How to Create a Boomerang for an Instagram Post or Story

There are many interesting ways to share your stories and experiences with your Instagram followers. The Boomerang feature is one of the most popular ways to add fun to your Instagram videos and make them more memorable.

In this article, you will learn how to enrich your Instagram story with Boomerangs.

What Is Boomerang?

Boomerang is a video feature that allows its users to record super-short videos. First, Boomerang takes a series of rapid snapshots and then composes them into a video. The users can send their Boomerang videos to their Instagram friends or publish them on their Stories.

How to Make a Boomerang

Creating a Boomerang video is super-easy and fun to do. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Open up the Instagram app or go to the site on your device.
2. Now, tap on the + in the upper right-hand corner.
   
3. Scroll to Story at the bottom of the page.
   
4. Tap on the Boomerang icon on the menu to the left.
   
5. Select to upload photos or use the Record button in the center to record new content.
   
6. When Boomerang is done, it will allow you to do some basic editing. You can draw, write text, and toggle the sound on or off. The Sound, Draw, and Text icons are located in the upper right corner of the screen. After you’ve entered the text or drawn a form, you can edit them before publishing your Boomerang story.
   
7. Click Next and select where you’d like to post or send your Boomerang.
   
8. The Boomerang will then appear on your story.

How to Add Music to Boomerang

Since the Instagram version 51 (published June 28, 2018), the app allows you to spice up your videos and photos with music. This means that you can add music to your Boomerangs, as well. Here’s a step-by-step guide to adding music to Boomerangs. Before you start, make sure that you have the latest version of Instagram. With that out of the way, let’s proceed to add the music.

1. Open the Instagram app.
   
2. Find the Boomerang video you want to add music to and select it.
   
3. Tap on the Sticker icon on the editing screen then select the Music sticker. It is located in the sticker tray.
   
4. Browse the available songs and pick the one you would like to add to the video. The categories include Moods, Popular, and Genres. Select the category and pick a song. All songs on the list are available through Instagram, so you won’t have to log in to a music app.
   
5. Rewind and fast-forward until you have found the right part of the song and select it.
   
6. Tap on Done and publish the video to your story, send it to a friend, or save it to your device.
   

Boomerang Settings

Boomerang allows you to customize your experience with a number of settings. However, the settings can’t be accessed through Instagram. For that, you will have to launch the Boomerang app. Unfortunately, these settings are currently only available to iPhone users. To access the settings, open the Boomerang app and tap the screen four times with four fingers.

Some of the most important settings include:

1. For a smaller file size, choose 720p. If you want maximum quality, go with 1080p.
2. This setting determines how your Boomerangs will be played. You can select between four playback modes: forward, back, forward and back, and forward and back w/pause.
3. Frame Count. You can select anywhere between 3 and 10. This determines how many photos will make up your Boomerang.
4. Capture Frame Rate. It determines how fast the app will shoot the photos. You can choose anywhere between 1 and 20.
5. Playback Frame Rate. This setting determines how fast your Boomerang will be played. Again, the app allows you to set the rate anywhere between 1 and 20.
6. Loop Repetitions. As its name says, this setting allows you to choose how many times your Boomerang will repeat before it stops. You can choose anywhere between 1 and 10.
7. Default Camera Position. You can choose between the front and back cameras.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Boomerang a video from my camera roll?

Absolutely! After you’ve selected the boomerang icon on the left-hand side of Instagram, tap on the Upload icon in the bottom left-hand corner. You will immediately be taken to your camera roll.

Select the video you’d like to make into a Boomerang. Just keep in mind due to time constraints you won’t be able to use a long video.

Can I make my Boomerang Story permanent?

Yes! Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours. This means your friends will only get to enjoy them for a short time. Sometimes this is great, other times you want to keep your creation for friends and followers to view for years to come.

If you want to make your Story permanent, you’ll need to make it a highlight. After you’ve posted your story, you can add it to your highlights which will remain on your profile until you decide to remove it.

If your Story is already gone, check the Archive folder in Instagram. Your Boomerang may be there.

Final Thoughts

With the short and funny videos created through Boomerang, your Instagram stories will never look the same again. Shoot, edit, post, and change your Boomerang settings to find what works best for you and your followers. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun along the way.