Choose a film
Pick the subject in Memory type. Start with Monthly Highlights if you are trying the app. Every type works on the default Basic setup; some need a little more context from your library.
| Make a film of | Choose | Before you start |
|---|---|---|
| A month | Monthly Highlights | Pick a year and month |
| A whole year | Year in Review | Pick a year |
| Summer or another season | Season | Pick a season and year |
| One person | Person Spotlight | Name their face in Immich |
| Several people | Multi-person | Name the faces; choose all together or any of them |
| This date across the years | On This Day | Have pictures from several years |
| Christmas or another recurring occasion | Holiday | Pick a holiday and the years to include |
| A holiday away | Trip | Set home coordinates and have GPS-tagged pictures |
| Your own collection | Album | Create the album in Immich |
| One memorable day | Special Day | Pick the day, or use a discovered suggestion |
How long a film runs
Leave the length empty and the app fits it to the material. A busy month can make about a minute; a thin month may be much shorter. A year has a larger budget, not twelve glued-together monthly films.
For a 30-second portrait film, enter 0.5 in Length in minutes (fitted to the pictures when empty), then choose Portrait under Render > Orientation. On the CLI, use --short-form 30 --orientation portrait. It is a target, and the app will not pad a period just to reach it. Exact length rules are available when you need them.
People and birthdays
For one person, choose their name and the period. For several, choose whether pictures need all of them together or any of them. A picture only counts when Immich recognised that person on the picture itself: a back-of-head shot or a photo where they're just out of frame drops out, even if they were there.
Set birth dates in Immich to use birthday windows. Confirm home and relationships so the film knows who matters. Advanced grouped conditions, all-years windows and birthday compilations are in the film type reference.
Trip
Set your home base first. Pick Trip and a year, then choose one of the detected trips. A trip crossing New Year stays together.
No trip found: check that your pictures have GPS and that home is configured. Detection uses distance, nights away and gaps in activity; the trip reference gives the defaults and adjustments.
Maps are optional and use outside satellite tiles. A trip works with ordinary titles when maps are off. Enable maps.
Album
Use an Immich album when you already know what belongs together. Choose Album and pick it; the app still makes an edit from the collection. On the CLI, a reader can use a declared subject for collections such as cars or baking: --from-album "Cars" --subject "cars". The web album chooser has no subject field.
Special day
Choose a day directly, or let special-day discovery build a catalogue of occasions. A catalogue title can be edited. Discovery is optional; you can film a day that is not in it.
The complete reference covers holiday calendars, people expressions, account lookup, birthdays and budgets. Automatic films can choose a subject for you.