How to loop a video

"Loop a video" means two different things, and the answers are not related.

• Play it on repeat. A player setting. Nothing changes in the file.
• Make it loop cleanly. An edit. You cut the clip so the last frame matches the first, and the join becomes invisible.

The second one is what people usually want and rarely find.

Playing a video on repeat

• YouTube: right click the player, then Loop.
• VLC: the loop button in the transport bar, or press L.
• Web page: add the loop attribute to the video tag.
• Instagram and TikTok: already loop by default. Nothing to do.

Making a clip loop seamlessly

The trick is finding two frames, one near the start and one near the end, that look almost identical. Cut on those two frames and the loop point disappears.

Doing that by eye means scrubbing back and forth comparing frames, which is slow and inaccurate. Our editor searches for the match instead:

• Drop the video in.
• Set your rough in point where you want the loop to start.
• Open Loop finder and press L.

It compares the frame at your in point against every frame in the last stretch of the clip and picks the closest match, then moves the out point there. The three panels show the in frame, the out frame and the difference between them. The darker the difference panel, the cleaner the loop.

• Press D to switch the third panel between difference and blend if you want a second opinion.
• Press Export.

What loops well and what does not

• Works: a locked off camera, repetitive motion, a subject returning to its starting position.
• Struggles: handheld footage, changing light, anything moving through frame and not coming back.

If the difference panel never goes dark, the clip does not contain a good loop point. Widen the search window, or reshoot with the camera on something solid.

Questions

How long should a looping clip be?

Short. Two to six seconds is the range where a loop reads as deliberate rather than as a mistake.

Should I crossfade the join instead?

A crossfade hides a bad loop point but softens the picture at the join. Finding a real match is better. Use a fade only when nothing matches.

Can I export a looping GIF?

Our editor exports MP4. For social posts MP4 is the better choice anyway: smaller file, better colour, and it loops automatically.