Slideshow video from photos, with music, transitions and titles
You have 80 photos from the trip, the wedding or a whole life, and an evening to turn them into something people can watch together. Attach them and this prompt has your todo.is agent order them, apply gentle motion and cross-fades, time the photos to your music, add titles, and give you a 1080p MP4 for a TV, a projector or sharing.
The prompt
- Make a slideshow video from the attached photos for [OCCASION]. Order: [ORDER]. Show each photo about [SECONDS PER PHOTO] seconds with a slow zoom or pan and soft cross-fades, never cropping off heads. Music: the attached track, and fit the video length to the song. Start with a title card "[TITLE]" and end with "[END TEXT]". Add section titles: [SECTIONS OR NONE]. Format: [FORMAT]. Skip blurry and duplicate photos and tell me which ones you left out.
What to change
- [OCCASION]: E.g. "my parents' 40th anniversary party", "a memorial service", "our Japan trip", "the team's year in review".
- [ORDER]: "by date taken", "the order I attached them", or "group by place".
- [SECONDS PER PHOTO]: 3 to 5. Fast songs suit 3 seconds, slow songs 5.
- [TITLE]: E.g. "Rosa & Daniel · 40 years".
- [END TEXT]: E.g. "Here's to the next 40" or "In loving memory, 1948-2026".
- [SECTIONS OR NONE]: E.g. "The early years / The kids / Travels / Today", or "none".
- [FORMAT]: "16:9 1080p for a TV or projector" or "9:16 for phones".
Example result
- Slideshow: Rosa & Daniel · 40 years
- Anniversary party · by date taken · 4 seconds per photo · your song (4 min 12 s) · 16:9 1080p
- Structure
- • 0:00-0:08: title card "Rosa & Daniel · 40 years" in a cream serif on soft black, fading into the first photo
- • 0:08-1:10: "The early years" (1986-1992): 15 photos, wedding day, the first flat, the yellow car
- • 1:10-2:15: "The kids" (1992-2008): 17 photos, first steps, school plays, the beach at Tenby
- • 2:15-3:20: "Travels" (2009-2019): 16 photos, Lisbon, the Highlands, the 25th anniversary in Rome
- • 3:20-4:04: "Today" (2020-2026): 14 photos, grandchildren, the garden, last Christmas
- • 4:04-4:12: end card "Here's to the next 40", music fades out
- How it was edited
- • Every photo gets a slow zoom or pan (about 5% movement), aimed at faces so no one is cut off
- • Portrait photos are shown on a softly blurred copy of themselves instead of black bars
- • Cross-fades of 0.8 s land on the song's beats; section titles appear when the song changes
- • Old scanned prints were straightened and slightly brightened; colours were left natural
- Left out (12 photos)
- • 7 near-duplicates (kept the sharpest of each burst)
- • 4 blurry photos: IMG_2231, IMG_2240, scan_014, scan_031
- • 1 screenshot of a map
- Say "put scan_014 back" if any of them matter to you.
- Files delivered
- • rosa_daniel_40_years_slideshow.mp4: 1920x1080, 4 min 12 s, about 240 MB, plays on smart TVs, laptops and USB sticks
- • rosa_daniel_40_years_share.mp4: a smaller copy (about 45 MB) to send by email or chat
- Playing it at the party
- • Test it on the actual TV or projector the day before, with sound
- • Bring it on a USB stick as well as on your phone
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in the occasion, order, title, end text and sections.
- Attach your photos and one music track (several uploads are fine, up to 50 MB per file) on the Today screen.
- Your agent builds the slideshow with ffmpeg and sends the MP4 plus a list of photos it left out.
- Ask for changes ("move the Rome photos earlier", "slower") and get a new version, or a smaller copy for email.
Tips for a better result
- Number or rename photos if the order matters and they have no dates, like old scanned prints.
- One song of 3 to 4 minutes fits about 50 to 70 photos at 3 to 4 seconds each. Add a second song for more.
- For memorials, choose 5 seconds per photo and slow cross-fades. People want time to look.
- Scan old prints at 300 dpi or more; your agent can also restore faded photos before adding them.
- Use music you own or a royalty-free track, especially if the video will be posted online.
slideshow video from photos: FAQ
- How many photos do I need for a slideshow video? About 15 per minute at 4 seconds each. A 3 to 5 minute slideshow with 45 to 75 photos holds attention best at an event.
- Can I mix photos and short video clips? Yes. Attach the clips too and say where they go; your agent trims them and fits them between the photos.
- What's the best format for playing on a TV? A 16:9 1080p MP4. It plays on almost every smart TV, laptop and projector, often straight from a USB stick.
- Is it different from a birthday video message? A slideshow is longer and made for a group to watch together. For a short personal message to send to one person, the birthday video message prompt is a better fit.
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