With Descript, you can quickly create animated GIFs to promote your YouTube videos in the same editor where you create YouTube videos. Use time-saving AI and text-based editing to turn YouTube videos, MP4s, and more into clips you can export as engaging GIFs.
Descript lets you copy-paste to create new compositions from the files you’re editing, then quickly add captions in the color and font of your choice (and animate them if you want), then export high-quality GIFs for social media, and navigate back to the first project in a click.
Start by downloading your desired YouTube video and dropping the video file into a new Descript project to upload it. You can also script, record, and edit your YouTube video from scratch in Descript.
Once your video is uploaded, skim through the auto-generated transcript to find the perfect moments to turn into a GIF. Highlight it in the transcript, typically no longer than 5-15 seconds for optimal GIF playback, and duplicate it to a new composition where you can add captions, images, watermarks, and other enhancements to the clip.
After editing your clip to the desired length and content, go to Publish > Export > GIF where you can adjust any settings like resolution and quality to optimize the quality and size of your GIF. When ready, export your current composition to download your GIF or all compositions if you want to bulk export multiple GIFs.
Descript lets you copy-paste to create new compositions from the files you’re editing, then quickly add captions in the color and font of your choice (and animate them if you want), then export high-quality GIFs for social media, and navigate back to the first project in a click.
Even in a quick GIF, you might want to splice two videos together for the desired effect. Descript lets you easily insert fades and cross-fades to keep those transitions smooth, if you want (jump cuts are pretty standard in GIF culture).
If you want to make a colored background for your GIF or add your brand’s watermark, it’s easy to add shapes over or behind your video by stacking timeline layers. They can be in the color, size, or opacity of your choosing, and placed wherever you want in the frame.
To enhance an expression you’ve made in your YouTube video (maybe a wince or a doubletake), exaggerate it by zooming into or panning across the subject’s face. Here’s the thing: If you like how that looks in the GIF, you can easily navigate right back to the YouTube video and do it there, too. Being a savvy online GIF maker will make you a better YouTuber and vice versa.
When going from YouTube to GIF editing, you’ll want to be highly selective. YouTube clips can be short — or they can be as long as feature films. Same on Vimeo. By contrast, GIF durations exceeding six seconds can test viewers’ patience (and your browser’s bandwidth).Descript’s script editing makes it easy to locate the part of the video you want to convert to a GIF. You can copy and paste the video sections just like editing a text document. It takes seconds, whether you’re a video pro or a first-time creator.
Easily. Convert your transcript into Fancy Captions and text will appear automatically, synced to your GIF protagonist’s speech. You can choose the color and size, or upload custom fonts.
With Descript’s free version, you can create GIFs and share YouTube links to your heart’s content without any additional online tools. The free app includes three hours of video transcription.
And if you upgrade to our $12/month Creator package, you’ll receive 10 monthly hours of transcription and watermark-free exporting. Have more to transcribe? You get 30 hours with the $24/month Pro package. Contact us to negotiate the Enterprise package for a dedicated account representative, onboarding, and training.
With Descript, you can quickly create animated GIFs to promote your YouTube videos in the same editor where you create YouTube videos. Use time-saving AI and text-based editing to turn YouTube videos, MP4s, and more into clips you can export as engaging GIFs.
Start by downloading your desired YouTube video and dropping the video file into a new Descript project to upload it. You can also script, record, and edit your YouTube video from scratch in Descript.
Once your video is uploaded, skim through the auto-generated transcript to find the perfect moments to turn into a GIF. Highlight it in the transcript, typically no longer than 5-15 seconds for optimal GIF playback, and duplicate it to a new composition where you can add captions, images, watermarks, and other enhancements to the clip.
After editing your clip to the desired length and content, go to Publish > Export > GIF where you can adjust any settings like resolution and quality to optimize the quality and size of your GIF. When ready, export your current composition to download your GIF or all compositions if you want to bulk export multiple GIFs.
Add text to communicate without sound, crop to focus attention where you want, and resize your GIFs to fit any platform. Whether you're creating fun reactions, instructional aids, or promotional GIFs, Descript saves you time and effort to create smooth high-definition GIFs from your YouTube videos.
Remove and replace backgrounds from your YouTube videos and GIFs. Swap in solid color backgrounds or something from our stock media library to jazz up your GIFs. Now you can create custom, eye-catching visuals that stand out without leaving Descript.
Use AI or the searchable transcript to find and highlight the best segments of your YouTube videos to transform into GIFs. Avoid sifting through hours of footage with a unique text-based editor that makes creating clips and GIFs as easy as editing text.
When going from YouTube to GIF editing, you’ll want to be highly selective. YouTube clips can be short or they can be as long as feature films. By contrast, GIF durations exceeding six seconds can test viewers’ patience (and your browser’s bandwidth). Descript’s script editing makes it easy to locate the part of the video you want to convert to a GIF. You can copy and paste the video sections into new compositions to create separate clips, just like editing a text document. It takes seconds, whether you’re a video pro or a first-time creator.
Easily. Add a text box you can fill and style however you like, or convert your transcript into Captions for animated text that's synced to the speaker in the GIF. You can choose the color and size, or upload custom fonts.
You can edit YouTube videos for free with Descript with one watermark-free export per month. While the basic GIF-making capabilities are free, you can get advanced video editing features and unlimited watermark-free exports starting at just $12/month.
