Animated, funny GIFs have become an integral component of contemporary Internet. You can find them anywhere from 9GAG to tumblr. GIF files are also used as user footnotes on forums. You can easily create such an animation without any specific knowledge.
Instagiffer is one of the most interesting applications for creating animated GIFs. This desktop application allows you to turn your videos, YouTube clips and desktop screenshots into GIF files.
The first two options allow you to convert ready video material into a GIF formatted file. This way your outcome takes significantly less storage space than a typical AVI or FLV video.
Capture Screen feature brings additional window that you can move on your desktop, changing its size. Instagiffer automatically registers everything happening inside that window. This way you can easily create screencasts.
Regardless of the source of your audio-video material you have to choose where the GIF should begin - in the beginning of a video or maybe sometime later). Next you should choose duration time, for example 5, 10, or 17 seconds.
Instagiffer does not provide you with a built-in multimedia player, so you have to check the video in some player first and note down what part you want to turn into a GIF.
The program comes with a couple of options that allow to modify your GIF file. You can set the number of frames with Smoothness option (more frames means better quality and bigger size), and Frame Size allows to enlarge and small the size of a frame.
There is also Quality, Brightness, and Playback Rate to set. Instagiffer provides you also with a couple of effects that you can apply to your GIF (sepia, gray scale, oil paint). You can also add text labels to your video, making it easy to create a funny GIF based on some popular meme.
If you want to create a GIF file using a series of photos you should take a look at Make a GIF. The service is very intuitive, and all you have to do is to add a series of pictures from your hard drive. The application will connect them and save in an appropriate format on its own.
