IceCream - Video making program.

[Hugh-AR]

IceCream - Video making program

When looking into video making programs there are two basic types of program.

1. For making videos from images/photos. These can either be your own photos (in which case, no issues with Copyright), or ones you download from the internet. There are two websites where you can download pictures that are Royalty and Copyright FREE.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
https://www.pexels.com/search/friends/



Start typing a category into the Search Box and some suggestions you can click on will appear in a drop-down box underneath.



.. and ..

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
https://pixabay.com/





By clicking the All images drop-down arrow you can choose Photos or Videos.

2. For making videos from video clips and images/photos.

Choose Videos from Pixabay to look for video clips (see above); and click this LINK below for video clips from Pexels.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
https://www.pexels.com/search/videos/friends/

Again, type a Category into the Search Box.

Whichever type of video you choose to do, you should have a dedicated FOLDER set up to put all your photos/video clips into .. and the MP3 music track you are going to put with the video.

[Hugh-AR]

Making a video using the ICECREAM Program

1. For making videos from images/photos, download the Icecream Slideshow Maker.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
https://icecreamapps.com/Slideshow-Maker/



They say this about it:

Free slideshow maker.
You can perfectly create a great video from photos without watermark even in the Free version of the program. Upgrade to PRO if you are interested in the advanced features.

There is a video on their website showing how to use their program, which I am putting here.

Icecream Slideshow Maker Overview | Official Video



When you download and run the FREE version you first see this ...



... and clicking on the + sign you get to select the images/photos for your project. Hence the reason for having them all in a DEDICATED FOLDER before you start.

When choosing my photos (21 of my own photos) I got this.



.. and when clicking the X it loaded the first 10 into the project.

If I can only have 10, then I don't want the first ten. So I deleted all of those (Dustbin), clicked the + Add Photo top left and chose just the 10 I wanted out of the 21 (using the Ctrl + click with the mouse on each photo I wanted individually).



The 'default' for each photo to show is 3secs. 10 photos at 3secs each would give me a Video of 30 seconds.

Looking in the bottom right hand corner there is a 'Settings'.



This is where you can change the 'defaults' of the program, so I have altered the time a photo shows from 3secs to 15secs.



Hovering my mouse over the music MP3 I see that the music plays for 2min 51secs = 171secs. I'll start with 10 photos + a 'Title' screen @ 15sec and see where the MP3 music ends. For the TRANSITIONS I chose to apply different ones between each clip individually (the choices are in the drop-down box).



Now to add the MP3 to the video. Click on Add Audio under the preview screen.



My final project is as below, showing the timings of each photo so the audio ends at the same time as the photos.




To make the video, click on CREATE.



Clicking on the down-arrow by the File Name I have the option to CREATE the video as something other than .webm .. eg. .mp4.



But when I tried to change the format to .mp4 I got this:



No matter. I already have a Video Converter program so shall use that to convert to an MP4.

How has this all ended up? Check it out below.
Double-click the video once it has started to bring it up to full screen. Double-click again to return to the forum.

When the advert appears, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

Without paying for the Pro version to check, this looks to me like a very basic video making program .. not a video editing program. ie. you can't do anything with your photos, like zoom in to something in the picture, or pan across from one side to the other.

And so much for 'not showing a Watermark'. It is in the bottom right hand corner of every picture in the video!

There is a User Manual you can read through which covers all of the above.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
https://icecreamapps.com/pdfman/Icecream-Slideshow-Maker-Manual.pdf

Here's another video made using the Pro version of this program, this time with downloaded pictures from pixabay.com.
Pro? 42 pictures and no Watermarks!

Once Upon A Time In The West

Music played on a Tyros 4 - Rodneys Video's - YouTube.

When the advert appears, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

This shows how doing an 'artistic' video to go with your music really can add another dimension to what people are listening to, as a video creates 'mood'.

[dentyr]

Interesting transitions. Makes a nice slide show, Den.

[Hugh-AR]

2. For making videos from video clips and images/photos.

Icecream Video Editor is the one for both photos and video clips.

https://icecreamapps.com/Video-editor/



This is what you see when you first run the program. The grey area at the bottom is a TIMELINE where your video clips/photos will show.



Click on the + Add Files to select the files you want from your FOLDER.

Again, trying to download more than 10 files resulted in this message:



This time I do not get a TITLE screen as well. It's 10 in total.

Having loaded the 10 photos I want, as well as the MP3 file, this is what I see.



Not sure why we need the pictures on a Timeline as the pictures are picked up in blocks .. you can't place the cursor at a random place along the timeline.

You can see top right that the video has been set up as 16:9 (this can be changed if required by clicking on the words 16:9 (Landscape) when a drop-down box appears with other options.




The TRANSITIONS available are as below. These are very disappointing! Nothing like some of the dramatic ones available in Slideshow Maker, like spinning in from afar. The Transitions also happen too quickly. I cannot see anything in Settings (or anywhere else) for changing the time for a Transition.



Settings.





And these options in General on the left only seem to be settings for the pictures.



Duration is for you to adjust how long a picture shows. In this program, this is adjustable in half second intervals for any time between 1sec and 20secs. Very useful for when you want to end the audio track at the same time as the video track.

Not having a Title screen I have had to put the title words over the top of the first picture, choosing bottom centre for the words to show.

There is also an option called Motion, which moves the whole picture in the direction chosen. I have chosen Move up for the first picture.




With my project all ready to go, I just have to click on Export video.



This gives me options, so I have changed the 'default' of where it will be Saved (Desktop) to my Project FOLDER.
I have also noticed that the default option is to SAVE as .mp4.



You see this while it's doing it.



And this when it's finished.



And this is the result. This program seems to have only minimal 'Effects', although there are things you can do (eg. like cutting a video clip) by using a computer with the program.

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Things you can do with the Video Editor Program

Bowling Alley, Weston-super-Mare - Video done with Icecream Video Editor.

When the advert appears, click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

NB. No Watermarks!

[Hugh-AR]

Now this is what can be done using VideoPad from NCH Software (this is the 'Paid For' version).

All the photos I have taken with my mobile (set to 16:9). The main Effect I like to use is the 'Zoom & Pan', and in this program they are 'custom' orientated. ie. I can Zoom IN or OUT of a part of a photo which I choose. Most 'off the shelf' programs, although easier to use, give you no option as to where in the photo they zoom to.

The music track is "I Am A Cider Drinker", played on my Yamaha Tyros 4 keyboard. A song originally performed by The Wurzels ..., the perfect accompaniment for a West Country venue! The counter-melodies are not multi-tracked .. they are programmed into a MULTI PAD.

I have also added a second SOUND TRACK .. the sound of a bowl being bowled, and the 'crash' as it hits the 'pins' at the far end of the bowling alley.

Allstars Bowling Alley and Entertainment Complex - Weston-super-Mare.

Double-click the video to bring it up full screen; then double-click again to return to the forum.

When the advert appears. click the X in the top right hand corner of the rectangle to remove it.

Hugh