Freeze Frame to Extend Time Viewer Sees an Image

2 reasons to use freeze frame

freeze frameA freeze frame will expand any image within a video clip that you want. There are two main reasons why you might want to freeze a frame:

  1. At the end of a video, you might want to give the viewer time to digest your content. If your video is on YouTube, a new related video will show up as soon as soon as your video ends. Using the freezing feature you can add 20 or so  seconds of identical footage to your video. This will give the viewer time to digest the information.
  2. Sometimes an image does not quite reflect the length of a corresponding sound bite. You may want to extend the time the image is visible.

(Note that the YouTube link above explains how to set up a YouTube channel. If you use ScreenFlow and you have set up your YouTube channel, you can go to File >Publish To > YouTube to easily upload your video to YouTube.)

Summary of this page

The content of this page is summarized in the video below.

How to add a freeze frame

  • In ScreenFlow, move the scrubber (the vertical red line) to the point where you wish to freeze the frame.  Note that in some cases such as a person talking, you may want to detach the audio and move the scrubber to the point that makes their face look best. In other cases, you may want to follow the example of the animated GIF above: Maximize the size of your video clip so that you can remove the smallest portion possible.
  • After the scrubber is in position, right-click on the video clip and click Add Freeze Frame.
  • This will give you a clip exactly 2 seconds long. After that the extra piece from beyond the scrubber will show up.
  • Then select and delete the extra piece at the end of the 2 second frozen frame.
  • Drag the end of your new video clip to make the ideal length.


Using a Freeze Frame to Display a Photo