Question 1

How does it work?

Accepted Answer

Choose the occasion and a style, upload your photos, and pay. We restore each photo, bring it gently to life, and set everything to music with a title card for the person or people it celebrates. A real person checks every film before it's sent. Your film arrives by email: within 72 hours on Essential, 48 on Premium, or 24 with Rush.

Question 2

What's the difference between Essential and Premium?

Accepted Answer

Essential ($99, or £89.99 in the UK) includes up to 20 photos, delivered within 72 hours. Premium ($139, or £119.99 in the UK) includes up to 30 photos, delivered within 48 hours. Both include restoration, gentle movement on every photo, music, a title card, a closing message, and both film versions (phone and TV).

Question 3

Which occasions do you make films for?

Accepted Answer

Memorials and funerals, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, graduations, retirements, quinceañeras, bar and bat mitzvahs — and pets: a pet memorial, or a birthday or gotcha day film of their years so far. Each occasion has its own set of styles for the title card and closing message.

Question 4

I need it faster. Can you help?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Add Rush at checkout ($29.99, or £25.99 in the UK) and your film arrives within 24 hours of payment. If you need it faster still, email support@motionmemoirs.com and we'll tell you honestly what's possible.

Question 5

Can I send the film as a gift?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Tick "This film is a gift" on the order form, add their name and email, and choose the day. It arrives in their inbox at 9am on that day (your time), and you get your own copy at the same time. There's no extra charge. If the day is sooner than your package's delivery time, add Rush.

Question 6

Do you offer discounts?

Accepted Answer

We keep our prices simple and the same for everyone.

Question 7

How many photos can I use?

Accepted Answer

Up to 20 on Essential and up to 30 on Premium.

Question 8

What makes a good photo?

Accepted Answer

The best copy you have, even if it's faded, scratched or small. No scanner? A phone photo of the print works well: hold your phone close and straight on, with no flash. Faces that are clear and looking roughly towards the camera give the most natural movement. Please upload one photo per file (one print per photo, not a whole album page). See our photo tips for examples.

Question 9

Which photos give less predictable results?

Accepted Answer

We don't invent what isn't there. So when a face is turned away, in profile, or only partly in the photo, we keep that person's movement small rather than guess their features. The same goes for people in the background, and for hair: we never add hair that isn't in the photo. Large groups are the other case: photos with many people, around eight or more, animate less reliably. If a group photo doesn't animate well we leave it out of your film and invite you to send a replacement; an old black-and-white photo is kept in as a beautifully restored still instead. Cropping to the people who matter works best.

Question 10

Do I need to crop or straighten my photos?

Accepted Answer

No. We automatically trim scanner borders, straighten tilted scans, turn sideways photos the right way up, and find the print in a phone photo of it, even in its frame.

Question 11

My photo is black and white. Will it stay that way?

Accepted Answer

We restore and colorize black-and-white photos by default, keeping the colors natural and true to the era. If you know real colors (hair, eyes, a favorite dress or car), tell us on the order form and we'll use them. If you'd rather keep them black and white, choose that on the order form: we'll restore them without adding color.

Question 12

My photo is damaged or low quality. Can you still use it?

Accepted Answer

Usually, yes. Restoration is part of every film: we repair fading, scratches, stains and softness while keeping the person looking like themselves. We'd rather a photo look slightly soft and true than sharp and wrong.

Question 13

I uploaded the wrong photo. What now?

Accepted Answer

For a short time after you pay (6 hours, or 1 hour with Rush) nothing has been processed yet, so you can swap photos yourself, free, from the link in your order confirmation email: up to 3 on Essential and 5 on Premium. After your film is delivered, swapping in a different photo is a paid photo redo ($19.99, or £17.99 in the UK), because it means restoring and animating a new photo from scratch.

Question 14

Can I choose the order of the photos?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On the upload step, choose "Oldest to newest", "Mix it up", or arrange them yourself. If you'd like to change it once we've started on your film, email support@motionmemoirs.com with your order number.

Question 15

Can I choose the music?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Pick a track from our licensed library, which has music for every occasion and mood, or let us choose one that suits your tone. We can't use commercial songs because of music licensing.

Question 16

What does "tone" mean?

Accepted Answer

Tone guides how the photos move. Calm tones (dignified, peaceful, tender) keep movement subtle. Joyful and lively tones allow warmer, more expressive moments, like smiles, gentle laughter and a shared glance, while never inventing anything that isn't in the photo.

Question 17

Can the title card be in another language or alphabet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Names and dates can be written in most scripts, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Greek and Cyrillic, and we check the spelling on every card before delivery. Our website and emails are in English; if you need help with wording, email us.

Question 18

Can I see the title card before I pay?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The order form shows a live preview of your title card, with your names, dates and style, as you type. Names appear exactly as typed, so please check the spelling.

Question 19

How will I receive my film?

Accepted Answer

By email, with two links: one for phones (vertical) and one for TVs and computers (widescreen). Both play in the browser and can be downloaded.

Question 20

How long can I access it?

Accepted Answer

Your links work for one year from delivery, and we'll email you a reminder before the film is removed. Please download a copy to keep.

Question 21

Can I share it?

Accepted Answer

Of course. Forward the email or share the links with family and friends. You're welcome to play it at a service, a party or a gathering.

Question 22

Something isn't right. Can you fix it?

Accepted Answer

Yes, free, within 7 days of delivery. Use the revision link in your delivery email and tell us what's wrong: a movement that looks odd, a restoration that doesn't look like them, a spelling on the title card. You can have up to 3 requests open at once, each covering up to 3 photos. When we send the fixed film, you get another 7 days to check it.

Question 23

Can I change the name, song or details after ordering?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Email support@motionmemoirs.com with your order number. Before delivery we'll just update it. After delivery, within 7 days, we'll rebuild the film and send you the new version.

Question 24

Which currencies can I pay in?

Accepted Answer

Prices are shown in US dollars, or in pounds for visitors in the UK (pound prices include any VAT that applies). At checkout you may be offered your own currency, with the exact amount shown before you pay.

Question 25

What's your refund policy?

Accepted Answer

If you cancel before we start work (within 6 hours of paying, or 1 hour with Rush), we'll refund you in full. Just email support@motionmemoirs.com. Because each film is made to order, we don't refund for a change of mind once work has started. But if something's wrong we'll fix it free, and if we can't put it right we'll offer a partial or full refund.

Question 26

Is my personal content kept private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your photos and film are stored securely and used only to make your film. To restore and animate them we send them to trusted AI processing services, which process them on our behalf. Your film and photos are deleted one year after delivery. We never sell your data or use your photos in our marketing without your permission.

Question 27

How do you bring the photos to life?

Accepted Answer

We use carefully chosen AI tools for restoration and movement, with firm rules: never invent people, faces or scenery, and keep everything true to the original photo. Then a real person reviews every photo and every film before it reaches you.

Questions & Answers

Ordering

Your photos

Style, music and wording

Delivery

Changes and revisions

Payment, refunds and privacy

Ready to make your film?