Cropping a video to a short looping clip means removing the outer area of every frame using pixel-exact X, Y, width, and height coordinates, then exporting the result as a self-contained animated file. The Video Cropper tool on Lizely does exactly that in your browser: it re-records only the rectangle you specify into a Canvas, captures that stream as a WebM, and gives you the file for download without ever uploading the source. Because the crop runs locally at real-time speed, a one-minute source takes about one minute while the tab stays open, and the rectangle stays fixed for the entire duration. The output is a WebM clip, not a true GIF file, so if your destination specifically requires GIF you convert the cropped WebM afterwards. For most sharing contexts where "GIF" really means a short, silent, looping clip, the cropped WebM behaves the same way and keeps the original audio track when the browser exposes one. Coordinates are measured from the top-left corner of the decoded source frame, X moves right, Y moves down, and every value must be a nonnegative whole pixel count that stays inside the original.
What "Crop Video to GIF" Actually Requires
Many people search for "crop video to gif" because they want a short, looping, square or vertical clip with the unwanted edges removed. That task has two distinct parts: removing the outer area from every frame of the video, and packaging the result as a small animated file. The first part is pixel-accurate cropping, and the second part depends on which container the destination platform actually accepts. The Video Cropper handles the first part with exact X, Y, width, and height coordinates measured from the top-left corner of the decoded source frame. It then re-records that rectangle into a Canvas at 30 fps and captures the Canvas stream as a WebM file using the first browser-supported codec among VP9, VP8, and generic WebM.
For most sharing scenarios where "GIF" is shorthand for a short looping clip, a cropped WebM works the same way. Where a true GIF file is required by a destination that does not accept WebM, you convert the WebM afterwards with a separate tool. Either way, the cropping step itself is identical: every frame of the source is re-drawn with the unwanted region outside the rectangle simply not included.
How to Crop a Video With Exact Pixels
- Open the Video Cropper page and choose a browser-decodable video file (MP4, WebM, MOV, M4V, or Ogg). Wait for the tool to display the source's decoded width and height before continuing, because every coordinate you enter is measured against those numbers.
- Enter the X offset, Y offset, crop width, and crop height as whole pixels. X is how far right from the top-left corner the crop begins, Y is how far down, and width and height set the size of the rectangle. Leave all four at their defaults to keep the full frame.
- Confirm that X plus width is not greater than the source width, and Y plus height is not greater than the source height. Both width and height must be at least two pixels, and the output area must not exceed 3840 × 2160. Invalid rectangles fail without shifting, clipping, rounding, or producing a partial file.
- Select Crop video and keep the tab open. The tool plays the source locally, draws only the requested rectangle into a Canvas using the standard HTML canvas drawImage method, records that Canvas stream, and writes a finite Matroska Duration into the WebM so players report a correct length.
- When recording finishes, download the WebM and review it fully in the destination player. Confirm the duration matches the source, the cropped region matches your coordinates, the picture is clean throughout, and the audio (if any) plays correctly.
Coordinate Rules and Output Limits
The table below summarizes the verified limits the tool enforces. Anything outside these ranges is rejected before recording begins, so confirm your numbers against the displayed source dimensions first.
| Constraint | Value |
|---|---|
| Source formats | MP4, WebM, MOV, M4V, Ogg (browser-decodable) |
| File size cap | 500 MiB |
| Source duration | Above zero and up to five minutes |
| Source side maximum | 4096 pixels per side |
| Source area maximum | 3840 × 2160 pixels |
| Crop width minimum | 2 pixels |
| Crop height minimum | 2 pixels |
| Crop rectangle | Must fit entirely inside the decoded source |
| Output area maximum | 3840 × 2160 pixels |
| Output container | WebM, using the first available of VP9, VP8, or generic WebM |
| Frame rate | 30 fps |
| Bitrate range | 180 kbps to 8 Mbps, derived from cropped pixel area |
| Audio | Included only when the browser exposes a capturable track |
| Processing | Real-time in the browser; keep the tab open until download |
| Upload | None — source and output stay on your device |
WebM vs GIF: What the Output Really Is
The cropped file is a WebM, not a GIF. WebM is widely supported by modern browsers, chat apps, and social platforms that accept short video clips, and it usually produces a much smaller file at the same resolution than a GIF because it uses modern video codecs. The visual loop is identical to what a GIF would show, because the tool draws the same cropped region at the same 30 fps timing. The differences that matter for a "crop video to gif" workflow are:
- Container: WebM uses the Matroska container with VP8 or VP9 video; GIF uses palette-indexed frames with no audio.
- File size: GIF files are often several times larger than an equivalent WebM at the same resolution, because GIF lacks modern compression.
- Audio: a WebM can include an audio track when the browser exposes one through media capture; a GIF cannot carry sound.
- Animation behavior: GIFs support simple frame-based animation and 1-bit transparency; WebM supports richer color, real video compression, and audio but no palette-based effects.
If your destination specifically requires a true GIF file, run the downloaded WebM through a dedicated GIF converter after cropping. The crop step itself does not change either way.
Verification Before You Delete the Original
A cropped WebM can look correct in the first few seconds and break later, so verify the full output before removing the source. Check duration by scrubbing through the entire timeline in the destination player; the duration patch only reports the correct length when the WebM parses cleanly, and a corrupted file may still play but report zero duration. Check that the rectangle stayed inside the source on every frame, including any camera motion that may have revealed the edges you tried to crop out. Confirm audio is present only if you actually want it, because the source may play audibly during real-time recording.
The crop does not preserve subtitles, chapters, attachments, rotation tags, HDR signaling, or color metadata. If your source relied on any of those, the cropped WebM will not carry them through, and you should re-add them in a downstream editor. Finally, keep the original file until you have watched the cropped output in the same player your audience will use, because fast motion, noise, grain, the source codec, and the browser encoder can all change the final size and quality in ways the bitrate setting only approximates. A disclosed single-pass browser setting is not a guarantee of target size or visual quality, so review first and delete only after the crop looks right end to end.