A/V Info

AV links:

Proshow Gold: http://www.photodex.com/

PTE: http://www.wnsoft.com/

PTE forum: http://tinyurl.com/6mqkl

PTE resources: http://www.guru.to.it/

PTE slide shows: http://www.beechbrook.com/pte/

The following is a summary of the informative session provided by Jim Robertson and Frank Dugal at the April 9th meeting of OPC. Thank you Jim and Frank!

AV Techniques 101

Less is more !!!!!!!!!

Most people don’t enjoy being asked by friends family to come and see ALL/MOST of their shots from a recent trip, why should we impose a similar situation on them ?

KISS: Keep it simple and short.

Generally when first starting to produce slide shows you should aim for 3-5 minutes. Later on shows can often be up to 30 minutes, or even longer. But you need a strong interest or special audience for these longer shows.

Why an AV presentation?

• To tell a story
  • Travelogue
  • Relate an adventure
  • Fictional story
  
  
• To educate
  • Formal training presentations
  • Informal descriptions of how to do something
  
  
• To entertain
  • Showing scenics and/or other pleasing images
  • Showing action sequences
  
  
• To evoke a mood or emotion
  • Nature or flower show
  • Moody scenery
  • Use of evocative fades and dissolves and other special effects
  
  
• To pass on informal family/trip shots
  • Strong need for KISS here
  • few, if any want to look at ALL your shots even if they are of the family matriarch’s 90th birthday, or your new pup

What are the various AV delivery tools?

• Single or multiple 35mm projector or Digital
  • With narration only (ad-lib or taped)
  • With narration and/or background music
  • Without sound/music
  • Title slides
  
  
• Image orientation
  • Superimposed
  • Side-by side
  
  
• Control
  • Manual operation
  • Auto

Chicken or Egg question - music or pictures first ?

• Music first
  • This can be an easier route if you want to present images to match words in song
  • It can also increase the stress of selecting images if music turns out to be too short for available slides
  
  
• Slides first (Most common situation)
  • Choose the images, remember KISS, then go find music (can take a lot of searching)

Selecting the images

• Rule of thumb
  • On screen time should 5-7 seconds per slide, that means 10 slides per minute.
  
  
• Target Audience
  • Will determine images to show (Adult vs school kids)
  • Will determine length of show
  
  
• Examples
  • You have just come back from a vacation with 2500 pictures you have edited down to 1000 keepers and 300 you just have to present in your slide show.
  • Target audience is the general camera club during an AV Showcase evening. Should aim for 5-8 minutes max, but you opt for 5 minutes. Therefore 50 images.
  • Target audience is a seniors’ home, a captive audience, but remember KISS applies to them too. You should do several shows rather than one long one. Aim at 10 minutes, therefore 100 images.
  • Target audience is an arm chair travel group, likely will withstand a 15 minute show providing more detail, or 150 images. (You can do a lecture with more images after your presentation to discuss the trip in more detail)

Selecting the images

So how do you take the 300 slides you want to/have to use and edit them down to the 50-150 you really need ?

Guidelines

1. While one can use less than perfect images in shows, DO NOT use ones that anyone will know are poor quality. So first time through take out any poor ones or repetitive ones. Any questionable ones might as well come out then too as they will later on.
   
   If an image does not “talk” on its own, then the likelihood is it should come out.
   
   
2. Slides don’t have to be shown in the sequence that you shot them in, and 9 times out of 10 they shouldn’t be.
   
   You may have problems with taking them out of sequence, but the viewer has no clue what the sequence was - put them into a logical order by “subject” matter. “Subject” can cover a wide range depending what the show is about: E.g.: colour, topic, time sequence (sunrise to sunset etc.)
   
   
3. Within the re-sequencing in #2, group them by portrait or landscape orientation.
   
   You don’t want the show alternating between the two orientations (I personally will not use two orientations, my camera only works in landscape). But it is “OK” to use one or two groupings of the two orientations, but transitions can be tricky.
   
   
4. Then, within the groupings in #3, sort by colour, density of image etc
   
   Put the images into an image viewing software that lets you sort them (such as ThumbsPlus) and run through them. Re-sequence them and /or take out ones that don’t really work
   
   
5. At this point you will likely be down much closer to what you want, take a break for a day or so. Keep slogging until you reach the magic 50 point. No one said it was easy !

Above all - Resist the temptation to lengthen the show. Remember KISS

Putting the show together

• Variation
  • On screen time
  • Transition time
  
  
• Slide transitions
  • Smooth to the eye
  • Try for the third image
  • Usually shorter transitions for dissimilar images
  • Choose other than FADE only where special circumstances warrant it
  
  
• Narration
  • If using only narration (with/without music in the background) work your script hard
  • Generally let as many images talk for themselves as you can
  • 6 second on screen time still applies, so say it in 6 seconds or get another image up on the screen
  
  
• Music
  • Try to find music that sets a mood that is appropriate for the images. If the images are dramatic such as mountain scenery, for example, then dramatic, forceful music is appropriate
  • If the images are of a delicate or quiet subject such as flowers, more quiet or gentle music would be fitting
  • Don’t rely on the music to keep your audience awake. The images on their own should do that, and the music should not overwhelm the images, but rather should enhance them
  
  
• Synchronization
  • A show will feel better to the audience if it is synchronized to the music
  • You will need patience to accomplish that
    (Sometimes you will not want to look at a show once you finally have it down as you have seen it so many times during prep)
  
  
• Titles
  • Depending on AV software, prepare in PhotoShop or within the software itself.
  • Frequently you need to be careful to have titles line up when switching from image to image