How to change the icons of movie files?

The point 4 of my post says ... you need to give the image a squarish shape. So I did ....And here is the result ....The desktop thumbnail uses a square image. If the thumbnail preview assumes the square by itself, it may not be the thumbnail preview that you are wanting. So provide it yourself.

Sorry for the stupid question but how do you give the image a squarish shape ? What exactly did you do ? :o
 

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Sorry for the stupid question but how do you give the image a squarish shape ? What exactly did you do ? :o
I did ....

  1. I opened the image in Photoshop,
  2. unlocked the image layer*,
  3. checked the width and height of the image, changed the Canvas Size of the image ... changed the height of the canvas equal to the width,
  4. nudged the image to get the required view within the canvas area (* it cannot be done if step 2 is not done)
  5. saved the image as .jpeg
And that all.

It can be done in GIMP too.
 

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Sorry for the stupid question but how do you give the image a squarish shape ? What exactly did you do ? :o
I did ....

  1. I opened the image in Photoshop,
  2. unlocked the image layer*,
  3. checked the width and height of the image, changed the Canvas Size of the image ... changed the height of the canvas equal to the width,
  4. nudged the image to get the required view within the canvas area (* it cannot be done if step 2 is not done)
  5. saved the image as .jpeg
And that all.

It can be done in GIMP too.


Thanks.

That helps a lot.
 

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Windows 10 64 bit
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PC/Desktop
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Windows 10 64 bit
You are welcome, mate. Please let us know for any further question.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bitIntel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHzCorsair Vengence 4GB x2 (8.00GB Dual-Channel ...2047MB GeForce GTS 450 (ZOTAC International)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Assembled
OS
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 64-bit
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. B85M-D3H
Memory
Corsair Vengence 4GB x2 (8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz)
Graphics Card(s)
2047MB GeForce GTS 450 (ZOTAC International)
Sound Card
Onboard (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Monitor(s) Displays
LG Flatron E2040T
Screen Resolution
1600x900
Hard Drives
Western Digital 1 TB
Seagate 500 GB
PSU
Corsair VS550
Case
Cooler Master K380
Cooling
Cooler Master Seidon 120V Plus
Keyboard
Logitech MK260r
Mouse
Logitech MK260r
Internet Speed
PMPL Broadband
Antivirus
Windows Defender + MBAM
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
Dell Studio 15" Laptop
Thumbnails for All

Add an Icon or Thumbnail "into" a mp4 movie file.
No shortcut creation, no folder for each video...
It takes some time per file, but this technique works, Really!

It requires merging two video files into one file.
First file is a 20 second movie of the icon (icon.mp4).
Second file is the movie.mp4
Then convert the two files, icon.mp4 first, into one file.
I use WinAVI (but it has sound delay issues, sometimes)

The Icon shows up in the directory, every time, permanently, even if you share it.

Why like this?
Windows used to use the first frame (frame #1) to give this thumbnail option.
Now windows seems to look for an increase of luminescence at the beginning of the video,
(as in a fade in from black).
Then windows selects that seemingly random frame as the file's icon.

There are three options I use for the icon.mp4 file's success:
1) Use a 20 second mp4 of the icon (recommend the same frame size as movie.mp4)
2) Use a 20 second mp4 of the icon, but fade in from black. (pretty cool)
3) Produce an interesting 20 second clip from the movie that fades in, with sound. (way cooler)

Then of course, merge the two mp4 files into one using your favorite movie compiler. Voilà!

I have three icon.mp4 examples here (provided Paramount doesn't remove them; it's happened before):
Star Trek First Contact 1996 AiKoN (Example 1) - YouTube
Star Trek First Contact 1996 AiKoN (Example 2) - YouTube
Star Trek First Contact 1996 AiKoN (Example 3) - YouTube
 

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custom build
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