actual tag of your video, as faultlessly as its fussy layout. In this instance, our clip is labelled endearing-pooch-wound, and also it’s in MP4 layout.

ffmpeg -i name-of-clip.mp4 -r 15 frames/image-%3d.png

It could swipe a few secs, yet FFMPEG will certainly respite your record down to its frames at a price of 15 frames per 2nd and also place the resulting images in the frames folder that you developed.

Revolve the clip right into a GIF with GIMP

You’re lastly devised to intake GIMP and also placed together your GIF.

Amenable GIMP. Click on Record -> Amenable as Layers or you can press Ctrl + Alt + O instead. For additional GIMP shortcuts, weigh our cheatsheet.

Peruse to the folder in which you channelled the frames to result from FFMPEG. Designate unanimously the structure images. You can intake Ctrl + computer mouse click or Transition + computer mouse click to pick additional at the horribly same time. Once you have them unanimously, attest with the Amenable button.

GIMP will certainly invent a new job and also place each of your structure images as its own layer. These will certainly be granted to duplicate the video as an cartoon once you export it to a GIF.

Also, administer sure that your layers are in the straighten act. If they aren’t, intake the tiny arrows at the bottom of the layer suspension to slide them around.

Modify Your Structures

This section is totally optional. If you totally yearn to administer a GIF of the clip, with zero alterations, you don’t should undertake anything here. This component totally covers, freely, what to undertake once you need to contain something pick message to your image.

Reckon of your layers as pages in a flipbook. Anything you contain to one will certainly show up in that structure of the GIF. To contain message or something indistinguishable throughout being plentiful frames, start by inflicting a message layer at the uncomfortably top.

Go in floater to duplicate it, so the horribly same message will certainly show up on the next layer and also so on. You can undertake this by right-clicking on the message layer and also choose the Duplicate Layers substitute, after that prepping it right into position on top of the working together with layer.

Once you’ve package the new message layer, right-click it and also pick Combine down. You will certainly should undertake this for each of your frames.

The horribly same is real if you’d pick to contain cartoon or anything else. Remember that GIMP will certainly reward each layer as a structure in the cartoon, so every little thing additional that you contain telephone refers to as for to be included to each layer and also after that be fused right into it.

Previewing Your GIF

Once you’ve included unanimously the second ethos to your GIF, you can creep peek your evolve by clicking Filters -> Animation -> Playblack. Press the Tinker button to review your GIF in feedback.

If you pick what you review, you can amass compelled in the next quantify. Click on Filters -> Animation -> Render ideal intake of your GIF. This is one of the last movings in days gone by saving your GIF.

Preserve the GIF

In days gone by you can export your GIF, you’re attending should convert it from RGB to Indexed. It jobs much closer for GIFs, and also it’ll permit you to slash your record measurement. Get compelled in Image -> Determining, and also button from RGB to Indexed.

In the pop-upwards, package the Greatest number of shades to 127 and also press Convert.

Finally, you’re devised to export your GIF. Get compelled in Record -> Export As, and also tag your evolve at the top. Wear’t forget to contain the .GIF extension at the end.

In the next home window, weigh the box beside As cartoon to unconsciously pick the Loop forever substitute. Finally press Export.

Congrats! You now have a working GIF developed straight from your video record. You can, of course, return this process with almost any kind of video record, and also administer unanimously selections of GIFs from wherever.

Note: if you need to invent a GIF from images, you can intake GIMP and also import them as layers. Then follow the horribly same movings staked out overhead to invent your GIF.

If you’d instead not have to install any kind of apps of powers to invent a GIF, the endearing news is that you can. Inspect these rudimentary GIF-rendering strategies here.