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While it’s not the most commonly used YouTube feature, knowing how to watch a YouTube video frame by frame can be very useful. Maybe you want to watch a quick-moving tutorial video or time-lapse video intently, or perhaps you want to inspect the video closely to see how it’s been constructed.

This can be the case particularly if you’re an animator, video creator, or graphic designer. When you’re working on a project, you may need to edit a video and crop out the sections that you want.

Either way, going frame by frame is a surprisingly simple thing to do, once you know how. Find out the different methods on how to go frame by frame on YouTube down below.

How to Go Frame by Frame on YouTube Using Your Keyboard

This is probably the easiest way to watch a video frame by frame since all you need is your keyboard. Follow the steps below to do this.

Step 1: Open YouTube

how to go frame by frame on youtube
Signing in to YouTube.

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Firstly, go to the YouTube website and log in if desired.

Step 2: Select Your Video

How to go frame by frame on YouTube
Searching for the chosen video.

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Either search for your chosen video in the search bar, find it in your history, or on your account.

Step 3: Pause the Video and Use the Keyboard Shortcut

Using keyboard shortcuts.

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Once you’ve paused the video, simply press the . (period) key to move forward 1 frame, or the , (comma) key to move back 1 frame. You can repeat this as many times as you need.

How to Go Frame by Frame on YouTube Using a Third-party Website

Another method for moving frame by frame is to use a third-party site, such as http://www.watchframebyframe.com. The bonus of this method is that it can be used on a mobile device as well as a PC. Find out how to do this below.

Step 1: Select Your Video and Copy the URL

Copying the URL.

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As before, find the video you want to watch, and copy the URL in the address bar at the top.

Step 2: Go to the External Website and Paste the URL

Pasting the URL.

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Next, go to the website http://www.watchframebyframe.com and paste the YouTube video’s URL into the field in the middle.

Step 3: Start Watching

Bringing up the selected video.

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Now you can hit the Watch video button. This will bring up your selected video. You’ll want to make sure the setting at the bottom is set to 1 frame, but this should be the default option. You can now move frame by frame by using the forward and backward buttons to the left.

How to go Frame by Frame on YouTube Using an Extension

This method can be handy, particularly if you use Google Chrome frequently or you find using the period and comma keys a bit awkward. These steps will tell you how to use this extension.

Step 1: Go to the Chrome Web Store

Entering the Chrome Store.

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Go to the Chrome Web Store at https://.chrome.google.com/webstore/.

Step 2: Search for the Frame by Frame Extension

Using the search bar.

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In the search bar to the left, type Frame by Frame and hit enter.

Step 3: Select the Extension

Pulling up the results.

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Here, we can see the first result displayed is the extension that we want. Click on this.

Step 4: Add the Extension to Chrome

Adding the extension to Chrome.

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Now, you can quickly add this extension to Chrome by clicking the Add to Chrome button to the right, then click Add extension. This will add the extension to your taskbar, located inside the jigsaw puzzle piece icon.

Step 5: Open the YouTube Video and Activate the Extension

Enabling the extension.

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Once you’ve installed the extension, choose your YouTube video and enable the extension. This is done by opening the extension menu and clicking Frame by Frame.

Step 6: Watch Your Video Frame by Frame

Going frame by frame.

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Now, you can simply use the left and right arrow keys to advance the video frame by frame. The frame rate and current frame are displayed in a box at the top left of the video.

Wrapping Up

Here, we’ve detailed the steps you need to know to go frame by frame on YouTube. While there are a few different methods, the easiest is using the period and comma keys directly on the YouTube video.

Using a third-party website takes a little longer, but does offer some additional features and options for adjusting the frame rate. The Chrome extension is essentially as fast as the native YouTube function once it’s installed, and is controlled more intuitively.

Up Next

How to Go Frame by Frame on YouTube, Step by Step with Photos FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 

What does frame by frame mean?

Going ‘frame by frame’ simply means watching a video one frame at a time. A video is constructed of multiple images, or ‘frames’, which, when combined together, make up the video and give the impression of continuous movement. Originally, frame by frame usually referred to frame by frame animation, where each frame is drawn by an artist as opposed to digitally created.

What is frame by frame used for?

Frame by frame can be used for many things, but typically it’s used to closely watch a fast-moving video and to crop and edit certain sections of a video for a creative project.

What is a frame rate?

Frame rate refers to how many frames are displayed during a time period, usually 1 second. There are different standard frame rates for different kinds of footage, such as films or video games. Generally, higher frame rates are desired for fast-moving footage, such as sports coverage or action-packed video games and movies.

How can I move more than one frame at a time?

If you press the left and right arrow keys on a paused YouTube video, the video will move 5 seconds backwards or forwards. While this isn’t frame by frame, it does give you the option to move significantly more frames at a time but still allow closer inspection of the video.

Why won't the frame by frame extension work?

This is usually because you haven’t restarted your computer after installing the extension. If this still hasn’t fixed the issue, make sure that the extension is enabled by opening your extension settings.

About the Author

Duncan Dodsworth

Duncan Dodsworth is a freelance writer, mostly covering video games, personal tech, PCs and technical concepts in general. Aside from these, Duncan's rather fond of psychology, mental health, hanging out with his feline friends and relaxing with music or a good book.

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