Creator media glossary
What is a keyframe?
Short answer
A fully-encoded frame in a compressed video, placed periodically so playback and editing can jump to that point without decoding everything before it.
Key takeaways
- In editing and animation, a keyframe marks a value at a moment in time; the software fills in the frames between.
- In video compression, a keyframe (I-frame) is a frame stored in full that later frames depend on.
- Ease in and out between keyframes for natural motion; hold keyframes for instant jumps.
- For live streams use a 2-second keyframe interval; for YouTube uploads, a closed GOP of half the frame rate.
Keyframe explained
Most frames in a compressed video only store the difference from the frame before them, which is efficient but means they can't be decoded on their own. A keyframe is a complete image, inserted every second or so, that playback and editing tools can seek to directly.
Trimming a video at a non-keyframe point sometimes forces a re-encode of the surrounding section rather than a fast cut, which is part of why some trims are instant and others take longer - it depends on where the nearest keyframe happens to fall.
Two meanings of keyframe
The word means different things in editing and in compression, and search results mix them up. In editing and animation, a keyframe is a point in time where you set a value, such as position, scale or opacity, and the software fills in the frames between. In video compression, a keyframe is a frame stored in full, which the frames after it are built from. This page covers both.
Keyframes in editing and animation
The idea comes from hand-drawn animation: senior animators drew the key poses and assistants, the "in-betweeners", drew the frames in between. Software now does the in-betweening, called interpolation or tweening.
Linear
Change at a constant speed between two keyframes. Mechanical, sometimes useful for steady pans or counters.
Ease in, ease out and Bezier
The change starts slowly, speeds up and slows down again, following a curve you can shape. This is what makes zooms and slides feel natural.
Hold
The value jumps at the keyframe and stays put until the next one. Used for cuts in text, flashes and stop-motion effects.
How to add keyframes in common editors
- Premiere Pro: select the clip, open Effect Controls, and click the stopwatch next to a property; move the playhead and change the value to add the next keyframe.
- DaVinci Resolve: in the Inspector, click the diamond next to a property; the Keyframes editor on the Edit and Fusion pages shows the curves.
- CapCut: select the clip, move the playhead and tap the diamond (keyframe) icon, then change position, scale or opacity.
- After Effects: click the stopwatch next to a layer property, then change it at another time; the Graph Editor shapes the easing.
- Final Cut Pro: in the Video inspector, click the keyframe button next to a parameter, or press Option-K in the viewer.
Keyframes in CSS and web animation
Web developers meet the same idea in CSS: an @keyframes rule lists states at percentages of an animation (0%, 50%, 100%) and the browser interpolates between them, with timing functions such as ease-in-out playing the role of Bezier curves in a video editor.
Keyframes in compression: I, P and B frames
| Frame type | Stores | Size | Can you start playback here? |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-frame (keyframe) | The whole picture | Largest | Yes |
| P-frame | Changes from earlier frames | Smaller | No |
| B-frame | Changes from earlier and later frames | Smallest | No |
Encoders also place a keyframe at every scene cut, since predicting a new scene from the old one wastes bits. Fewer keyframes means smaller files; more keyframes means faster seeking and better recovery from errors.
Keyframe interval settings
| Use | Keyframe interval |
|---|---|
| YouTube uploads | Closed GOP of half the frame rate (15 frames at 30 fps) |
| Instagram API uploads | Closed GOP |
| Live streaming to Twitch or YouTube Live | 2 seconds |
| Archive or masters | Encoder default (often 250 frames) is fine |
| Editing intermediates (ProRes, DNxHR) | Every frame is a keyframe |
Lossless trimming tools can only cut cleanly at keyframes, which is why a fast "trim without re-encoding" may start slightly before the point you chose.
Frequently asked questions
What is a keyframe in video?
A keyframe (I-frame) is a frame stored in full. The frames between keyframes (P- and B-frames) store only what changed, which is where most of the compression comes from. Players can only start or seek cleanly at a keyframe.
What is a GOP?
A group of pictures: one keyframe and the frames that depend on it, up to the next keyframe. A closed GOP does not reference frames outside itself, which makes the file easier to cut and process.
What keyframe interval should I use for YouTube?
YouTube recommends a closed GOP of half the frame rate: a keyframe every 15 frames at 30 fps, about two per second. The Instagram API also asks for a closed GOP.
Is a keyframe in video encoding the same as a keyframe in animation?
No. In editing and animation software a keyframe marks a point where you set a value (position, opacity) and the software interpolates between them. In encoding it is a fully stored frame.
What is the difference between a frame and a keyframe?
In animation every frame is a picture; keyframes are the few where you define values and the rest are interpolated. In compression, most frames store only changes and keyframes store the full picture.
What keyframe interval should I use for streaming?
Two seconds: Twitch requires it and YouTube Live recommends it, so viewers can join and switch quality quickly.
Let Koldflux pick the settings
Koldflux chooses the codec, container and bitrate for each platform when it exports.
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Sources and how we checked
- YouTube Help: Recommended upload encoding settings (checked 2026-10-05)
- Instagram API: IG User Media (reel, story and video specifications) (checked 2026-10-05)
- MDN: Web video codec guide (checked 2026-10-05)
- Twitch Help: Broadcasting guidelines (checked 2026-10-06)
- YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates and resolutions (checked 2026-10-06)
Reviewed October 6, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Definitions follow the specifications and platform documentation linked above; platform tables come from the same registry the Koldflux tools use.