If you see a GIF go viral Sunday during the MTV Movie Awards chances are T. Kyle MacMahon will have assembled it. The popular GIF creator, who believes GIFs are the new emoticons of online conversation, will be the human machine behind the show's "Giffies."
The Giffies is MTV's new GIF-based "awards show" that will honor memorable moments from the MTV Movie Awards in real time. MacMahon will team up with comedians from VH1's Best Week Ever to quickly create GIFs for made-up categories (e.g. Sexiest Lip Licking).
We interviewed MacMahon, who this week also won Best GIF Maker at the Shorty Awards, to learn how he determines what makes a great GIFable moment, how he produces the GIFs and how he got his start turning split-second moments into viral artwork.
The MTV Movie Awards begins at 9 p.m. ET on April 14 in Culver City, Calif. The GIFs will appear on MTV's Tumblr page and Twitter account.
What are some of your most-shared GIFs?
Recently my most shared are "Surprised Patrick Star with Britney Spears" and "Kourtney & Kim Kardashian Take Miami 'Peasants'."
And my highest ever with almost 300,000 notes is "Honey Boo Boo 'My Size Is Cute'."
What do you look for when trying to find GIFable moments?
It has to make me laugh and it has to be something I think people will want to share or save for future use. I like to create GIFs that people can save as "Reaction GIFs" to use as replies in emails, iMessage and IMs. I don't like to make a GIF just for the sake of making a GIF. Just because something is a GIF does not mean it will go viral. It has to either be funny, original, artistic, be some kind of reaction or be a shocking moment.
You're known for your reality TV GIFs, but you also produce GIFs for MTV. How did MTV notice you and what projects have you done with MTV prior to tonight's Giffies?
My site realitytvgifs.tumblr.com was where it all began (in 2011). I really just started making GIFs for fun. Once I got comfortable creating GIFs and using Tumblr, I began to brainstorm ways of how I could incorporate GIFs into my work at MTV. I started out creating Britney Spears GIF Walls with the MTV Buzzworthy Blog, which are a great compliment to our music video premieres. We cover all the pop divas, from Britney to Taylor Swift to Rihanna.
The first time we, or anyone, ever marketed "Live GIFs" was at the 2011 Video Music Awards. I had no idea how it was going to work out or if I'd even be able to work in real time that quickly, but I worked it out.
We were the first ones to hit the Internet with a GIF of Beyonce rubbing her baby bump.
We were the first ones to hit the Internet with a GIF of Beyonce rubbing her baby bump.
Since then I've done GIFs for DIVAS with VH1, Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show, the Olympics, the Grammys, RuPaul's Drag Race seasons 4 and 5 on logotv.tumblr.com, and both the 2011 and 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. We have a lot of fun with the GIFs and that's what people enjoy sharing.
A note to celebrities: If you want to go viral on Tumblr, roll your eyes in the audience when the camera is on you ... or trip on stage!
Where will you be working from tonight during the MTV Movie Awards?
We set up shop in the NYC offices.
Tonight I GIF with Beyoncé as my backdrop. #MovieAwards instagram.com/p/YGRVUXlZqG/
— T. Kyle MacMahon (@tkylemac) April 14, 2013
You're really, really fast with creating and sharing GIFs. What's your process?
We have a live feed of the show and I use the Animation window in Photoshop. I honestly don't know how I'm able to work so fast. I snap into this "zone" where I kind of feel like a machine. I'm a graphic designer and I've always had a sharp eye and wacky imagination, which definitely helps.
My eyes are mostly on my computer screen so I take queues from what I hear people around me reacting to. If I hear people gasp or laugh out loud, I know there's a moment to look for. I also use Twitter to track the event's hashtag to see what people are saying.
What are your top three GIFs you've ever created?
So hard to choose! ... I think the top three would be "Kim G Evil," "Big Ang 'I Don't Give A F*ck'" and "Danielle Staub Spreading."
Homepage image courtesy of John Shearer/Invision for MTV Networks/AP Images; other images courtesy of T. Kyle MacMahon
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