Guide: Route Film

Quick start in six steps

The editor guides you through six steps shown as a bar at the top: Route, Look, Signs and stages, Photos, Camera, Preview and export. "Next" jumps to the following one.

• Create a project ("New project") and give it a name.
• Load your route as a GPX file, draw it yourself or start from a template.
• Choose map theme and line, set signs, add photos.
• Set the camera and check the film in the preview (space bar).
• Choose resolution and format and click "Render video".

Tips

• Everything runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded. You do not need an account.
• The Route Film also has a tutorial video: from start to finished film in 90 seconds.

Load or draw a route

The Route Film reads GPX, TCX, KML and GeoJSON as well as the GPS track from Insta360 recordings.

• Load a GPX file: drop it onto the field or tap it. Strava, Komoot, Garmin Connect, Kurviger and DMD export GPX.
• Several files at once become several scenes, sorted by date. If a file has several tracks, you choose the one to use.
• Insta360: use the original file (.insv) from the camera, not the MP4 export. The GPS track is in the file with "_00_" in its name (front lens).
• You can turn waypoints from the file into signs. Waypoints without a name or more than 2 km from the route are skipped.
• Draw a route yourself: click or tap the map to set points. Points can be dragged. Undo, reverse route and clear route are next to it.
• Template: well-known pass roads come as a finished route with aerial images from the national survey.

Tips

• "Level of detail" and "Smooth curves" simplify the track. A lower level of detail makes the project smaller, also for sharing.
• No GPX file? Plan the tour in the route planner and open it with "Open as Route Film".

Look: map, line and overlays

In the "Look" step you decide how the film looks.

• Map theme: from a plain map to "Satellite". Where the national survey offers open aerial images (for example Switzerland, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain), the theme shows these instead of the usual satellite image.
• 3D terrain with adjustable exaggeration and a globe view for long journeys.
• Line: colour, width, solid, dashed or dotted, outline and glow. Colour follows a single colour, the transport mode or the speed. On multi-day tours each day gets its own colour.
• Symbol at the tip of the line: arrow, nav puck, dot, transport mode or none.
• Overlays: kilometres and height, time of day from the GPX, elevation profile, compass, darkened edges and a hint of the planned route.
• Video format: 16:9 landscape for YouTube, 9:16 portrait, 1:1 square or 4:5 for Instagram. It applies to all scenes.

Tips

• The map credit in the video is a licence condition. Please do not remove or cover it.
• "Apply look to all scenes" copies map style, line, colours and overlays to every scene.

Signs and stages

Signs name places, passes and stage destinations. They appear as the line passes, or are visible from the start.

• "Place sign": choose a style, then click the map where the sign should stand. Esc cancels.
• Styles: board, guidepost, summit flag, label, card and night board. Text, size and "Visible from the start" are set per sign.
• "Suggest places and passes automatically" sets signs with places and passes including height from map data. Not every pass is listed there.
• Stages: click the line to switch the transport mode from there (motorcycle, car, bike, on foot, ferry, train, flight) or to add a break. This turns a whole journey into one video.

Photos, clips, title cards and music

The "Photos" step turns the map video into a travel film.

• Photos and video clips: drop them onto the field or pick them. Photos with a location (GPS), or with a capture time if your track has timestamps, land at the right spot automatically. You place all others on the map yourself.
• Style: "Full screen with stop" halts the ride and fills the frame. "Polaroid on the map" shows the print at its place while the ride continues.
• Hold time, caption and, for places passed more than once, the pass can be set per photo.
• Clips are trimmed in the browser to at most 30 seconds, taken without sound and converted to H.264.
• Title card: title and subtitle appear at the start of the scene over the map. Date and distance can be inserted automatically.
• Music: MP3, M4A or WAV up to 40 MB, with a start point in the piece and volume.

Tips

• Photos are stored in the browser. If storage is full, download the project file so nothing is lost.
• Only use music you have the rights to. Otherwise Instagram, TikTok and YouTube often mute the video.
• HEIC photos from the iPhone are supported.

