Watching someone you only know from a black and white photo move, or your grandparents on their wedding day, is a moving experience. With Vidia you can animate an old photo of an adult relative and turn it into a short video in which they blink, breathe and smile naturally.
Which effects to use
- Photo comes to life. Small, natural movements, a blink, a breath, a smile and a slight turn of the head. It is the effect designed for memories. HD, 8 seconds.
- Age 40 years. If you have a youthful photo of someone who is older today, you can see how they gain years in the video. HD, 8 seconds.
- Cinematic zoom. For group photos, a family home or a village, a slow move in without animating the people.
How to prepare an old photo
- Scan it if you can. A desktop scanner at good resolution gives the best detail. If you do not have one, photograph it with your phone.
- Flat light and no reflections. Place the photo on a table next to a window, without direct sun, and shoot from above, perfectly parallel. Take the photo out of the frame if it has glass.
- Crop. Remove the white borders, the album or the table, and leave the portrait centred.
- A single person. If the photo is a group shot, crop to the person you want to animate, with the face clearly visible.
- No filters. Do not apply beauty filters or aggressive colourising before uploading it. The AI works better with the original image.
JPG, PNG or WEBP up to 8 MB all work.
What to expect from the result
The video is a recreation by the AI, not a recovered recording. The person moves believably, but the AI may vary a detail of the face, hair or clothes, especially if the photo is damaged or low resolution. In black and white photos it usually keeps the original look, although it may change the tone a little. That is why each video includes a free redo before downloading it.
The person does not speak. We do not move the lips to put words in their mouth or imitate their voice.
Limits we respect
- Adults only. We do not animate photos in which a minor appears, even if it is an old photo of someone who is an adult now. The automatic check looks for this before payment.
- With permission and with respect. Use photos of your family or of people who have given you permission. In the case of relatives who have passed away, think about how the rest of the family will feel before sharing the video.
- No famous people. Google's models reject images that look like well known people.
Ideas for sharing it
A family gathering, a wedding anniversary, your parents' birthday or a tribute. The video arrives as an MP4, vertical or horizontal, ready to send by message or project onto a screen. Your photo is used only to create the video and is deleted after a few days.