Don't! It's too hard! HAHA! Just kidding.
(Well, it's kind of hard.)
I'll work on this document over time... maybe someday I'll have some fancy illustrations and such... but to start, here's an overview.
last updated March 22, 2004
1) Obtain a video file of the movie you wish to convert to an animated GIF. MPG or AVI format are best.
2) Using a video editor (I like to use Virtual Dub):
a) Crop out the parts of the movie you don't want to appear in the GIF.
b) Apply a resize filter so that the movie is resized to some dimensions suitable for a GIF. 100x80 is nice.
c) Export what's remaining of the movie to an image sequence (BMP are fine).
3) Import the image sequence you created in step 2c into a GIF animation editor (I like Gamani Gif Animator).
4) In the GIF animator:
a) tweak the frame count so that the animation flows smoothly. I like to delete every other frame (1 out of 2 frames).
b) reduce the color palette of the GIF as much as possible, without making the GIF look crappy.
c) optimize the animation using the animator "Optimize" feature
d) save the GIF... and "bam", YOU'RE done... you're a hero! How much money do you want for your next film, Mr. Spielburg??
That's it for now... give it a try, and if it seems too complicated, that's probably because it's too complicated. Hell it gives me the heebie-jeebies, and theoretically I supposedly know what I'm doing... supposedly....