How to turn photos into a video
A carousel and a reel are the same design with a different timeline. In Emaki Studio your slides ARE the timeline: give each one a length and a transition, animate the layers on it, and export the whole thing as an MP4 - all encoded on your own device, with no upload and no watermark. Here is how.
- 1. Build the slides first Set up a design with a few frames and lay out the photos and text you want. A 9:16 (1080x1920) canvas is the shape for Reels, Shorts and TikTok; square and portrait work for feed video.
- 2. Set how long each slide holds Open the Motion panel and set a length per slide. Do this first - every per-layer timing is measured against it, so it is the one number to settle before the rest.
- 3. Add a transition between slides Pick what happens at each seam: a fade, a push, a zoom, a wipe or a hard cut. The transition sits on its own row between the two slides it joins, and its length is adjustable.
- 4. Animate the layers Select a layer and give it an entrance - fade, slide, zoom or pop - and choose whether it plays in, out, or both for a seamless loop. Text can also reveal letter by letter, word by word or line by line.
- 5. Export the video Open Export and choose the Video target. Export the whole sequence as one clip, or one file per slide for posting separately. MP4 is used where your device can encode it, with WebM and animated GIF as fallbacks.
Open the carousel editor · Read the full guide
- Can I make a video from photos without uploading them?
- Yes. The frames are drawn and encoded in your browser using the device video encoder, so the photos and the finished video never leave your machine.
- Can I add music to the video?
- Not in Emaki Studio - the export is video only, no audio track. Add music in the app you post from (Instagram, TikTok and Reels all let you pick a track after uploading).
- What format does the video export in?
- MP4 (H.264) wherever the browser can encode it, which covers most current devices. Where it cannot, the export falls back to WebM or an animated GIF.
- Is video export a paid feature?
- No - exporting video is free on every tier, without a watermark. Some of the fancier animation presets, easing curves and transitions are Pro, but the export itself is not.