Slideshows are a great, fun way to compile memories and present them all together. Not just for yourself, but slideshows are a pretty good way to give a tribute to someone else as well.
Days of creating cliche, old-styled slideshows with Windows Movie Maker are long gone! This is the era of modern tools like Shotcut. Although Microsoft added a slideshow feature in its Photos app, it is still not good enough. In this article, let’s dive deep into how you can create photo or video slideshows with Shotcut.
What is Shotcut?
Shotcut is a free, open-source video editing program with several advanced features. Unlike most editing tools that work only with Microsoft Windows, Shotcut is compatible with macOS, Windows, as well as Linux.
If you are thinking that you will be able to make highly advanced slideshows with Shotcut right away, sorry to disappoint you but that’s not happening. There’s a steep learning curve in this case. However, once you explore a bit and get your hands dirty with the tool, you will see how powerful it is.
Creating a Shotcut Slideshow
Using Shotcut to create a memorable slideshow is a 10-step operation. Here is how it happens.
Step 1: Collect Your Content
Before you jump into the software, get your content ready. Make sure you have finalized a set of pictures or video snippets that you wish to include in your slideshow. Keep them in a separate folder in your computer where you can easily navigate towards them.
Step 2: Install Shotcut
Head to Shotcut’s official website and download the application according to the operating system installed on your machine. Execute the installation setup to install Shotcut.
Step 3: Explore Shotcut’s Features
After installing Shotcut, make sure you spend good time exploring its features so that you don’t get lost later. Some of the features include:
- A Preview Window: To preview your video
- Timeline: To keep track of your video project’s progress
- Top Menu: Includes several viewing/editing options (File, Edit, View, Settings & Help)
- Toolbar: Shortcuts like Open File, Save, Undo, Redo etc
We strongly suggest you turn on the Properties, Playlist and Filters options. This can be done via the View menu and turning on the Toolbar. Now go back to the View menu and turn on the 3 options we just mentioned and it will make your whole job a lot easier.
Step 4: Import Photos & Videos
Head towards the Open File option and load all the videos or photos that you wish to include in your slideshow by clicking on the Open button. The neat feature about Shotcut is that once you load your media content, it will always stay there arranged by the file names.
Make sure you name and save your project! Your project will be saved as an MLT XML file. You are recommended to regularly save your project if you want to avoid losing any progress in case of a mishap.
Step 5: Build a Timeline
Once you have loaded all your media content into the playlist section, it is now time to add up the content to the Timeline. This is where you will actually arrange and edit your slideshow.
If you want to move all the loaded files at once, go to Menu, followed by Add All to Timeline.
Step 6: Arrange Your Photos/Videos
Here you can try different orders for photos and videos to see what looks best. To change the order of photos or videos, simply drag them to your desired position.
You can easily view your current slideshow by going to the Preview control button options. This could be done at any stage of the editing process. However, to ensure that you are viewing your slideshow from the beginning, simply double-click on the first slide before previewing it. Doing so will take the playhead to the starting point.
While you are creating your slideshow, make sure that you are working on your current project and not their source files. You could check this by seeing if the Project option under the Preview section is selected or not.
You can also still add more files into your project using the same method described earlier. If you don’t like something within your slideshow, you can simply get rid of it by right-clicking on that item and then selecting Remove.
Step 7: Show Some Magical Editing Skills
Shotcut simplifies the process of creating a slideshow in a mind-boggling manner. Let’s have a look at some of the significant features it offers:
Motions with Panning Effects
Why keep your stills plain when you can add motions to them and make them fancier? To do so, select a photo from your Timeline, go to Video Filters, followed by Size and Position. By opening the Presets drop-down menu, you can try out various options for adding motion to your photos. Shotcut allows users to try and preview different options.
You will have to apply motions to each picture individually.
Fancy Transitions
Transitions never get old! They are a simple way to make your slideshows fun and catchy. In Shotcut, the default transition is Dissolve but it’s pretty easy to add other transitions between two clips as well.
