Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 02:31 am
Why play a YouTube video frame by frame? You may want to study a scene, composition or how it is edited.
Maybe you want to capture a fleeting moment in the video you wish to share with others.
Viewing a video frame by frame is useful for animators. It would also be handy for sportsmen to view a sports action video frame by frame to discover moments not visible while the video is playing.
It will also be useful if want to share a YouTube video starting from a particular frame.
The Youtube video player doesn’t provide you with the frame-by-frame playback option. So, the only option seems to be to download the video and play it back with a video player that supports a frame-by-frame playback.
Some would even want to play back the video with a video editor program which has excellent playback control.
In our case, here you don’t have to go through that kind of hassle. You can play a Youtube video frame by frame without having to download it and use a third-party software player or video editor.
It can be done right within the YouTube player itself and by using free online tools.
The Unsystematic and Unreliable Way
Of course, the common-sense way to do it is to hit the play button and pause it when the video reaches a particular button. While this can be done by it’s not really an effective way to watch a Youtube video frame by frame.
You have to be quick with your mouse clicks or keyboard spacebar tapping . No matter how quick you’re , you’ll miss a frame or two when using this method.
While this seems to be a good way to do it, it doesn’t advance the video frame by frame. A standard video has a frame rate of 30 frames in a second. So by advancing second by second, you’ll be skipping a good number of frames.
The more accurate way to do this would be by using your keyboard. Two keys, in particular.
One key would advance the frame of a video. The other key would move the video back by a frame.
Steps to Play a Youtube Video Frame by Frame with a Keyboard Shortcut
First, pause the video close to the position from where you wish to play the video frame by frame. You can do this by tapping the spacebar on your keyboard or by using your mouse to click on the Play/Pause button.
After doing this, you must be careful not to click your mouse on the Youtube search bar. If you do this, then you would not be able to use the keyboard shortcut to play theYouTube video frame by frame.
Once you’re set, use the > key to advance the video frame by frame.
Use the < key to move the video back by a frame. Simple, right?
If for any reason, your video doesn’t advance or move back frame by frame, just click on the player interface or hit the play and pause button. This should make the keyboard shortcuts work.
If for some reason these two shortcut keys don’t work, then you would want to try the following free online services.
Anilyzer
Anilyzer allows you to view a YouTube video frame by frame online. Visit the site and enter the URL of your video.
When you hit the Watch Video button. You’ll be presented with the following window.
Frame Movement
The magic happens on the bottom of the half of the video player. You have two buttons you can manipulate.
- You can advance to the next frame by clicking on the Next frame button.
- You can move a frame backward by clicking on the Previous frame button.
There’s also the Frame Counter to show you what frame you’re at.
Frame Speed Control
In addition, there are also video speed controls should you need them. These buttons allow you to play the video at speeds lower than the default speed of 1.00.
In other words, these buttons allow you to play video in slow motion.
This is a more convenient tool to use compared to the keyboard shortcut to play your Youtube video frame by frame.
With Anilyzer you don’t have to use the play button to play a Youtube video frame by frame.
Team Link
Another useful feature, is the Team Link. This allows you to share a particular frame with your team, should you be collaborating on a project.
Anyone from your team who clicks on the link will be brought to the exact frame of the video you wished to share.
All you have to do is highlight the link, right click your mouse and copy it and share it with your team or whoever.
Those who receive the link will just have to enter it on their browser to be taken to exact frame of the video.
The video will start playing from the frame you last stopped at Anilyzer.
Check out Anilyzer and give it a try.
Watch Frame By Frame
Watch Frame by Frame is another online application to allow you to easily play a YouTube video frame by frame.
Visit the site and enter your YouTube video URL.
Hit the watch video button. You’ll be taken to a window that allows you to watch the YouTube video frame by frame.
Switching to Frame Mode
Button 1 will move the video one frame backward. Button 2 will move it a frame forward.
In Button 3 you’ll find that the time is displayed in minutes. We’ll want to change that to frame mode.
You do this by clicking on box 3.
You’re now switched to frame mode.
Customizing Frame Number
From here you can customize the frame movement by clicking on the frame dropdown menu.
You can set the number of frames you want to move your video by from a minumum of 1 frame to a maximum of 32.
You can also set the frame rate from the FPS (frames per second) dropdown menu.
In case you need to share your frame selection with others, just hit the share button towards the right.
You can also hit the More button to see the complete list of platforms you can share your video with.
Check out Watch Frame By Frame.
You’ve seen 3 methods through which you can play a YouTube video frame by frame. Now, it’s your turn to give any of them a try.
