Make a reaction GIF from a video clip

GIF uses a 256-colour palette and run-length compression — it is fundamentally less efficient than modern video codecs for photographic content with millions of colours. A 5-second 480p clip can easily produce a 10–20 MB GIF. To reduce size: lower the frame rate (12–15 fps is good enough for most loops), reduce the width (320–480px), and keep the clip under 3 seconds. For loops where file size matters, consider using WebP animation or MP4 with autoplay/loop attributes instead of GIF.

12–15 fps produces smooth-looking motion for most content and is a good balance of quality and file size. 24 fps is visually the same as 15 fps for most GIF content but creates files 60% larger. Below 10 fps looks choppy for anything with significant motion. For slow-motion clips (sped down), 8–10 fps is acceptable. Most messaging platforms display GIFs at up to 30 fps but compress heavily.

Standard GIF conversion uses a fixed 256-colour system palette that is generic and often poorly matched to your specific clip. palettegen analyses the pixel colour distribution across all frames of your clip and generates a custom optimised 256-colour palette. Skin tones, sky gradients, and other specific colour ranges in your clip get dedicated palette slots, resulting in significantly less dithering and better image quality.