# How do you make a YouTube video with still images? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024 "2008-10-15T12:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/1 "2008-10-15T12:17:30Z")
I’m talking about the kind where a song is played, and still images are shown with different transitions, such as [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWNJmM8GLy0). There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of videos like this on YouTube, so how do these people make them? I have a song. I have images. I have a computer. I have net access. I have a YouTube account. What’s the missing ingredient that I need to put all these things together to make a video I can upload? I’ve written to some of the people who have these kinds of videos up, but no one has ever gotten back to me. Btw, I realize that most of these would be considered copyright violations. I don’t have that problem because I have the artist’s permission. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/2 "2008-10-15T12:40:46Z")
I am pretty sure that programs like Windows Movie Maker let you use still images in the same way that you use clips. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/3 "2008-10-15T12:55:41Z")
Thanks for the tip, but I can’t buy a Windows program. Are there any freeware, or at least shareware programs that will do the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/4 "2008-10-15T12:59:53Z")
Windows Movie Maker is free, it comes already installed with (at least) XP and above. ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/5 "2008-10-15T14:21:08Z")
What operating system are you running? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/6 "2008-10-15T17:27:31Z")
[www.download.com](http://www.download.com) has lots and lots of free programs, including Movie Maker for XP and Vista. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/7 "2008-10-15T17:35:13Z")
If Movie Maker doesn’t do it for you, [this](http://www.download.com/Pinnacle-Video-Spin/3000-13631_4-10747819.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10841376)looks promising, but I haven’t tried it. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/8 "2008-10-15T20:09:05Z")
Sorry, I’ve been away from my computer since I posted this morning. **Brandon** , I am running XP, and… > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Windows Movie Maker is free, it comes already installed with (at least) XP and above. Well what do you know! I had no idea. I just checked and sure enough! And here, I had it under my nose all this time. _sheepish_ TWDuke, thank you for the other tips. They’ll come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/9 "2008-10-15T20:50:45Z")
Please, for the love of Og, learn how to do panning and zooming on those still photos. Judicious use of the “[Ken Burn Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_Effect)” can make a series of stills actually watchable. ---
**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/10 "2008-10-15T21:34:53Z")
Another good program for creating nice slide shows in movie format is _Photo Story_, free from Microsoft. [See here.](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx) It is pretty easy to figure out, and gives you some nice pan and zoom effects, as well as being easy to add music to and all that. I use it with my digital photography students (grades 3-5) and they love the bit where you can create your own music. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/11 "2008-10-16T00:01:45Z")
I thought these movies were just Microsoft Powerpoint slide presentations. You should also have Powerpoint pre-installed. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-a-youtube-video-with-still-images/468024/12 "2008-10-24T12:00:37Z")
Whooo, did it! Thanks again for the help everyone! [Here’s my first try](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jat17gUY8D8). I even learned how to add subtitles (they can be turned off and on). > [@garygnu](#): > > Please, for the love of Og, learn how to do panning and zooming on those still photos. Judicious use of the “[Ken Burn Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_Effect)” can make a series of stills actually watchable. Uh, er, sorry, I couldn’t figure out how to do that. I’ll keep playing around with it though.