This week I’ve put together a video to walk you through the process of making a slideshow with Boinx Software’s latest release, FotoMagico 5 Pro.
I’ve put a small version of this video into the podcast feed, but to see the detail, take a look at the below video, and click on the full screen button (the four arrows pointing outwards) for the best experience. Also see below for a little bit of additional information.
You can pick up a copy of Boinx Software’s FotoMagico 5 Pro on their web site or from the Apple App Store.
Very Stable, But…
This is probably the most stable version upgrade of FotoMagico that I’ve seen from Boinx Software in recent years, but there are a couple of things that I’d like to point out.
Firstly, at the moment, as of version 5.0.6, if I add a few images to a new slideshow before saving it, when I do save it, FotoMagico takes forever, and I generally have to Force Quit the program. The project is saved OK, so this isn’t critical, but it’s a pain in the behind. To avoid this, I go in and fill out some of the information in the Slideshow > Settings > Info tab, then save the slideshow before adding any images.
Exporting a 4K MP4 Video
The other thing is that although Vimeo support 4K video, there is no 4K video preset under Vimeo from the Share menu. The only other option for 4K video at the moment is YouTube, but you are currently forced to log in to YouTube, and FotoMagico then tries to upload the video after export, and I do not want my content on YouTube. You can stop the upload, but that means you have to be around until the rendering stops. I sometimes hit Export and then go and do something else, so I don’t want to sit on the process.
Anyway, hopefully this will all be changed soon, but for now, I’m using the Custom option from the Share menu, and specifying the following settings. If you get an error when trying to export an mp4 video at 4K using the Custom option, ensure that you select High Profile Auto for the Profile Level. This is what enabled me to output a 4K H264 mp4 video for upload to Vimeo.
4K Video Settings
To set the actual size for the video, use these settings under the Rendering tab too.
4K Video Rendering Settings
For the Audio settings, I matched the settings I used for my music, which was 48 kHz at 320 kbit.
4K Video – Audio Settings
Anyway, I hope the video helps. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Also, if you create a slideshow of your own using FotoMagico, leave a link. I’d love to see what you made.
Show Notes
Get FotoMagico 5 Pro from Boinx Software here: https://boinx.com/fotomagico/
Or from the Apple App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/fotomagico-5/id1023352572?l=en&mt=12
Subscribe in iTunes for Enhanced Podcasts delivered automatically to your computer.
Download this iPhone format video, or simply watch the full sized video above, as it’s much better. 🙂
Thanks for a very informative video. I already use many of the techniques that you describe but there were several that I have not used before. Your comments on exporting are interesting. I have a number of holiday slideshows that I want to export to run from a memory stick on a 4K TV but Fotomagico does not provide an option for this. I therefore went to the Custom menu and tried to export a slideshow from there. Right at the end of the video rendering, the program fails with an error message but I had not been using the High Profile Level Auto setting which you use. I have one exporting right now using that setting (only 7 hr to go) and I hope that will work. No doubt, if and when Apple produce a 4K Apple TV, Boinx will introduce an appropriate preset for that.
I was interested to see that you had ignored the Fotomagico warnings about the slides being too big for the stage size that you were using. Do you normally do this?
Many thanks again
Hi Brian,
I’m pleased this was useful. I should also mention that for the 4K TV, I did have to select a relatively low Bitrate. I think my TV required about 20,000 before it would play video smoothly. If your video stops and starts, try reducing the Bitrate.
By the warning about the slides being too big, do you mean the size of the photos themselves? If so, yes, I ignore this warning. I think I even mentioned that I ignore this in the video. On my computer the full sized JPEGs do not slow down the program or the video, so I just leave them at full size.
Cheers,
Martin.
Hi Martin
I did mean the size of the photos themselves. With some of my earlier slide shows I reduced the size of the photos within Fotomagico, which I now regret. I’m having to re-size them back to full size JPEGs one by one for 4K TV! I have been setting bitrate on Auto in Fotomagico and haven’t seen any problem in running my slideshows (my TV is also limited to a bitrate of 20000). The finished slideshow is about 20GB in size (500 slides + music) but it runs smoothly from an NTFS formatted memory stick. If Apple doesn’t release a 4K Apple TV, then I’ll consider investing in a small disc drive on which to store and run my slideshows.
Hi Brian,
That’s pretty much why I don’t resize images too, especially if it doesn’t cause problems. Most of the time software developers put warnings like that into software to avoid people with systems that don’t have much resources from seeing problems. I generally ignore them until I see a problem.
I tried my higher bitrate slideshow via a hard disk to my TV and that didn’t work for me either. I got the feeling that it was more about the speed at which the TV can process the data rather than the speed of the drive, at least for my TV. Having said that, I was using a USB3.0 memory stick too, so there may not have been a lot of difference.
