Up
until recently, you needed either to have access to a computer
and printer to view or get hard copies of your snaps. Latterly
there were websites available, who would print your uploaded images.
The latest innovation is the high street shop such as Jessops
or Boots who have digital printing services. You do not even need
a computer anymore to access your photographs.
However,
if like me, you are starting to amass lots of pictures on your
computer that rarely get seen again, let alone printed (except
for club competitions), maybe a slideshow presentation package
is the answer. There are many such packages on the market, all
doing a similar job and all costing about the same. The package
that interested me was ProShow Gold published by Photodex. This
is an American program that retails at around $70 (approx £40).
This
slideshow program is extremely easy to use and comes with a large
array of functions to make creating a slideshow very easy. It
is important to remember that any slideshow package is only a
vehicle to deliver your photographs so it is very important that
you spend a little time selecting your photographs. Do any enhancements
such as cropping, cleaning and resizing before you begin.
ProShow
Gold opens up with a storyboard running along the bottom of the
screen. This is where you create the slideshow. Here each image
or selection of video is deposited and the user can select the
time that the picture will stay on the screen, the transition
time between each image and the type of transition effect you
wish to make. There are over 280 effects to choose from. To the
right of the screen is the preview area that enables you to see
how the show is developing. There is also an option to view in
full screen mode. Other slideshow options include, titling and
final screen aspect ratio ( 16 : 9 for wide screen or standard
4 : 3). Other options allow you to develop the show with zoom
and panning to add a professional feel.
Below
the storyboard is the soundtrack where you can deposit your background
sound in .mp3 or .wav format. Options allow you to control the
volume, fade in and out and offsets between more than one soundtrack.
Above
the storyboard is the folder list that is a windows explorer view
of the drives and folders on the computer. The file list will
give you a thumbnail view of the images in the selected folder.
Along the top of the screen is the toolbar that contains buttons
to access the common functions for slideshow creation.
Once
you have selected the images, transition types and time and soundtrack
it is possible to synchronise the sound to the images which then
calculates the length of time each image will be on the screen.
This option is extremely valuable when trying to match your show
to the background music.
Once
you have created your masterpiece you have various options to
make the finished product. You can, if you want, leave the show
as a ProShow file that will run through the ProShow package or
you may want to create a video Mpeg file that will run on Windows
media player etc. Most of you will want to be able to make the
show a bit more portable and create a VCD or DVD version of the
show.
There
are a few options available, some of which are a bit obscure and
probably not a lot of use to UK users. In the VCD creation menu,
the user can put a front-end menu on to the disc, select between
PAL and NTSC television formats, (we use PAL in the UK) and the
quality of output. The various options available will not necessarily
be available to you and it is wise to check your DVD player before
selection. SVCD is the best option but many DVD players do not
recognize it. The VCD option will work pretty well on all DVD
players but there is maybe a marked reduction in quality from
what you will see on your television compared to your computer
screen due to MPEG compression. However it does give acceptable
results if you do not have access to a DVD burner. There are various
options to give the best quality output and the results are pleasingly
flicker free.
If
you do have access to a DVD burner, then you can produce high
quality slideshows that will be the envy of all your friends and
relations. As with the VCD format, the option offers front-end
menus and television format selection. The quality option available
for DVD range from high quality through to super extended play.
Again your DVD may be unable to handle all these and the quality
drops off with the long and extended play options. Sticking to
high quality or standard play offers the best quality results.
Both
the DVD and VCD options offer the creation of PC autorun facilities
on the finished disc. There is also a novel security facility
available which enables you to limit the number of days that the
disc will function and/or the number of times it is played. Ideal
if you are producing commercial packages. You can also embed a
security key to unlock this protection. Online options allow you
to share your shows via the Internet and sending them via Email.
There is even an option to create your own screen saver.
Finally,
a word about your sound tracks. Be careful not to infringe any
copyright rules if you are going to produce anything that maybe
considered commercial or shown to the general public. There is
a vast amount of royalty free music about which can be used to
enhance your show. If you want to use the latest Madonna track,
make sure your show is for home use only. Copyright laws are a
minefield – be careful.
ProShow
Gold is by no means the only package on the block but it does
have many nice touches and was voted best in a recent digital
magazine comparison test. I found it very user friendly. Find
out more about the package by visiting Photodexes website
www.photodex.com
Dave
R
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