EasyLottie Guide
Videos to Lottie: What Actually Works in 2026
Need a short clip in a Lottie project? EasyLottie packages raster frames with animation JSON, with optional solid-background removal. Try the sample, check the exported result, and test it in your player. It does not turn video into editable vectors.
What does video to Lottie actually produce?
EasyLottie converts a short video into an image-sequence Lottie ZIP: raster image frames plus JSON that controls their timing. Lottie can contain vector shapes and image layers. This conversion uses image layers; it does not reconstruct the editable paths a designer would create.
Use it when your project already needs a Lottie asset and you want to keep the appearance of a short clip, optionally with a solid background removed. If the requirement is a small, infinitely scalable vector animation, start from vector artwork and rebuild the motion instead.
What EasyLottie creates instead
The Lottie exporter currently stores WebP image frames and animation JSON in a ZIP. Frame dimensions, quality, frame rate, and any background removal affect the result. The output is not lossless reconstruction of the original video and cannot gain detail when scaled up.
Useful starting points are a short UI recording, a sticker, or a product clip with a consistent green or solid-color background. Chroma key removes a selected color; it is not general background removal for any scene. Fine hair, shadows, compression artifacts, and colors close to the key need visual checking.
A ZIP is a delivery package. Some integrations require you to unzip it, load the animation JSON in animations/main.json, and configure image loading to resolve the images folder at the archive root. Test the exact output in the destination runtime; a browser preview does not certify every mobile or design platform.
Best formats for transparent web animation
If your real goal is "a transparent animation on a web page", Lottie ZIP is only one of four sensible outputs. The right pick depends on browser support, transparency quality, and file size. EasyLottie can export all four locally, so you can compare on your own clip.
| Format | Transparency | Integration check | File-size rule | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lottie ZIP (raster) | Per-frame alpha | Image-capable player; keep asset paths | Measure at your dimensions, fps, and quality | An existing Lottie workflow needs the clip |
| Transparent WebM | Soft alpha when supported | Check export availability and target alpha playback | Measure the actual export | Your target browsers play the result correctly |
| GIF | Binary (1-bit) only | Test the destination; limited palette | Depends on palette, frames, and dimensions | Simple motion needs GIF delivery |
| PNG sequence | Full alpha | Image-sequence importer or custom player | Depends on frames and dimensions | You need separate frames for editing |
Step-by-step workflow
Conversion, chroma key, and export run locally with no account required. Cloud sync, sharing, and support sample submissions are separate actions that upload the selected files only when you choose them.
- Open the converter and choose its sample, or select a short H.264 MP4. Other accepted inputs include codec-compatible MOV/WebM, GIF, and PNG/JPG/WebP image files or a ZIP of frames.
- For video, choose the useful time range. For GIF or image sequences, prepare the range before selecting the source. Start with a small output such as 480 px at 24 fps, then check the actual result.
- Keep the original background unless you want to remove a solid color. For keying, sample the background and inspect tolerance, softness, despill, and choke on both light and dark backgrounds.
- Choose Lottie ZIP and convert. Check the actual exported preview, duration, dimensions, and bytes. If the result needs changes, return to the settings and retry.
- Download the ZIP and test it in your target player. Check the local save status before leaving; reopen a saved result from Workspace in the same browser. Download a backup before clearing browser storage.
Clip limits and effective frame rate
Inputs can total up to 100 MB. For video, choose up to 15 seconds of output, with at most 450 frames and a 1920 px long edge. These are individual ceilings, not a combined guarantee: the frame-memory budget may require a lower resolution or fewer frames.
The tool preserves the selected duration when it caps frame count. For example, requesting 15 seconds at 60 fps produces 450 frames at an effective 30 fps, rather than silently cutting the clip in half. Check the effective frame rate before exporting. MP4/MOV source files over 30 seconds must be shortened outside the tool before selection.
Reproduce the synthetic examples and compare outputs
Download one of the three input fixtures below, then open the converter to produce your own output. For moving animation, start with the four-second synthetic UI example and keep the original background. The inherited green-screen file is static across all 96 frames; it is useful for checking background removal only. The 15-second moving test pattern checks the 450-frame limit.
To match the measured table, set a 480 px long edge and quality 0.7, keep the full duration, and select Lottie ZIP. Use 24 fps for the green and UI fixtures, and request 60 fps for the stress fixture. Select the green preset only for the green fixture. All three inputs are synthetic; they do not stand in for tests on customer footage.
Keep the same time range, dimensions, frame rate, and keying settings when comparing formats. Record browser and version, device, selected quality, output frame count, file bytes, conversion time, and whether the result actually plays. Compare both light and dark backgrounds for edge artifacts. A single small sample does not predict every user clip.
Choose by the delivery environment and the measured result. Raster Lottie is not guaranteed to be smaller than GIF or MP4. If you do not need Lottie controls, a supported video output may be more appropriate; check its alpha playback on the devices you support.
