How to add a filter to a GIF
DropGIF recolors every frame the same way, so the whole animation gets the same look. On this page it opens in black and white, so you see the change straight away:
- Drop your GIFDrag it onto the page, tap Choose a GIF or video and pick it, or paste it with Ctrl/⌘+V. Animated WebP, APNG, videos and photos work too.
- Pick a lookUnder Color (on a phone, the Color tab), tap a tile. Each tile shows your own GIF in that look, so you can compare before you choose.
- Fine-tune itDrag Brightness, Contrast or Saturation. They work on top of the look, so you can make B&W punchier or Warm a little softer. Double-click a slider to put it back to 0.
- Export and saveTap Export GIF. Then tap Download on a computer, or Share or save GIF on a phone.
The looks, and when to use them
| Look | What it does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Vivid | Richer colors and a little more contrast | Washed-out phone clips, sunsets, food |
| Warm | A golden tint | Cozy, nostalgic moments and skin tones in cold light |
| Cool | A blue tint | Snow, water, night scenes, a calmer mood |
| Faded | Softer contrast and lifted shadows | A matte, film-like or dreamy feel |
| B&W | Black and white | Classic reactions, drama, and GIFs that need to be smaller |
| Noir | High-contrast black and white | Moody, film-noir style moments |
| Sepia | Brown old-photo tones | Throwbacks and silent-movie jokes |
| Invert | Swaps every color for its opposite | Glitchy, surreal or X-ray effects |
What a filter changes, and what it keeps
- Captions keep their colors. Words you add under Add words are drawn after the filter, so a yellow caption stays yellow on a black-and-white GIF.
- Transparency is kept. See-through pixels stay see-through. A green screen is removed before the filter runs, so you can key out a background and make the rest black and white in one go.
- Timing and frames don't change. A filter only recolors pixels, so the GIF plays at the same pace and loops the same way.
- Black and white is often smaller. A GIF can hold 256 colors per frame; in grey, those 256 cover every shade with no banding, and the file often shrinks. Watch the size under the preview as you switch looks.
Want an old-film feel? Pick Sepia and drag Contrast up a little. Starting from a video? Set Smoothness under Motion to 10 or 12 frames per second for that jerky silent-movie motion.
Combine a filter with other edits
The filter is one step in the same editor, so you can do everything in one pass: trim a video to the moment, crop the GIF to a square, add text, reverse it, or rotate it, and see all of it in the preview before you export.
Making a GIF from a video? Drop it on the video to GIF page, pick a look under Color, and the GIF comes out in that look from the start.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a GIF black and white?
Drop the GIF into DropGIF, tap B&W under Color, then tap Export GIF. It's free, with no watermark, and the GIF is recolored on your device.
Can I make a sepia or vintage GIF?
Yes. Tap Sepia for old-photo brown tones, or Faded for a soft, matte film look. Drag Contrast or Brightness to adjust either one.
Will the filter change my caption's color?
No. Captions you add in DropGIF are drawn after the filter, so they keep the color you picked.
Does a filter make the GIF bigger?
Usually not. Vivid can add a little because colors get busier; black and white usually makes it smaller. The size estimate under the preview updates as you change the look.
Can I filter a video and turn it into a GIF?
Yes. Drop an MP4, MOV or WebM, pick the part you want with the trim handles, choose a look under Color, and export. The filter is applied to every frame of the GIF.
Are GIF filters free?
Yes. Every look and slider is free, with no watermark and no sign-up. Free GIFs go up to 480 px wide and 20 seconds, and Pro raises that to 1080 px and 60 seconds.