From "Sharing the Essentials of Animated Gifs for Public Services" webinar. By Darren Cole, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

1. GIFs
from
.Gov
Records
Animated GIFs from National Archives Holdings
Darren A. Cole
Office of Innovation, National Archives and Records Administration

2. Why GIFs?
● Engaging; make Gov. records
relevant
● Easy to access: no plugin req.;
fast download & autoplay
● Highlight longer footage
Today’s Document GIFs
todaysdocument.tumblr.com
Highlighting National Archives
Holdings through:
● Historical Events
● Anniversaries
● Holidays
● Celebrations
Marines raise flag over Iwo Jima, 1945
Motion Picture Films from “United News” Newsreels, 1942 -
1945
(3900+ notes on Tumblr)
Cons:
● No sound
● Accessibility Issues
● Not supported on all platforms
(Facebook)

3. National Archives
Holdings & Sources:
NARA Holdings
● Free
● Federal Government
Records
● Public Domain (mostly*)
● Available at:
catalog.archives.gov
Woodsy Owl* Public Service Announcement Collection,
ca. 1965 - ca. 1985
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/13463
Variety of Agency Sources, incl:
● Forest Service
● Dept. of Defense
● Dept. of Interior
● NASA
● Donated Materials*
Types of Films:
● Newsreels
● World War II footage
● Training & Educational Films
● PSAs & Documentaries

4. Three Types of GIFs:
Motion Pictures, Photo Series, & Illustrations/Images

5. The Eagle Has
Landed,
The Flight of
Apollo 11
Space GIFs are always popular

6. Cartoons Make Great GIFs: minimal
movement, simple lines, & static backgrounds
“Private SNAFU V.
Malaria Mike,
1944”
Records of the Office of the
Chief Signal Officer

7. “Right on the
Button”
(IRS)
Easy loop of vintage computing equipment

8. “Pleasure of
Your
Company,1970”
Records of the Office of the
Secretary of Defense
Not all Government Films are Boring Bureaucrats
Dancing WAC from an Army Etiquette Training Film

9. “Dance stars lead
dog’s life!”
Universal News
Vol 3, Release 7,
Jan 19, 1931
Newsreels from Universal News 1929-1967
(donated)
News of the day, fun slice-of-life snapshots, historic
events, celebrities, etc.

10. “Hat Fashions”
Universal
Newsreel Vol 29,
#79, 09/27/1956
Quirky vintage fashion shows

11. “GYRO” FLIES TO
CAPITAL!
12/19/1928
Gyrocopters in the news?

12. Richard Nixon
meeting with Elvis
Presley.
12/21/1970.
Courtesy
OurPresidents.tumblr.com
Photo Series to GIF:
Can be easier than Video-to-GIF, with the
right series of photos

13. “YOUNGSTER
UNKNOWINGLY
SHARES AN ICE
CREAM STICK WITH A
DOG…”
(EPA’s Documerica
series)
Photo Series:
You can make a GIF with only 2 Photos

14. Photo Series to GIF (Stereographs)
Stereographs from various geological surveys & Mathew Brady Photos
(See also NYPL’s Stereogranimator tool: stereo.nypl.org)
Cascade of Middle Creek. Gallatin
County, Montana, 1872
Walt Whitman, ca. 1860 - ca. 1865

15. Patent Drawing for J. O.
Lose’s One Wheeled Vehicle,
09/01/1885
Illustration to GIF: Patent Drawings work well for GIFs with
clean lines and plain backgrounds.

16. Illustration to GIF:
Vintage Posters work well with simple shapes & bold colors
“Can All You Can Its a
Real War Job!”
from the World War II
Posters series

17. Illustration-to-GIF: Easy beginner-level GIFs by simply
removing elements or adding color
Thomas A. Edison’s Patent for An Improvement
in Electric Lamps, 1/27/1880
Elevation and Plan of Execution Rocks Lighthouse,
New York, 1849

18. 3rd Party GIFs with NARA Items &
Other GIF Resources:
● NYPL Labs Stereogranimator
http://stereo.nypl.org/
● LIBRARY HACKS: CREATING ANIMATED GIFS
http://blog.library.si.edu/2014/02/library-hacks-creating-animated-gifs/
● DPLA’s GIF IT UP
http://dp.la/info/gif-it-up/
WAC mechanics servicing bombers, submitted by
DPLA GIFITUP contestant
Abraham Lincoln GIF from Mathew
Brady Photos,
By: retrocampaigns.tumblr.com

19. Ernest knows you
can do it!
Make your own .gov
GIFs with free, public
domain sources from
the National Archives:
catalog.archives.gov
Cheers!
(Ernest Hemingway excerpted from:
“D-Day to Germany, 1944”)
Sample sources:
● Utility Patent Drawings: catalog.archives.gov/id/305888
● World War II Posters: catalog.archives.gov/id/513498
● Universal Newsreels: catalog.archives.gov/id/100520
● Navy Motion Picture Series: catalog.archives.gov/id/75284
More GIF Ideas from Today’s Document: todaysdocument.tumblr.com/gif