Freeware to make a slideshow with soundtrack.

April 30, 2006 3:11 PM

What free software can I use to make a slideshow of photos, with a soundtrack of several songs that are started and stopped at various points during the presentation?

I found out that Microsoft has made it so that Powerpoint 2003 no longer supports the adding of custom soundtracks to slideshows. I can add a music file, but it won't last past the slide I add it on. Burning a CD of these songs isn't an option either. So I'm looking for alternative software. Requirements:

1) I can add a soundtrack. I want to start the first song at the very beginning of the presentation, and then change the song when the slides start showing a different theme.

2) The slideshow be portable. I'm making it on a library computer, I'll need it to be played on a friend's laptop. I can install software on that laptop if I need to, but it'd be preferable not to.

3) I can manage the timing of transitions for each slide. I want to be able to control the pace of the photos I'm showing, and occasionally lengthen the time a photo is displayed to match up with a lyric in the song.

4)(Last minute add). The slideshow advance automatically. Probably goes without saying, but just to make it clear I don't want to be clicking through the slides and starting/stopping songs myself.

Thanks in advance for any help!

posted by ElfWord to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows
posted by blue_beetle at 3:49 PM on April 30, 2006

I haven't tried it , but it looked interesting when I first saw it. See if Jumpcut fits your needs.
posted by bim at 3:53 PM on April 30, 2006

Response by poster: Blue Beetle, that looks great, but because I'm working on a library computer I can't install software that requires a restart or modifies system settings. If a friend lets me use their computer though, that will definitely be my first choice. Thanks!
posted by ElfWord at 3:57 PM on April 30, 2006

Windows Movie Maker is free and is bundled with XP, simple to use.
posted by fire&wings at 4:17 PM on April 30, 2006

Response by poster: Jumpcut doesn't appear to offer downloads of its movies(which seems kind of lame, they wouldn't let me get my own content?), so I wouldn't be portable. Also, the slideshow will be displayed through a projector, and I've had issues displaying movies through projectors, something to do with the format or the codecs, I don't really know.
posted by ElfWord at 4:20 PM on April 30, 2006

Perhaps user PowerPoint and make each song a slide?

Then, add whatever pictures to each slide as a custom animation.
posted by JMOZ at 4:25 PM on April 30, 2006

Try OpenOffice.org. It has a Powerpoint-alike component called Impress that I think will probably do what you want, and it can export the results to a Macromedia Flash file for display in any web browser.
posted by flabdablet at 6:04 PM on April 30, 2006

I'll second flabdablet's recommendation for OO.o. I prefer Impress to PowerPoint, firstly, and secondly, you can go with portable OpenOffice that you can dump on a thumb drive and run from there.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 6:23 PM on April 30, 2006

As blue-beetle mentions, Microsoft Photostory is simply the best option for Windows - It's free (requires WGA) and lets you create video for different profiles like for Pocket PCs, for posting on a webpage or for emailing friends.

Highly recommended.
posted by labnol at 12:26 AM on May 1, 2006

check out Picasa. It'll let you burn a cd and you can take your slideshow with you.
posted by mordecai at 9:14 PM on May 1, 2006