Camera and timing

In the "Camera" step you decide how the view moves.

• Fixed view: the camera stands still and shows the whole ride from one set-up.
• Follow the line: the camera stays with the tip. Zoom, tilt, look-ahead and camera steadiness are adjustable. "Heading up" rotates the map with it.
• From A to B: the camera glides from a start to an end set-up. You set both by moving, zooming and tilting the map and choosing "Use current view".
• Zoom out at the end: to a still image over the whole route, the region, the country or Europe.
• Timing: duration of the ride, hold at start and end, easing in and out. The total scene length is shown below.

Tips

• If the map looks restless at strong zoom, switch off "Heading up" or raise the camera steadiness.
• If the still image at the end is shorter than 2 seconds, zooming out feels hectic. Lengthen it under "Timing".

Scenes and multi-day tours

A film consists of one or more scenes, for example one per day.

• "Add scene" creates a new one. It takes over the look of the current one.
• Scenes can be moved left and right, renamed and deleted.
• Days: on multi-day tours the Route Film detects days from time gaps over six hours. "Split into scenes by day" makes one scene of each.
• "Apply camera to all scenes" copies camera mode, zoom, tilt, steadiness, zoom out, holds and title length.

Tips

• Ctrl+Z (⌘Z) undoes the last apply or split.
• If a scene is very long, the editor suggests splitting it by days.

Preview and export

In the last step you check the film and create the video.

• Play the preview with the space bar. Rendering only starts when you click "Render video".
• Choose resolution (1080p, 2K or 4K) and frame rate. The aspect ratio comes from the look.
• "All scenes in one video" combines several scenes into one film.
• Optionally the end card appends three seconds with the Route Film address to the video.
• After rendering, download the MP4.

Tips

• For 4K and long films a computer is fastest.
• Chrome or Edge on a computer can write sound into the video. Where the browser cannot, the video is silent.

Saving and sharing

Projects stay on your device.

• Project file: "Download project file" saves the project including photos and music. You open it later with "Open project file".
• Save to account (with an account): stores the project, including photos and music, in your account and brings it back on any device. More than 95 MB is too large.
• Share link: the link only shows the film. Our server holds route, look, signs, titles and camera, but no photos and no music.
• You can update or delete a link.

Tips

• Start and finish are visible to anyone who has the link. Share it deliberately.

When something goes wrong

The most common stumbling blocks:

• A video clip cannot be read: newer phones often save video as HEVC (H.265), which not every browser can read. Open the Route Film in Safari or switch off "High Efficiency Video" in the camera.
• The file contains no track points: export it as GPX in your app and try again. Export Garmin FIT files as GPX first.
• Video without sound: your browser cannot write sound into the video. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer.
• Storage full: browser storage is full or blocked. Download the project file and clean up.
• New version: if a note about a new version appears, your project is saved. "Reload" fetches it.
• Reporting a bug or idea: the "Send feedback or report a bug" button (in the editor the speech-bubble icon next to the question mark) opens your mail app with the version and browser already filled in. Request new features under "Request a feature".

Frequently asked questions

Is the Route Film free?

Yes, free and without an account. The map credit stays visible in the video, it is a licence condition. You may use your videos freely, also commercially.

Are my GPX files uploaded?

No. Routes, files, photos, music and videos stay on your device. Only what you explicitly share by link is uploaded: route, look, signs, titles and camera.

Which file formats can I load?

GPX, TCX, KML and GeoJSON as well as GPS tracks from Insta360 recordings (original .insv file). Export Garmin FIT files as GPX first.

Can I use the Route Film on my phone?

Yes, in Chrome, Edge or Safari. For 4K and long films a computer is fastest.

How long may a video clip be?

Clips are trimmed in the browser to at most 30 seconds and taken without sound.

How do several days become one film?

Load one file per day or one file with several days. Each day becomes a scene, and on export they are combined into one film.

Why is there no sound in my video?

Not every browser can write sound into the video. Chrome or Edge on a computer can.