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- | ====== Basic AV Creation ====== | ||
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- | **THIS PAGE IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT** | ||
- | ==== Introduction ==== | ||
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- | For experienced users of PicturesToExe this section may contain little of interest or relevance. They will have a well established methodology and workflow for producing audio visual shows which, to a large extent, will be dictated by their creativity, the software tools they have available and the end use for which the show is to be used. However for new or relatively inexperienced users, the first steps into the world of audio visual shows can be daunting. The following sections have therefore been written to provide some pointers on how to produce a show using the deluxe version of PicturesToExe. The methodology described is one that the author has developed over a number of years and suits the availability of certain software tools and the intended end use of the show : mainly for showing at photoclub nights and also forming parts of shows given to other organisations. It should be clearly understood that the workflow described below does not represent a definitive method for producing shows; there are probably as many different methods as there are PicturesToExe licence holders. It just represents one particular method which it is hoped may provide some useful pointers to new users. | ||
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- | ==== First Steps ==== | ||
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- | So, as a new user, you have returned from your holiday with a camera card full of images. | ||
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- | The first step is to move the images on your card onto the computer. There are various methods of doing this which are outside the scope of this article, but Lightroom is a useful tool as images can be taken directly from the card inserted into a card reader and transferred into a pre-prepared folder. File renaming and the attachment of keywords can also be achieved. But if Lightroom is not available, just use whatever means or software that is available. | ||
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- | Having established the images in a folder on your computer, the next step is to select those images you wish to use for the show. Again Lightroom or Adobe Bridge are useful tools if they are available as they allow images to be allocated labels (all images to be used can have green labels for example) and in Lightroon, there is the added facility to place the images in a "quick collection" | ||
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- | ==== Image Editing ==== | ||
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- | Having selected the images required for the show (and remembering that additional images may be required and some discarded), it is good practice to edit these images in a photo editor such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or an editor of your choice. However good a show may be, high quality images always make a good show much better. | ||
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- | ==== Image Resizing ==== | ||
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- | Why resize ? After all if you insert a full size image (say 4288 x 2848 pixels, aspect ratio 3:2) into Pictures To Exe with the " | ||
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- | Suppose you have a digital camera whose RAW image size is 4605 x 3072 (i.e. an aspect ratio of 3:2). You want to show the final version of your PicturesToExe project on your high definition TV with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (i.e. an aspect ratio of 16:9). If you do not crop the image to the same aspect ratio as your TV, the image will not fill the screen. The first figure below shows a 4605 x 3072(3:2) image in a window sized in PicturesToExe to an aspect ratio of 3:2. The image fills the available display area. The second figure shows the same image in a window whose aspect ratio is 16:9. | ||
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- | In the example above, the background color in " | ||
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- | * Image from a 14Mp camera = 4608 x3072 (aspect ratio 3:2) | ||
- | * HD TV screen = 1920 x 1200 (aspect ratio 16:9) | ||
- | * Digital projector = 1400 x 1050 (aspect ratio = 4:3) | ||
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- | So it is desirable to think about the display unit you are going to use for your show and resize accordingly. | ||
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- | A second reason for resizing is to reduce the overall size of the finished " | ||
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- | A final word on resizing images. If you want to zoom in to an image, the file size should be typically larger than the final image size by the zoom factor, e.g. a 3 times zoomed file should be about 3 times larger than the final screen image size. | ||
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- | ==== Insertion and Sorting ==== | ||
- | Once the images required for the show have been selected, edited, resized and saved as jpg files in the project directory, the next step is to insert them into PicturesToExe | ||
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- | To insert all images into the "Slide list", either right-click in the "File List" and select, "Add all files to Project", | ||
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- | //A Note on adding images :If subsequently further images are added, they can be selected from the "File List", left-clicked and dragged to the " | ||
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- | Once images have been added to the "Slide list", they can be sorted into the desired order. This is easily achieved using the "Full Slide Window" | ||
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- | This will open a full screen view of all images (or a full screen view of the " | ||
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- | //Note on renaming images :There can be a temptation to rename images early on in a project, perhaps at the sorting or editing stage. This can often be a mistake as invariably images will be moved as a project develops and renaming can remove a link to the original image and make it more difficult to go back to the original should a larger file size or further editing be required. It is suggested that original image names are retained.// | ||
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- | ==== The Commentary ==== | ||
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- | As already mentioned, it is best practice to have a clear idea of what you expect the end result of your show to comprise. In some cases, the author will have had a clear idea before starting, prepared a story line and taken images to match that story. | ||
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- | Once completed, the commentary needs to be recorded. A suggested method is to record the whole commentary in one go using a small portable recorder (for example a "Zoom H2" recorder whose SD card can be removed on completion and inserted into the computer to transfer the resulting audio file into the project directory). If during the " | ||
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- | The next step is to insert the finished audio file into a audio editor. The Audacity editor which is free to download, is often a popular choice. | ||
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- | As can been seen from the figure, each commentary section has been added to a single track called " | ||
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- | One other feature of the latest PicturesToExe version is the ability to alter the volume of tracks. | ||
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- | ==== Music/sound Effects ==== | ||
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- | Finding a suitable source of music and selecting track(s) which match the mood and intent of the images and composition of the commentary is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of creating an audio visual show. Describing how an author might set about this task is outside the scope of this article. | ||
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- | In addition to music and commentary clips, authors may wish to add appropriate sound effects or other background audio information. Ideally these should be placed on their own dedicated track so that they can be moved up and down the track without affecting any other of the added sound clips. | ||
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- | The process of adding music and sound effect clips is identical to that described above for commentary clips. Separate tracks are recommended and the figure below shows part of a typical audio tab with separate music and sound effect tracks indicated. | ||
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- | ==== The Final Edit ==== | ||
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- | Once all images and clips have been added, positioned and sound levels adjusted using keypoints has been completed, the show needs to be previewed repeatedly to adjust any aspects of appearance which the author may consider need improving. Also this is a good time to consider the transitions selected. As previously mentioned, a useful technique is to set the transition s for all slide to a default setting in " | ||
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- | ==== Publishing ==== | ||
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- | The Main Help menu covers the options for publishing (see [[en: | ||
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- | ==== Tidying Up ==== | ||
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- | During the process of creating an audio visual show, a project folder may have been created (recommended) and images and sound clips added. some images may not have been used as main image items, but added as supplementary items to individual images. | ||
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