Photo To Movie first look

Photo to Movie — First Look

URL: <http://www.phototomovie.com>

Company: LQ Graphics <http://www.lqgraphics.com>

Cost: $45 to $50 (via purchase links at the company’s web site, or retail at CompUSA stores)

Availability: For Mac OS X or Windows XP (separate versions — Windows edition is still in beta, but not for long)

MyMac.com recognized Photo to Movie with an honorary award following Macworld San Francisco 2005. This innovative application inhabits a special niche, for slide show creators who want to go “Beyond the Ken Burns Effect.”

I spoke with developer Chris Meyer last week. He assisted me with some basic tutoring to import audio from iTunes into my first Photo to Movie (PTM) project. “Wow,” I said, “this is easy, fun, and really exciting, Chris.”

Installation had been effortless, as was adding slides to my show and editing their transitions. Chris gave me a few pointers during our conversation, then turned me loose to get creative. I could spend h-o-u-r-s working with PTM, and I intend to do so. But —

A new version will be released soon, so MyMac.com will wait until multi-track audio is available. Existing v3.2.2 customers can upgrade for free, using a straightforward disk image download.

If you have any experience with Apple’s iMovie software, PTM should be easy to learn. Total newcomers will have to ascend a modest but worthwhile learning curve to enter PTM’s comfort zone, and the journey will be enjoyable.

It’s easy to go overboard with PTM’s zooming and other effects, so remember that less-is-more for results that don’t have your audience reaching for a motion sickness cure. Ditto for PTM’s title feature, also being most effective when used in moderation.

A few sample completed PTM movies are available at the web site, but nothing compares to seeing your own images and favorite songs combined into a personal, complete QuickTime Photo to Movie.

I mention PTM’s Windows version because there is nothing to equal it for the Windows community. You or someone you know may be very pleased that PTM is cross-platform. A few of my Windows tutorial clients will be delighted to have PTM leave beta soon for full commercial release.

David Weeks and I will work with Photo to Movie when the new version is available, and provide a review soon afterward. My provisional MyMac.com rating is 4 out of 5, so you can audition this software with some assurance of its quality.

If readers have personal experience using PTM, please provide comments in our Article Discussion area below.