First, drag one clip onto the other one so that a transition box appears. Select a transition effect and go to the Browser menu and select Properties. Now you will be able to try a bunch of different transition styles.
Default Duration for Pictures
By default, Shotcut allocates a time slot of 4 seconds to each photo you add into the slideshow. Usually, this is an optimal time for each picture. However, if it does not synchronize well with your background music, you can also change it.
Unfortunately, changing the duration of a picture isn’t as convenient as you would expect. To change the display duration of your pictures, you will have to make an effort before loading them into your playlist and timeline.
To begin with, import a single picture into Shotcut. Click on the + sign so that your picture starts to appear in the Playlist. Now, click on the picture and go to its Properties. Here, you will be able to change the default duration. Now when you take it to your Timeline, it will work according to your new settings. Your settings will remain the same for all photos you add into your Timeline in the future.
Fitting Content to Screen
A prime tip for creating a noteworthy slideshow is to ensure that all your included photos and videos fit to the screen. Black bars surrounding your media files simply ruin the aesthetic. Fortunately, Shotcut offers a way to fix this.
First, select a photo from your Timeline and then go to the Filters option from the menu at the bottom. Select Video Filters, followed by the Crop option from the drop-down menu. Finally, select the Center option. This will allow you to manually crop and adjust your photos/videos from top, bottom, and sides. For now, there is no batch option for such a task so you will have to do it manually for each photo or video.
Personalized Text
What else can be better than pouring out your feelings in the form of words? Shotcut allows users to add text on top of their images or videos. To do so, go to Filters and then Text. Now, simply type the text and decide where exactly you want to place it on the screen via the Preset section.
Step 8: Video Editing
Shotcut allows users to trim video clips. If you wish to trim a clip from just the end, you can do it directly from the Timeline. First, select the video on the Timeline. Now, a red line will appear, which you can drag to trim your video.
However, if you wish to trim it from the beginning as well as the end, you will first have to select it from the Playlist. Once you right-click on your video here, choose the Open as Clip option. Now you will be able to see two arrows with which you can trim your video. Since the changes aren’t automatically reflected in your existing Timeline, you will have to replace your old clip from the Timeline with this newly trimmed file.
These are just some of the extraordinary features Shotcut has on offer. If you play around and explore Filters, you will find tons of other cool features too.
Step 9: Insert Background Music
Try looking for music which fits well into your theme and sounds personalized. For example, if you are showing pictures from a party, look for pop songs. My all-time personal favorite is “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran. Similarly, if you are showing pictures from an emotional moment like a wedding ceremony, look for music that is soothing. “The Luckiest” by Ben Fold would do the magic!
Additionally, Shotcut allows users to use multiple audios in the background of a single slideshow. Cool, no?
It is recommended that you decide on what music you will be adding into the background before you set a new default time frame. This will save you some time as you wouldn’t have to go back and forth to change it every time.
To add music files into your slideshow, you just have to follow a few simple steps. First, go to Timeline’s menu and click on the Add Audio Track option. This will automatically create a new audio timeline under the existing video Timeline. Using the Open File option, add files into your Playlist and then easily drag and drop them into your new Audio Timeline.
Step 10: Synchronization!
Synchronization is the key element in creating a master-piece slideshow. Once you have added everything, make sure that your photos, videos, and the background music are synchronized to each other.
Step 11: Ready to Show Off!
All the zeal and zest that you invest in creating your slideshow will definitely pay off. Once you are done, it is time to export your slideshow. In the toolbar, you will see an Export button. Click on this button, followed by the Export File option.
As per default settings, your slideshow will be exported as an MP4 video file. The default resolution is 1920 x 1080 (HD), which is good enough to view on TVs as well. Once exported, you can share your slideshow with your loved ones, even on social media!
In conclusion, it can be said that Shotcut is an immensely powerful tool but only if you put it to good use. If you want to avoid frustration during your workflow, take some time and explore Shotcut’s features before you jump into it. If you follow this advice, it is guaranteed that you will end up with a mesmerizing and memorable slideshow!