ANIMOTO lets you create a professional-looking music video based on only your uploaded images and music.  The public beta launched today.

Animoto takes your images and music, and applies editing technology that professionals in the film industry use for creating things like movie trailers. The service overall could be likened to a slide show creator, but uses AI technology to offer a little something extra Mimicking tools that are used by professional directors and editors, Animoto will consider the images and music that you’ve submitted for the creation of a video mashup. The end result will be more like a movie trailer than a regular slideshow. Founded by former MTV, Comedy Central and ABC studio producers, the traditional media approach to consumer applications is how the music revolution changed in recent years, and reflects how the video industry has been following suit. The main drawbacks so far include the omission of videos for its mashup service, and the lack of other editing tools, for adding captions, etc. (via Mashable)

I simply uploaded a folder of images and selected a music track and this is the 30 second result. There was no editing input from me at all. You can produce unlimited shorts (30 seconds) for free but full length videos are charged at $3 each or $30 a year for unlimited productions. These are not final prices and I doubt whether the $3 per video is a realistic proposition. I'm sure we'll see further editing options and caption facilities added in due course. I still think it's cool and it's much quicker and easier than messing about with all those transitions and timelines.  Check it out yourself.