GIFs. You see them everywhere on the Net, but putting them together in the past has usually involved a little Photoshop know-how or skill with another similar type of application.
VideoGIF for Mac, by Pearl Mountain aims to make the process simpler and less expensive. We have had the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the app, which has recently gone live on the Mac App Store and have been impressed with how easy and how much fun it is to use.
You start by selecting a previously shot video file, taken with a smartphone or movie camera, but ideally in an MP4 file type. You can also shoot a video from directly within the app using your Mac's webcam. You don't need to worry about how long the footage is as it can be readily trimmed within the application to any length that you choose; however, keeping in mind that the most effective GIFs are often short, you might want to trim it down to less than 30 secs. VideoGIF also gives you the option to adjust the speed of the GIF using real-time previews, and even reverse the order of the footage.
Customizing your GIF is also very simple and intuitive. You can easily insert and overlay text on your GIF and crop it to your preferred size, just as you would in a photo editing app. This can be done according to ratios, custom settings, or by dragging the handles to manually crop by eye. VideoGIF also makes it simple to select from one of a several built-in filters (Vintage, Sepia, Black and White among others), while also giving you the option to fine tune settings including, saturation, hue and exposure and contrast.
When you are happy with your result, you can select the quality of the GIF output and just press 'Create GIF' to generate your .GIF file automatically. You can save the file in Finder, or share it directly to Tumblr, in an email or via iMessage. Facebook sharing is also an option.
We really like VideoGIF. It has a traditional Mac OS X look and feel, while Pearl Mountain has a very good track record of producing solid applications for Mac. It is compatible with Macs running Mac OS X 10.7 or later and is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks. It is currently on sale for $4.99 after which it will revert to its regular price of $19.90.
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