Quick checklist
- Decide first: do you need true vector, or a transparent web clip?
- For editable vectors, start from vector artwork and rebuild the motion.
- For a web clip, compare Lottie ZIP, WebM, GIF, and PNG sequence.
- Compare actual bytes at the same time range, dimensions, frame rate, and key settings.
- Test the chosen format in the browsers you actually support.
- Check the local save status and keep a downloaded copy.
Reproduce the workflow
Use these local sample files to repeat the checks described in this guide. Review the file before using it in a production project.
Measured results: three synthetic fixtures
On September 9, 2026, each fixture was converted once through the actual converter UI in headless Chrome 152.0.7977.83 on an Apple M3 Pro with 18 GiB RAM, using a local development server. All used Lottie ZIP, a 480 px long edge, quality 0.7, and the full source duration. Green-screen removal was enabled only for the static green fixture; the two moving fixtures kept their original background.
| Synthetic fixture | Source MP4 | Measured Lottie ZIP output |
|---|---|---|
| Static green-screen fixture | 480 × 480 · 24 fps · 4 s · 4,785 bytes | 480 × 480 · 24 fps · 96 frames · 4 s · 153,023 bytes |
| Moving UI fixture | 640 × 360 · 24 fps · 4 s · 7,743 bytes | 480 × 270 · 24 fps · 96 frames · 4 s · 187,773 bytes |
| Moving 60 fps stress fixture | 320 × 180 · 60 fps · 15 s · 602,842 bytes | 480 × 270 · effective 30 fps · 450 frames · 15 s · 2,846,464 bytes |
All three results reached ready in the site player without an uncaught browser error. The stress case preserved all 15 seconds by reducing the requested 60 fps to an effective 30 fps. This confirms this browser and site player only, not external native-player compatibility.
The green fixture has 96 identical decoded source frames. It demonstrates background removal: the exported first frame contains 193,436 fully transparent pixels and a visible foreground. It does not demonstrate motion preservation.
Independent source-frame checks found 92 unique frames in the 96-frame UI fixture and 900 unique frames in the stress fixture. Both contain motion; use the UI file for a motion-to-Lottie walkthrough.
These are synthetic test fixtures, not commercial footage or an average of real user conversions. Every measured ZIP is larger than its source MP4. The byte sizes describe these exact settings; they are not a compression-quality comparison or a general performance promise.
Know the limits
- Video output is raster image-sequence Lottie. It does not recover editable vector shapes, missing detail, or colors already lost in the source.
- A Lottie ZIP is an archive of animation JSON and image assets, not a guarantee that every player accepts a ZIP directly. Unpack it when required and preserve the relative image paths.
- Conversion and playback depend on browser codecs and player support. A video that plays in the source preview may still be unavailable to the frame decoder. HEVC/H.265 has no promised automatic fallback.
- Shorter clips, smaller output dimensions, and fewer frames can reduce resource use. There is no guaranteed file-size advantage over the original MP4, GIF, or WebM.
- Local Workspace storage belongs to this browser. A saved result is not the source video or a fully editable conversion project; keep a downloaded copy.
If your result is different
- 1.Start with the downloadable H.264 sample or the sample button in the converter to check the local conversion path.
- 2.If your MP4 or MOV cannot decode, re-export it as H.264 MP4. Renaming .mov to .mp4 does not change the codec.
- 3.If a frame or memory budget is reached, shorten the source before selecting it, lower the output dimensions, or reduce frame rate. Check the effective frame rate shown by the tool.
- 4.If conversion fails, read the error, adjust the retained settings, and retry. If local saving fails after export, download the result while it is still available.
- 5.If the exported animation looks wrong in your project, test the complete ZIP in EasyLottie Preview, then verify your target runtime’s image support and asset paths.
Frequently asked questions
Is MP4 to Lottie real vector conversion?
No. This converter packages raster image frames and animation JSON in a ZIP. It does not create editable vector shapes from the video.
Can I remove the green screen from AI videos?
Yes. The converter has a built-in chroma key with tolerance, softness, despill, and choke controls, so AI green-screen clips can be matted to transparency in your browser.
Are my videos uploaded?
Conversion runs locally without uploading the source. Choosing cloud sync, sharing, or support sample submission uploads the selected files for that action.
Which format should I export?
Use Lottie ZIP when your runtime supports image assets, PNG for separate full-alpha frames, GIF when binary transparency is enough, or WebM after testing alpha playback. Compare the actual bytes; there is no universal smallest format.
Does it work on Safari?
Input decoding, export availability, and output playback are separate checks. Try the sample in your browser first; if your source codec fails, re-export it as H.264 MP4. Test the downloaded result in the exact player and browser you plan to support.
Can I reopen the result next time?
If the local save succeeds, Workspace can reopen the exported result in the same browser. It does not restore the source video as an editable project, and browser storage can be cleared. Keep a downloaded copy.