Have it done for you

If you found an old slideshow and would rather not deal with it yourself, send me the project file. I turn it into an MP4 that plays on any phone, TV or computer and email it back within one business day of payment.

Both are fixed prices in US dollars, plus sales tax where it applies. Nothing is charged when you upload. If something is missing I tell you before you pay, and if I cannot make the video, you get every cent back.

One business day means Monday to Friday, Ontario time. Pay on a Friday evening and the video arrives by the end of Monday.

What to send

A Photo Story project is a single .wp3 file, and that file is enough. It carries copies of the photos, your narration and the music.

A Movie Maker project (.wlmp from Windows 7 to 10, or .mswmm from Windows XP and Vista) is different. It holds no photos or video at all, only where they were on the old computer. So send the project file and the folder with the photos, clips and music, zipped into one file. On Windows, right-click the folder and choose Compress to ZIP file (on older Windows, Send to, then Compressed folder).

The form takes up to 20 files, 500 MB each and 800 MB in all. If yours is bigger, email me and I will send a link for large files.

What you get back

An MP4 video (H.264 with AAC sound, the kind every phone, TV, Mac and PC plays) in the project's own shape at 1080p: 4:3 for most Photo Story projects and older Movie Maker ones, widescreen where the project was widescreen. For a Photo Story project I can also send a zip of the original photos, narration and music if you ask for it in the notes.

What comes through, and what does not

From Photo Story: every slide with its timing, pan and zoom, captions, narration and music. Transitions other than the plain crossfade play as a crossfade, and of the picture effects only black and white is reproduced. Music made inside Photo Story with its Create Music button cannot be rebuilt, because the project keeps only the settings for it, not the sound.

From Movie Maker: the trims, speed changes, transitions, pan and zoom, titles, captions, music, narration and each clip's own sound. Video clips saved as WMV, AVI or MOD, which older cameras and Windows itself produced, are the hard part, because my converter cannot read them directly. I convert those to MP4 on my own computer first with ffmpeg, a free video tool, and then build the movie. If a clip will not convert, I tell you before you pay. A few transitions and effects are simplified, title animations are close rather than exact, and a widescreen project from the Windows XP Movie Maker comes out 4:3, because those files do not record the shape.

If the project points at photos or clips that are not in what you sent, I tell you which ones before you pay. You can send them, have me leave those parts out (they would be black or silent), or have a refund.

Your files

They are uploaded over HTTPS to private storage on Cloudflare, the company that hosts this site. Only I open them, and only for this job. They are deleted 14 days after I deliver the video, and the download link stops working at the same time. Uploads that are never paid for are deleted after 14 days as well.

These are usually family photos and voices, and I treat them that way. Nothing is shared, posted or kept, and nothing from your project is ever used as an example.

Who does it

Me, Jonathon Wager. I run Plaug Studios from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, and I wrote Slideback. If you have a question before sending anything, write to [email protected].

Questions

The converter on this site is US$19. Why would I pay more?

You don't have to. If you are happy to open the project yourself, the self-serve export costs less and covers every project you have. This is for when you would rather hand it to someone, or when a Movie Maker project is full of WMV or AVI clips that need converting first.

I only have a .wmv video, not the project

Then the slideshow was already saved as a video, and any free converter can turn a .wmv into an MP4. This service needs the project file (.wp3, .wlmp or .mswmm).

Where do I find the project file?

Search the old computer or drive for files ending in .wp3, .wlmp or .mswmm. They were usually saved in Documents or Videos. The guides have more on each one.

Can you add photos or change the music?

No. You get the slideshow the way it was made, not a re-edit.

How do I pay?

Through Stripe, by card. I never see the card number.