Three loop styles
- Forward plays the trim as recorded, then jumps back to the start.
- Reverse plays it backwards. Pouring, jumping and falling look strange and funny in reverse.
- Boomerang plays forward, then backward, skipping the duplicated end frames, so the loop never jumps. It is the same idea as Instagram's Boomerang.
Why a boomerang is nearly twice the size
A GIF stores every frame it shows. A boomerang of n captured frames shows 2n − 2 of them, so the file nearly doubles. Trim shorter (1 to 2 seconds is plenty for a bounce) or lower the frame rate to compensate. The size meter includes the extra frames.
Loop count
A GIF loops through the NETSCAPE2.0 application extension, a small block Netscape Navigator 2.0 introduced in 1995 that stores how many times to repeat. Forever writes 0; 1× leaves the block out, so the GIF plays once. Browsers honour the count, but many chat apps, and social sites that convert GIFs to video, loop forever regardless.
Making loops look seamless
For a forward loop without a boomerang, pick a start and end where the scene looks nearly the same: a wave at the same point, a spinning object after a full turn. Scrub the Start and End sliders and watch the preview jump; the smaller the jump, the better the loop.
Questions
How do I make a GIF play backwards?
Load the video, open the Loop tab and choose Reverse. The frames are captured normally and written in reverse order.
What is a boomerang GIF?
A clip that plays forward and then backward in a continuous loop, so there is no visible jump at the loop point.
Can a GIF stop after playing once?
Yes, choose 1× under Plays. Browsers respect it, but some apps ignore the setting and loop anyway.