Backgrounds: A special image that either sits behind pictures like a scene or on top of pictures like a picture frame. The background image plays a large role into the theme of your movie, much like that of a backdrop for a stage performance or a set for a Hollywood movie.

Background Sets: A set of 2-8 images that are coordinated. The images within a set are used throughout your movie or chapter in such a way as to add interest to your pictures.

Animated Backgrounds: Images that have movement. It can be as subtle as a moving cloth or more dynamic such as a photo album opening and closing.

Background Image Class: All background images found in our Backgrounds Gallery have a class assigned to it. When looking for your background(s), you will need to know which package you are ordering since each package allows only certain background images to be used. For example, if you are ordering the Premium Package, you may select any background image that is either a Class A or a Class B. You may not choose a Class C or Class D image in this example.

Cross Fade Transitions: A cinematic effect where the top image slowly fades away while at the same time the bottom image slowly appears.

Advanced Transitions: A group of cinematic effects which occur between frames or pictures. There are many different styles of advanced transitions and include such styles as wipes, rotations, blinds, etc.

Animated Transitions: A special type of cinematic effect where the transition is more readily seen due to an animated graphic. An example of this type of transition is seeing a butterfly fly across the screen and have the pictures change during the flight.

The best way to understand transitions is to watch our Transitions Demo on our Demos page.

Chapters: The best way to understand movie chapters is to think of them as book chapters. They are separate sections within your movie usually designated with the change to a new song. Chapters are not limited to only having one song each. No matter how many songs are in the chapter, the pictures are coordinated together by being a special time frame (i.e. 1960's, "Childhood" or "The Ceremony") or a particular group of people (i.e. family or siblings).

Chapter Titles: A special frame in the movie that introduces the upcoming chapter.

Continuous Chapters: Chapters which are only played continuously in the movie and cannot be selected on the Main Menu.

Chapter Titles on Main Menu (Chapter Selection): The different chapters are listed on the Main Menu so that you can jump to that section in the movie. Even with Chapter Selection, you have the ability to play the entire movie by selecting the "Play All" on the Main Menu.

Captions: Text that appears over pictures usually stating a date, person's name or short phrase.

Picture Groupings: A group of 2-6 pictures which are shown together on the screen.

Song Length: You have the option to use only a portion of a song instead of the entire song. In this case, it works best if the song repeats a chorus several times throughout the length of it and can be easily stopped just before the chorus round. If the song cannot be edited or you want the entire song used but don't have enough pictures, we can extend the time each picture is seen during that particular song.

Digital Photo Cropping: Your original photos are not harmed or touched in this process since we are only talking about the scanned pictures we work with. Digital Cropping is when we remove some areas of the picture to better highlight the focus of the picture.

Credits Page: This page is similar to the credits seen in movies where there is a scrolling page with names and job titles. The credits page can be used to spotlight a bridal party (i.e. John Smith, Best Man, etc.) or to highlight a family (Sue Fisher, Mother, etc.). It can also be used in a more unique way highlight a long poem or song lyrics. You may upgrade this feature by adding pictures of each person listed in the credits for $5 each picture.