MP4 to GIF converter for screen recordings and short clips
A GIF plays by itself in README files, help docs, emails and chat apps where a video would need a click. The catch is size: a careless conversion turns 10 seconds of MP4 into 40 MB. Your todo.is agent trims the clip, picks the width, frame rate and colour palette, and keeps the GIF under your limit.
The prompt
- Convert the attached MP4 to a GIF: [ATTACH THE MP4]. Use [WHICH PART]. Make it [WIDTH] wide at [FRAME RATE], loop forever, and keep it under [SIZE LIMIT]. Use an optimized colour palette so text stays readable. If it cannot fit the limit, shorten or shrink it and tell me what you changed. Send me the GIF and a list of its length, size in pixels and file size.
What to change
- [ATTACH THE MP4]: Attach the .mp4 file, e.g. a screen recording of a feature or a short clip from your phone.
- [WHICH PART]: E.g. "from 0:04 to 0:12", "the first 6 seconds" or "the whole clip".
- [WIDTH]: E.g. "800 px" for docs, "480 px" for chat, "1200 px" for a landing page.
- [FRAME RATE]: E.g. "12 fps" for screen recordings, "15 fps" for smoother motion.
- [SIZE LIMIT]: E.g. "5 MB" (many help centres), "10 MB" or "2 MB for email".
Example result
- MP4 to GIF: export feature demo
- Source: screen-recording.mp4 · 1920 × 1200 · 60 fps · 31 s
- Result: export-feature-demo.gif · 800 × 500 · 12 fps · 8 s · 3.6 MB
- What your agent did
- • Trimmed to 0:04 to 0:12, from clicking "Export" to the download finishing
- • Scaled to 800 px wide, which is as wide as most docs pages show images
- • Frame rate lowered from 60 to 12 fps. Screen recordings look smooth at 10 to 15 fps, and each frame cut saves space
- • Palette: ffmpeg built a custom 256-colour palette from this clip, so button text and the blue progress bar stay crisp instead of speckled
- • Loop: set to repeat forever
- Size breakdown
- • First try at 1200 px and 15 fps: 11.2 MB, over the limit
- • 800 px and 12 fps: 3.6 MB
- Readability
- The smallest text (menu items) is about 11 px high in the GIF. Readable on a laptop; on phones, people may need to tap to zoom.
- When a GIF is the wrong choice
- For clips longer than about 15 seconds, or with sound, an MP4 or WebM is much smaller and sharper. Most docs tools and websites accept a muted autoplay video instead.
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt, then fill in which part to use, width, frame rate and size limit.
- Attach the MP4 on the Today screen or send it to your agent on Slack or Telegram.
- Your agent trims and encodes the GIF and checks it fits the size you set.
- Ask for a variant, like "a 480 px version for Slack", in the same conversation.
Tips for a better result
- Record only the part of the screen you want to show. A tight recording makes a sharper GIF at a smaller size.
- Keep it under 10 seconds. GIF file size grows with every second.
- Move the mouse slowly while recording; fast motion needs more frames to look smooth.
- GIFs have no sound. If the voice matters, keep it as MP4.
MP4 to GIF converter: FAQ
- How do I make a GIF smaller? Lower the width, frame rate and length. Width and length make the biggest difference, then frame rate.
- What frame rate is best for a GIF? Use 10 to 15 fps for screen recordings and 15 to 20 fps for real-world motion. Higher rates mostly add file size.
- Does a GIF keep sound? No. GIFs are silent. Keep an MP4 if you need audio.
- Can I add text to the GIF? Yes. Ask your agent to add a caption or step labels at the top or bottom.
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