Why it works at the last minute
A late present usually looks late: a voucher, a hurried bunch of flowers. This one is made of your photos of them, so it looks like the thing you planned all along. There is no delivery to wait for — you download the gift yourself and send it straight away.
- What it is
- A night city made from your photos: they appear on the big lit screens along the streets. They drive through it, or press Automatic and watch it as a film, with your song playing.
- What it costs
- One payment of £14.99, €14.99 or US$14.99, depending on your country. No subscription, no account.
- How you make it
- Add up to 20 photos and one song if you like (an MP3, otherwise our soundtrack plays), then pay £14.99, €14.99 or US$14.99 securely by Stripe. Your world is usually ready about a minute later; a slow connection takes longer.
- What you get
- One small file, usually under 10 MB. We also e-mail you a receipt with the file attached when it is small enough for e-mail.
- How they open it
- In the web browser they already have, on a phone, tablet or computer. No app, no account, and it works offline. On iPhone they open ourspecialworld.com in Safari, tap “Open a saved world” and choose the file. Phones play it sideways, in landscape.
The fifteen-minute plan
- Gather the photos (five minutes). Search their name in your phone’s photo app, or open your favourites. Pick 10 to 20 bright photos with big faces. Ten is enough if you are short of time.
- Choose a sideways photo to lead. The biggest screen goes to the photo whose shape suits it best — a landscape photo — and among equal fits, the earliest in your order. Put your best sideways photo of them first.
- Song: only if you have one ready. An MP3 you own, up to ten minutes. Without one, our own soundtrack plays — that is fine.
- Add the photos, add a song if you like, and pay. The world is usually ready about a minute after you pay; a slow connection takes longer. Keep the page open.
- Download it and send it. By e-mail or message.
Why photos first: you add them before anything else, and pay when they are in. Your photos are kept for 15 minutes from the first upload (longer only while you are at the payment page). If anything runs out before your world is delivered, we e-mail you and your payment is returned in full — so have the photos ready.
Giving it today
- In person, right now: open it on your phone or laptop, press Automatic and hand it over. Send them the file afterwards so they keep it.
- Later today: send the file by e-mail or message with a short note.
- With a card: write “open the file I sent you” in whatever card you can find on the way.
What to write when you are late
“It took me longer to choose the photos than I’d like to admit. Press Automatic and turn the sound up.”
A look inside a finished world
Honest answers
How fast is it really?
Adding your photos and paying takes a couple of minutes. The world is usually ready about a minute after you pay, depending on your photos and your connection. Choosing photos is the slow part — that is why the plan starts there.
Do I get it by e-mail or do I download it?
You download it in your browser as soon as it is ready. We also e-mail a receipt with the file attached when it is small enough for e-mail. The download is your main copy, so do not close the page before you have saved it.
Can I send it on a phone?
Yes. Make it on your phone, download it, and attach it to a message or an e-mail like a photo. Phones play the world sideways, in landscape.
Is it a gift card or a print?
Neither. It is an interactive world in one file. If you would like something physical as well, write a note in a card and send the file on the day.
What happens to the photos I upload?
They are used once to build the world, then deleted from our server once your file is downloaded. If you do not buy, they are deleted when you leave, at the latest 15 minutes after you add them; while you are at the payment page they are kept until the payment finishes or is abandoned, about half an hour at most. We keep no copy.
I rushed and picked the wrong photo.
A finished world cannot be edited, because we keep nothing. E-mail [email protected] and we will look into it; usually that means letting you make it again. Sales are otherwise final. Refund policy.
Make it now, send it today
Photos first, then a few minutes to a finished gift.
Add your photos. Add a song. Pay once and it is yours.