How to Create Animated GIFs on the HTC One (M8)

GIFs, what? The web is exploding with animated GIFs, and there’s good reason for it. These short animations are fun and easy to share. And now that you can embed and play GIFs natively on Twitter, the limits of creating and sharing your GIFs are limitless. Here’s how to use your HTC One (M8) to create your first animated GIF.

The Idea

Start with a simple idea, such as a quick scene or a facial expression. Think in terms of the frames – or the series of photos – you need.
For example, let’s capture funny faces. Find someone who’s up for wacky poses. If you want to push yourself a little bit further, set up a smartphone tripod and prepare some props.

Camera settings

Launch the Camera app. You should be in “Camera” mode with “Auto” scene selected. Now, tap the menu button and then the settings button > “Continuous shooting.” Be sure that “Continuous shooting” is selected and “Limit to 20 frames” is OFF.
(Note: You can also create GIFs with just 20 frames or the burst shots you capture using the Zoe camera mode, but you’ll have fewer frames to work with.)

Action!

Ready to shoot?

Our Commitment to Android L Release from Google

At HTC, our customers come first. That’s why the HTC Advantage pledge includes software updates for all of our devices for up to two years after their launch date. We are also one of the quickest to incorporate new Android updates into devices, and are also the most transparent OEM when it comes to keeping customers updated about rollout progress. We take pride in being an industry leader when it comes to keeping our devices current, and we’re dedicated to providing our customers with the best smartphone experience in the world.
Our approach will be the same with the Android L release from Google. This release promises to bring new features and tools to Android and we are excited to bring it to you and your HTC. As part of our HTC Advantage commitment globally, we pledge to update all of our HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) smartphones within 90 days of receiving final software from Google.

Press and hold the camera button and do all actions you need in less than 99 frames. Don’t worry if your hand is showing in a few frames or if your star is in between poses. You can delete some frames anyway.
When you see “Saving photos” on the viewfinder screen, it means you’ve reached the maximum number of frames for continuous shooting. You’re then prompted to choose your best shot. Press the back button to keep all your frames for now.
Open the Gallery app and view your batch photo in full screen. Tap the screen to see the options for editing, sharing, or deleting. Tap “Edit” > “GIF Creator.” You can choose to trim your GIF to the length you want, and then tap “Next.” Tap “Frames,” select the unwanted frames to delete, and then tap “Done.”
Other GIF options include filters, speed, and looping. Experiment with these settings and choose which one suits your animation. Tap “Save,” choose an image quality (GIF files will have the three overlapping frames icon), and share them to your social networks like Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Reddit.
It’s the GIF that keeps on giffing!
At HTC, our customers come first. That’s why we pledge to include software updates for all of our devices for up to two years after their launch date. We take pride in being an industry leader when it comes to keeping our devices current, and we’re dedicated to providing our customers with the best smartphone experience in the world.
Here at HTC, we are excited about the new features in Android L release and we can’t wait to share them with you. We are committed to updating our flagship HTC One family as fast as possible and will begin rolling out updates to the HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) in regions worldwide within 90 days of receiving final software from Google, followed shortly by other select HTC devices.
The software update timeline will begin once we receive the final software from Google and device updates will vary based on device, region, and carrier.
We can’t wait to see what Android L release will bring to your HTC!
UPDATE: 4 November 2014: HTC has received final Android Lollipop code from Google and the clock starts now! HTC One (M8) and HTC One (M7) will be updated within 90 days from today. More product updates to be announced soon!