What movie is this? Three ways to find out
Three things work. Read the caption, the comments and the poster's other videos. Search a line of dialogue in quotes. Or give the clip itself to a clip finder. Trace is a free clip finder: share or paste the clip and get the film or show, the moment and where to watch it.
Free. Share a clip from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or X straight to Trace, or upload one saved on your phone. The box below takes links; uploads need the app.
Free: 3 traces a week on the webUnlimited in the appNo signupUsually under a minute
The three ways, in order of effort
- 1
Look around the clip first
Read the caption and pinned comment, then the poster's other videos. Accounts that post film clips often name the title in one of them.
- 2
Search a line of dialogue
If someone speaks, type the exact words in quotes into a search engine. Famous lines usually return the film; ordinary ones usually do not.
- 3
Give the clip to a clip finder
Share the video to Trace or paste its link on this page. A silent or music-only clip works too.
When the first two ways run out
A slowed-down clip of a rooftop scene, with a sad song laid over it and the caption "this movie broke me". There is no dialogue to search, the comments are all asking the same question, and the account posts a different film every day.
This is the case a clip finder is for. Paste the link above and Trace still finds it, new music, slowed speed and all. You get the title, the point in the film where the rooftop scene starts, and where it is streaming in your country.
Why asking in the comments is slow
Comment threads under a viral clip fill up with people asking the same thing, and the one reply that names the film is often buried or wrong. Searching for a line only helps when the line is well known. Both depend on someone else having already done the work.
What Trace cannot do
Trace needs the video. A description of a film, a photo of a poster, or a single screenshot is not enough for it. If a clip is not from a film or TV show, or Trace cannot place it, it tells you so instead of guessing.
Questions
What is the fastest way to find what movie a clip is from?
Give the clip itself to a clip finder. With Trace you share or paste the clip and the title comes back, usually in under 10 seconds.
Can I find a movie from a clip with no dialogue?
Yes. Clips with only music, or no sound at all, still work.
What if the clip is from a TV show?
Trace names the show and the season and episode the clip comes from.
Do I need an account?
No. You can paste a link on this page without signing up, and the app is free on iOS and Android.
Get Trace, free
With the app installed, Trace sits in the share sheet of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, and keeps everything you find in one library.
More ways to find what you saw
- Shazam for movies: What Trace does, and what it cannot.
- Movie finder: Name the film or show behind any video clip.
- From a screenshot: What works when all you have is a still.
- Movie scene finder: Find the film and the exact moment a scene happens.
- Find a TV show from a clip: Name the series, the season and the episode.
- TikTok movie finder: Find the movie behind a TikTok clip or edit.
- Identify a movie from a clip: What a clip finder needs from you, and what you get back.
- Find a movie by a quote: Search the line the right way, then what to do when it fails.
- What scene is this from?: The exact moment in the film, not only the title.
- How to find a movie from a video clip: every way people try, and the quickest.
- Popular films and popular TV shows, with where to watch each.
- Often traced: Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Avengers, Interstellar, Pulp Fiction, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Stranger Things