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Soundslides test presentation

R

Ranger 9

Guest
Anybody want to help me evaluate something?

Yesterday was a good day. I had just gotten my Epson R-D 1 back from rehab at Steve's AND had something to photograph with it (a dance rehearsal.)

I was pleased with several of the pictures I got, and wanted to try something different with them. So I downloaded the demo version of an application called Soundslides Plus and tried my hand at turning some of the images (plus sound I had recorded with a cheapo mini camcorder) into a "visual press release." Don't worry, it's only 58 seconds long!


You're welcome to comment on the individual photos, although I figure either you're interested in this kind of thing or you're not. I'd be even more appreciative, though, for comments about this style of presenting a collection of pictures: Does it work for you? Any suggestions for improving the general concept? And particularly: Did you have any technical issues viewing it?

I'm holding off on paying the license fee for Soundslides (which would remove the "demo" stamp at the beginning) until I'm convinced it will be useful, and I also want to be reasonably sure it generates absolutely bulletproof code. Thanks for any input!

Pic from the presentation for those who want to see something first:
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
The photos are terrific! The all deserve to be seen at a more leisurely pace IMHO.

As for the sound, I rapidly looked for a volume control since the sound level was painful. Not finding one, I resorted to muting my speakers. However, I may not be the best person to offer an opinion since I pretty much hate when web sites force me to listen to music.

So for me, I'd much prefer a more traditional approach to a gallery, without a sound track and either with automated changes or where I can dictate the pace myself by clicking an "advance" button.
 
R

Ranger 9

Guest
Thanks for the input. After reading your comments, I dug into Soundslides a little more and found it has an option to include a volume control. I've re-uploaded the presentation with that option enabled, so people can turn the @#$% thing down if they want.

Meanwhile, I found that the user can stop the sound and advance the slides manually by using some tiny arrows in the control bar. That option isn't particularly self-evident in the extremely sparse playback interface. I like the sparseness, but maybe they should have included some tooltips...?

I suspect this style of presentation is going to be the most useful not for image-oriented photographers -- who, as you say, will probably prefer a more traditional gallery with no distractions and manual advance -- but for short-attention-span Web wanderers who want things to happen snappily. I'll have to decide which audience more fits my profile before knowing if it's worth springing for the Soundslides license.

Thanks again...
 
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cap'n bill

New member
These little AV snippets are great fun to make and we have a competition for them at our camera club in place of the traditional slide section sometimes, 1 minute maximum. Soundslide is new to me, I use PicturesToExe (PTE) but no doubt they all do the same sort of thing. PTE produces an exe file which runs independently which can be useful


I like the images in your show, can't say the same for the sound track I'm afraid but each to his own.
 

m3photo

New member
Re: Other Programs

Does it work for you? Any suggestions for improving the general concept? And particularly: Did you have any technical issues viewing it?
Yes it works for me. I think that if you show it to those present in the images - even more so. As mentioned earlier, photographers tend to see it "one way" and others differently, so this type of presentation should be designed to cater for the specific viewers.
As regards improvement, someone mentioned another program and I shall recommend this one: Pro-Show Gold by Photodex (unfortunately only for Windoze and not Mac for the moment).
The sound niggles have been dealt with, so no comment. As far as presentation, personally I don't feel comfortable with constant crossing between horizontals and verticals and usually group them in my presentations looking for a meaningful merge when there has to be one. You'll find this easier with something like Pro-Show as you'll have plenty of fade effects to choose from rather than the clinical swap present here.
The images? Beautiful.
 
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