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An 80+ year old friend of mine has an MP3 file he wants uploaded to YouTube (one of many I've already done for him). YouTube won't accept MP3s directly, but I've found some tools that can take an MP3 with an embedded picture, and convert it to an MP4 with the one picture as the (static) "video" that YouTube will show during playback.
Now he wants to get a little fancier - he's got an MP3 file but wants a couple of pictures to cycle through while playing back the "video". Essentially if the song lasts 4 minutes, and he's got 4 pictures, he wants the first picture to show for the first minute, the 2nd picture for the 2nd minute, etc. Nothing extra fancy, for sure, but that goes beyond the simple tools I have at my disposal.
I don't want to have to learn some big video editing tool; I'm aware those can get crazy-complex. I don't need that.
What's the best simple + free software to do this sort of thing? I would imagine what I need would show a timeline, and I'd tell it to show picture X from timestamps A through B, then picture Y for timestamps C through D, etc. Even simpler would be better.
Suggestions?
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Easy Video Maker looks like a good candidate ...
modified 11-Nov-22 12:46pm.
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Davinci Resolve[^].
It's as easy as all the others (I used VSDC before for my company promotional videos).
Lots of extremely popular films have been edited using it.
And the best of it is that it's free and easy to use even it has tons of power under the hood.
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Avidemux - Main Page[^]
really easy, doesn't have big things but I have managed videos that could not be opened with other software. It is a bit limited in functionality if you compare with davinci resolve suggested above, but it does what I need in a simple way.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Two softwares, both free on Windows 10.
1. OBS Studio for recording the video. This is to be manually done, by making a PPT of the pictures, and cycling them on the screen, while OBS Studio captures the screen as video.
2. Clipchamp, available free from Microsoft store to add in the music, and export as a video + music mp4 file.
Additionally, Handbrake software (also free) can be used to reduce the size of the mp4, before upload to YouTube.
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OpenShot Video Editor | Download[^]
Perhaps overkill, but offers a nice playground. Unfortunately it has no automatic distribution of the pictures, you have to put them on a timeline and expand them to the desired duration but it works.
As far as I remember our canon video-cam also came with a video editor ('HDWriter') which could merge videos, pictures and music. But that was more then 10 years ago ...
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I use the following:
AviDemux (It's about as simple as it gets)
FFMpeg (Command line driven, can be complex but very powerfull)
OpenShot (Takes a bit to learn, but once you do, quite good)
OBSStudio (Great for mixing things in live)
However, if ALL YOU WANT TO DO is a conversion and nothing else, lest not forget that "VLC Player" can do all sorts of conversions, and a surprising amount of other tricks too.
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PowerPoint!
It's not free, but assuming you already have it.
It's trivial to setup a template for him. Slap in an audio player that he could probably load the file into.
And then there is a feature to save it as a movie.
I used it for my fathers Memorial, and was quite happy with how it came out.
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I don't know why I didn't even think of PP, but yeah, I gave it a quick whirl, and it looks like it'll do. Thanks for the recommendation - I'm not quite ready to put it all together, but it's definitely the first thing I'm gonna try to put together the real thing.
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Yeah, It was super simple.
I've actually misused it for a lot of things 
Thanks for the response. I think it's best when other people here how easy it is.
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Yeah, while I appreciate some of the other suggestions I got, they have to be overkill. AviDemux? VLC? I've already been using those programs for years, and was not aware they could do what I'm after (assuming that's actually the case). This tells me there's so many options in those programs that it's difficult to find them (clearly, I have missed them). It all gets lost in the noise.
So PowerPoint...play an MP3 in the background...add X number of slides...place one picture per slide...save as video...tell it to run each slide for [song duration / number of slides] seconds - done.
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Uhhmmm, I'd have to disagree with people suggesting DaVinci resolve. I use it and like it but it is huge and complex, so sorry, it doesn't fit the 'simple' software for an 80 yo IMO.
My suggestion would put some burden on you, but I would suggest ffmpeg.exe
No install necessary with this so you could just give him a zipped folder containing it and a batch file you would have to create after researching the command necessary to do this sort of "video" from an mp3 and pictures which I know it can do.
In this folder he would unzip onto his system, each time he wants to create a video:
-he should place his pictures named 1.jpeg, 2.jpeg, etc. or similarly named...guess if he has jpeg, png, gifs this could be more of a challenge.
-he should place his mp3 in this folder and name it audio.mp3 or something fixed you chooose and refer to in your batch file.
-He should then execute your batch file which will find how many audio files there are, find the length of the mp3, calc the length of each picture, then craft the command to send to ffmpeg to make the "video".
Ok, it could be a challenge to get the length of the mp3 via a batch file so maybe you could make a text file where he places that value, or even better, have him do the calcs of the start times of each image and place in the text file and you grab that info within your batch file.
He should easily be able to see the length of the mp3 and do that simple calculation.
This puts some up front time on you but how much of your time will it consume supporting whatever software you choose that he'd have to download, install, be trained on, and use appropriately every time?
Instead of a batch file a quick console .net app might be quicker to create that does the above, too.
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I'm going to recommend Canva https://www.canva.com/. I believe their free version allows you to create and edit videos. Also, Clipchamp is pretty easy and has a free plan, https://clipchamp.com/en/. I believe Microsoft just acquired it as a replacement for Windows Movie Maker.
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Still does the job for me; includes screen capture. I think the final result still has to be converted from an MS format (to say mp4) but I haven't found that to be an issue.
Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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He's probably not using Linux - but of all the editing tools I've used, the simplest I've come across is KDEnlive. It's reasonably simple - and yet powerful.
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How about Windows Movie Maker?, it's discontinued, but if you can find in the internet the installer for Windows Essentials or Windows Live Essentials, then you can install it from there.
According to Wikipedia it was officially replaced with Video Editor (included in the Microsoft Photos app) and/or with Clipchamp.
"Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again." Ray Bradbury
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People would have noticed that I have been absent for a month from this foruum now.
I am undergoing treatment for Covid and related illnesses since July 2,
I was told that two days after admission to the hospital, my heart stopped and I had to be resuscitated.
I have no stories to tell of going towards a bright white light, and returning to the earth sorrowfully because I was in a coma all along.
I have a long haul ahead of me.
Wish me luck as I face future struggles.
Thank you all.
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Good luck, sounds like you were pretty lucky already!
The most expensive tool is a cheap tool. Gareth Branwyn
JaxCoder.com
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Good luck - and I really hope you don't need it!
I've had it, and it was nasty, but not as bad as it hit you. Even then, it was months before I was physically capable of that much - I suspect you have a long haul ahead of you. ![Rose | [Rose]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I have been fortunate in not catching it (yet), even though I am in one of the vulnerable groups (over 75). I can only wish you all the best in the long road to full recovery.
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Yes. I noticed that you were missing in the daily Wordle. Didn't know how to contact you.
Glad that you are back safe and sound.
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Good luck and swift recovery.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Good and prompt recovery
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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