Tech Thursday: Learn to create GIFs

 
GIFs* are all the rage, from serious-minded tutorials to funny and entertaining videos to current news stories. The most recent news-related GIF I saw was a satellite image showing extreme flooding along the Russia/China border.



Alarming Satellite GIFs Show Russia's Extreme Flooding retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/alarming-satellite-gifs-russias-extreme-flooding on 9/18/2013


There are lots of really great sites that can teach you how to create these ultra-short movies. The list below is just to get you started:

  
 www.gifsoup.com (has a rotating selection of new and popular GIFs)
 
 
 

 www.makeagif.com in addition to being able to create a GIF from uploaded pictures (typically how it's done), you can also use makeagif to make GIF vids from your webcam or a YouTube url
 
 
 
 

 http://www.supershareware.com/gifs-free/  This is actually a collection of downloadable resources for creating GIFs. While some have an associated fee, there are also several free programs you can download to your computer -- just narrow down the list by clicking on "freeware":

 

--> If you create a GIF (or have created one) we'd love to see it -- just put the link in the comments below.
 

All sites listed above were vetted as "OK" by Norton -- it's a good practice to see reviews of sites to make sure they aren't going to install malicious spyware or adware onto your computer! http://safeweb.norton.com/ 

 
 
 

*Note: This PBS video outlines the history and current -- and profound use of -- animated GIFs. http://video.pbs.org/video/2207348428/