Media Framer lets you drop a GIF or short video into the page, add a tidy frame (border, shadow, caption, logo), optionally add background music, and download the finished file. Everything happens inside your browser – nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored on the server.

Quick start (30 seconds)

1. Drop a file into the box (or click Choose file). GIFs and common video formats (MP4, MOV, WebM) are accepted.
2. Pick a preset from the menu, or tweak the border, shadow, caption and logo until you like what you see in the live preview.
3. (Optional) Add music from the Music dropdown – hit Sample to preview, adjust the volume. Music is only included in video (WebM) exports.
4. Click Export. Your framed file downloads automatically.

That’s it. No account, no sign-up, no upload.

Presets

A preset is a one-click look: border colour and thickness, corner radius, shadow, and caption style – saved together under a name.

• Pick a preset from the Preset dropdown to apply it instantly.
• You can still nudge any of the individual controls after picking a preset; the change only affects your current export, not the saved preset.

If you often need a specific branded look, ask the site admin to add it to the preset list – then it’s one click every time.

Customising the frame

All changes show up in the preview immediately – no “apply” button.

Aspect ratio & focus (cropping to a shape)

If you want the output in a specific shape – square for Instagram, vertical for Stories or TikTok, widescreen for YouTube – use the Aspect ratio dropdown.

• Keep original – don’t change the shape.
• Square (1:1) – Instagram feed, LinkedIn.
• Portrait (4:5) – Instagram feed, a bit taller.
• Vertical (9:16) – Instagram / TikTok / YouTube Shorts / Reels.
• Widescreen (16:9) – YouTube, presentations.
• Standard (4:3) / Portrait (3:4) – older formats.

When the shape you pick is different from the source, you’ll see a second option:

• Crop in (fill target) – zoom into the video so it fills the new shape. Parts of the edges will be trimmed off. This is almost always what you want.
• Fit with border fill – show the whole video, and fill the leftover space with the border colour (letterboxing / pillarboxing).

If you choose Crop in, two extra sliders appear:

• Focus horizontal – decides which part of a wide video is kept when it’s cropped into a tall shape (left, centre, or right).
• Focus vertical – same idea, for tall videos cropped into a wide shape (top, centre, or bottom).

The quick buttons under each slider (Left / Centre / Right or Top / Centre / Bottom) snap to the common positions. You can also drag the slider for anywhere in between.

Tip: if a person or product is in the right third of your clip, drag Focus horizontal towards Right so they stay visible after the crop.

Adding music

A small library of background tracks is available from the Music section below the frame controls. The tracks themselves are chosen by the site admin – you can’t upload your own, but you can pick any of the provided ones.

How it works:

• Track – choose from the list (or None to leave the audio alone).
• Sample – plays the selected track for up to 15 seconds so you can audition it. Click Stop to end the preview early. The sample is just for listening – it’s not part of the export.
• Music volume – how loud the music sits in the exported file (default 80%). Quiet / Mid / Loud are the handy snap buttons.
• Credit line – if the track has an attribution requirement, it’s shown underneath so you know what to credit if the destination asks.

What you get in the export:

• If your video already has sound, it’s replaced by the chosen music (think of it as a fresh soundtrack).
• If the track is shorter than your clip, it loops automatically.
• If the track is longer, it’s cut to fit, with a gentle fade-out at the end.

Where music doesn’t apply:

• GIFs have no sound. When you switch the export format to GIF, the Music section greys out with a reminder. If you need music, export as WebM video instead.
• No tracks configured yet? The Music section won’t appear at all until the site admin adds at least one track.

Tip: keep the music volume below 100% if your original video had dialogue or important sound – the music replaces it completely, so a bit of breathing room in the mix is kinder on the ears.

Export formats

You’ll see GIF and WebM video in the Export format dropdown. Pick the one that matches where you’re sharing:

If a WebM file won’t play where you need it, try GIF instead.

Tips for the best results

• Shorter is better. 5–15 second clips export fast and look crisp. Longer videos still work, but GIF exports especially can get heavy.
• Start with a clean source. The framer can only work with what you give it – shaky, low-light clips don’t get better in the browser.
• Use the preview. What you see in the preview is what you’ll get in the exported file, pixel-for-pixel.
• Test one preset, then iterate. Pick a preset, export once, check it on the device where it’ll live. Then tune.
• Square for feeds, vertical for stories. 1:1 is safe for almost any social feed. 9:16 is for full-screen vertical (Stories, Reels, Shorts, TikTok).

Limits

• Maximum file size: 200 MB.
• Maximum video length: 180 seconds (3 minutes).
• Everything runs in your browser – if you close the tab, your in-progress work is gone. Nothing is saved for you, and nothing is uploaded.

Troubleshooting

“WebM video export is not supported in this browser.”
You’re likely on an older version of Safari. Either update Safari, use Chrome / Edge / Firefox, or pick GIF as the export format.

My video looks sideways after I drop it in.
Some iPhone .mov files store the rotation in metadata that the browser can’t always read. Easiest fix: open the clip in the iPhone Photos app, tap Edit, then Done (even without changing anything) – that bakes in the rotation. Re-export, and drop that file in.

“Video could not be decoded.”
The browser doesn’t understand this video format. Try exporting the clip as MP4 from your phone or editing app, then drop in the MP4 instead.

GIF export is very slow.
GIF is an old format and has to re-compress every frame. Expect roughly 3–5× the video length for a GIF export (a 10-second clip takes ~30–50 seconds). WebM is much faster – use it if your destination accepts video.

The output is huge / quality is low.
GIFs always look worse and weigh more than videos for the same clip. Use WebM where you can.

The drop zone won’t accept my file.
Only GIFs and video files work. Still images (.jpg, .png) aren’t supported – this tool is for moving content.

The Music section is greyed out.
The export format is set to GIF, which doesn’t support sound. Change the Export format to WebM video to use music.

The Music section isn’t showing at all.
The site admin hasn’t added any tracks yet. Ask them to upload some audio files under Media Framer → Music in the admin.

I exported a WebM with music but it’s silent when I play it.
Some older media players handle WebM audio patchily. Try playing the file in Chrome, Edge or Firefox directly (drag the file into a browser tab) to confirm – if it plays there, the file is fine and it’s the player that’s the issue.

Privacy

Every frame of every video you drop in is processed in your browser only. Your files are never uploaded to GhostViewer’s servers, never sent to any third party, and are gone from the page the moment you close the tab.