Tracking Shot is a free online service that deserves a look. There’s no easier way to build videos and slideshows from your photos, movies and music. Here’s a glowing review of Tracking Shot from CNet.
There’s no shortage of sites for sharing photos, with interfaces that are frequently cumbersome even for the simple tasks of uploading photos and sharing them with friends and family. I praise Adobe Premiere Elements below, which can build movies from photos, but it’s serious, heavyweight software; the last thing you would do is pull it out to send mom a quick slideshow of the weekend recital.
Tracking Shot’s controls couldn’t be simpler and it’s exactly what you would use for the quick project: with a single click, your photos are automatically arranged into a video with all the “Ken Burns” effects – panning and zooming, interesting dissolves, and transitions on the beat of the music you choose.
I’ve manually built slide shows with Windows Movie Maker, individually choosing transitions and timing and panning. It’s a time-consuming pain in the neck and to be honest, Tracking Shot’s movies look better. Don’t like the way one came out? Click a button and the pictures are reshuffled. It’s fun!
Tracking Shot is under development, so no promises are made about long-term storage of your photos. Everything else about it is ready to go and accounts are free – give it a try!