I was hoping for a 4K Apple TV with the last update too. My TV works terribly with Apple computers, so it’s currently the weak link with a 4K Apple TV. It’s still all great though. I love the detail available on the TV via the memory stick once I figured out all of the bitrate stuff.
Cheers,
Martin.
Dear Martin Bailey
I want a viewpoint honest (I’m a professional photographer) Photo of Magic for presentations on Vimeo and Yotube (at time isn’t possible generate exe as PTe.exe Proshow and must professional M.Object or Platinum Wings).
What are the limits of Foto Magico? How much must be “heavy” (file/s) for a good and detailed slideshow?
It seems for me, however, that should not exceed 2 mega for not having a too GByte monster.
Thanks Kite stramrt
Manunzio
Ps. Do you not think like me the name “Foto Magico” is too stupid?
Pss. If possible a reply via email
Hi Manunzio,
I used Proshow many years ago, and liked the exe slideshows, and it was pretty powerful, but I started to use FotoMagico after moving to Mac, and I’ve been happy with it. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to get the results I want, but the answer is usually easy enough to find after a few minutes.
I use full sized images when creating the slideshow, but only the resolution required for your output video is used. The images aren’t embedded or anything, so the size of your original photos is irrelevant.
I don’t think the name is stupid. It’s catchy and easy to remember.
Cheers,
Martin.
Great tutorial, Excellent video (and beautiful photography and music). Thank you.
You’re very welcome Bart. I’m pleased you liked it.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Awesome. Very helpful. Have you been able to get StandAlone Player App to run from an upload to Dropbox? Thanks!
Probably one of the best tutorials I have seen in a long time. Thank you Martin.
I am hoping to improve my photographic presentations and love the look of the Foto Magico program, however, I usually use my photographs in conjunction with a talk. Is it possible to manually advance the images during my talk whilst retaining the transitions?
Thanks John.
There is a kind of presentation mode, in which I imagine you can do this, but I haven’t tested it myself I’m afraid.
If transitions are the main goal though, have you considered just using Apple Keynote? I use Keynote for my presentations and it works well.
Cheers,
Martin.
Yes I use Fotomagico as support for talks. Go to Options and in the Slide panel set the show to Continue ‘At Mouse Click”. I hold my wireless mouse in my hand and click each time I want the slide to move on. One advantage is that you can include one or more slide shows in your presentation by selecting just those images and have them Continue “After Duration” This can give both you and the audience a bit of a break.
There you go. I thought I’d seen that in there, but haven’t had time to check.
Thanks for pointing this out Trish!
Hi Martin, many thanks for a great tutorial on Fotomagico Pro. As a result of watching this I purchased the pro version recently and am in the process of learning the ropes. I have a semi complete wedding show I am working on so hopefully will complete soon. I too was using Proshow whilst on a windows machine and had found it difficult to find an equivalent for the Mac till now.
If you could answer a couple of questions for me I would appreciate it:
1. When creating a text slide how can I get the text to stop in the middle of the image rather than scroll right of the screen
2. I have created a ‘credits’ slide at the end of the show but cannot get the timing right to finish the scroll before the next slide kicks in which hides the image.
many thanks
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
Sorry for missing your comment and questions!
It’s been so long I’m sure you figured out the answers to your questions already. If you did not, please let me know and I’ll provide some help. I’ll have to crank up the software and check before doing so, so I’ll wait for your reply first.
Regards,
Martin.
Thanks Martin, That worked
Many thanks
Ally
Hi Martin,
Thank you for this FotoMagico 5 tutorial!!! A tremendous aid to me because I have been asked to provide a reunion slideshow in 2 weeks! I must say this is the finest software tutorial I have experienced….the logic, teaching style, content covered, etc. Well done!!
And, your Namibia photography and videography are stunning!!!!
Thank you again!!!!
Rob
You’re very welcome Rob. Thanks for checking out the tutorial and for the kind words. I’m pleased you found this useful.
Regards,
Martin.
Thank you, Martin, from Tampa, Florida. I enjoyed learning FotoMagico Pro because you were very thorough, patient and deliberate in your instructive video. Though I used Premiere Pro 10 years ago and had some residual knowledge, your presentation refreshed my memory and taught me the commands and tools needed to get quickly on board with my photography presentation.
Hope to join you again soon.
Blessings,
Jack
Thanks Jack! I’m pleased you found this interesting.
I’ve visited Fort Lauderdale, not far from Tampa a number of times in the early 2000s. I used to work for a company based there until 2010 when I incorporated my photography business.
Stay well, and sane in the strange times we’ve found ourselves in.
Regards,
Martin.
Thanks Martin for a great tutorial. You go through your 4K settings. My slideshow becomes too large then (+20GB). What are my options? What are the best settings for 1080HD slideshow?
Hi Michael,
Vimeo have a great page with all the recommended settings here: https://vimeo.com/help/compression
Regards,
Martin.