Mind-Bending GIFs Push the Limits of the Format

Micaël Reynaud

Micaël Reynaud has been making a name for himself lately by playing with the technical limitations of the GIF, creating looped studies of perspective and motion that are unlike anything you’ve likely seen before.

“Sometimes I try to experiment with a technical things; morphing, time lapse, stop motion, zoom, slit cam, a lot of things,” the French graphic artist says about his technique. “This is… what I like about the genre of the loop—whether it’s GIF or not, I don’t care—with loops there is not only one way to go.”

Reynaud uses various DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras to make the GIFs and he’ll often modify them to create new effects. Reappropriating traditional video approaches is also one of his tricks. The GIF at the top of the page, for example, uses a slit-scan camera to mimic a common technique that makes the background shift dramatically in relation to the apparently stationary subject in the foreground.

Software is critical to the process too. Different programs, including common platforms like Adobe Photo Suite, offer their own advantages and disadvantages for applying morph effects, fades, layering sequences, or compression for a nice color gradient. The GIF format has its constraints, so it often takes a lot of time and patience to create a sequence that looks good and forms a believable loop.

“When you make just a one-second or two-second motion, you must focus on going more into details, and that can take a long time if you want to make it perfect. It’s not always perfect when I do it, but I do my best,” Reynaud says.

Micaël Reynaud

Reynaud says an idea for a loop can come from a particular photographic approach he wants to try, or from simply sitting with a camera and observing parts of his environment. Whether it’s the patient posturing of a pigeon or the psychedelically staggered time lapse of a pizza baking in the oven, he is constantly looking for new ways to exploit the medium. Cat GIFs are good for a couple laughs, but Reynaud’s work reaches father and offers a unique perspective on the world around us.

“I’m a freelance graphic designer, but the more time goes on, I’m a bit older, and I want to work for myself in an artistic way. So I come back to my first loves: photography, drawing, and additionally experimenting with machines,” he says.

Overall, Reynaud says he approaches photography and loops with a sort of hacker mentality, treating them like a problem that needs solving. He tries things out and explores various conceptual and technical avenues as new ideas occur. Instead of striving for a particular style, he’s likes to constantly experiment.

“If I find something interesting, I want to explore the thing. I don’t want to repeat the past, but discover new things. The process is a more artistic one…I want to surprise myself,” he says.

Micaël Reynaud