Newbie Help With Slide Collage Please

[gho64]

Newbie Help With Slide Collage Please:

I am looking for a program or method which will Easily combine two or more images into one frame of a slide show, similar to a collage with one larger image & two or more smaller images neatly arranged, not cut & randomly pasted in to one slide frame. When the slide is projected & viewed, I want it to appear professional. Please Note, "I WANT TO PROJECT THE SLIDE COLLAGE, NOT PRINT IT". Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You in advance.

gho64

[KevinBE]

Hi gho64, Welcome to RetouchPro. Your question seems to invoke other questions. If you plan on projecting the "new" slide then how else are you going to produce the new slide unless you print this newly created slide?

My answer to your question is this, you will need to manipulate the images in Photoshop or Printshop Pro. Create the new image in the configuration you want. Then print the new slide on an inkjet printer or plotter using clear film as your print media. You can print it in the 35mm size and create a slide or you can print it at the size for use with an overhead projector.

I hope this helps.

[DannyRaphael]

gho64

Let me add my welcome, too.

I'm assuming the source images from which you want to include in your collage are already in digital format or can be scanned.

Depending on your needs, skills and resources, here's another approach to consider. If you have access to Microsoft Powerpoint (or equivalent) or know someone who does, it would be possible to copy / paste the images into a Powerpoint file, where they could be cropped and resized and placed anywhere you wanted. If desired, text could be added.

A Powerpoint file can be transported (by e-mail, CD, whatever) to firms that convert Powerpoint files into actual 35mm slides.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

~Danny~

[gho64]

Hi Danny,

Thank You for the quick reply. That sounds like a great idea. I have many 3 meg JPG files loaded on my Pentium III PC Laptop with XP Pro operating system with 80 Gig HD & Lots of memory. I also have PowerPoint 2000 SP-3. I would like to construct slides that are similar to a wedding album page, four 4x5 on one page, two 5x7 on another page, the same configured 5x7 & 4x5 pages as Oval images, etc., etc.

The problem is, I am not that fimilar with using PowerPoint to accomplish the above. Any Detailed Information would be greately appreciated as I am a Newbie to Digital Images manipulation. I would also like to add Text Callout on some files. Do you know how to do this also. (smile).

Thank you again, have a great holiday weekend & Best Regards.

Hersul (gho64)

[DannyRaphael]

Hersul:

Hope I can get you started here. Fortunately I have Powerpoint 2000, so the following ought to be pretty close.

A projection option to consider:
* Since you have a laptop, you could rent a digital projector that would hook up to your laptop = project "slides" from Powerpoint and bypass the 35mm slides. If you do that, step A isn't necessary.

I don't know what the cost would be to make slides from Powerpoint. If it's, say, $2.00 ea. and you have 150 slides, that's $300. Renting the gear for the night that connects to your laptop may make more sense costwise. It's something you'll need to assess yourself. If you've already got access to a 35mm slide projector and tray, have other slides to project besides the ones you want to get made and/or only need a few slides created, then that's the way to go.

A. If 35mm slides...
. 1. You'll need to locate a firm that will do the .ppt file to slide conversion. I'd start with local "real" photo stores in your area (not the local grocery or drug store that just processes prints) or search the internet for additional info/assistance. I did a Google.com search using this search argument and got a TON of hits:

powerpoint 35mm slides

. 2. If you're going to do 35mm slides, the firm you do business with will have guidelines/requirements.

B. PPT process.

. 1. Open Powerpoint

. 2. Cancel all the dialog boxes that come up initially so we're both on the same page. All you want at this point is a blank screen and the file menu visible.

. 3. File > New... (don't click the new file button on the tool bar)

. 4. In the "New Presentation" dialog box, click the "Design Templates" tab at the top

. 5. Choose either "Network Blitz" or "Soaring" (more on 'why' in a minute. see ** below). Click OK

. 6. In the "New Slide" dialog that displays next: Bottom row, 3rd one over (single gray bar on white screen), OK.

. 6a. Before typing the title, go to the File menu and choose Page Setup. In the "Slides Sized for" menu, chose 35mm slides, OK.

. 6b. Back to the slide: This is a "Title" slide, typically the first one. Type in a title, e.g., "John and Mary's Wedding" or whatever.

. 6c. Optional: Do steps 8, 9 if you want a picture on the title slide.

. 7. For subsequent slides. Insert menu: Choose "New Slide." This time, 3rd row, far right (blank slide): Click that one and OK. You get a blank slide.

. 8. Insert menu (again): Picture > From File. Navigate to your 1st image, click OK. PPT will suck it into the slide.

. 9. Put cursor in middle of image (4-headed arrow) and drag it to the desired location. If you want to resize it, drag any of the corner (not side or top) handles.

If you need to crop the image (chop off top/bottom or either side), the Picture toolbar must be visible. From the Tools menu, choose Customize. Click the checkbox next to "Picture" toolbar. OK.

When you click your image, the Picture toolbar will be displayed. The crop tool is the one that looks like an intersecting upside-down "L" and a backwards "L". Click it (to select it). Then click and drag any top, bottom, left or right handle on your image to crop.

Repeat steps 7-9 for each image you want to insert into a slide. 2-3 images per side ensures the detail can be seen. Too many images / slide = too hard to see.

- - - - - - - - -

To add a callout to an image:

Bottom of screen...
* Click "Autoshapes" menu
* Choose "Callouts"
* Click the callout shape of choice
* Type verbiage into the callout.

You can type whatever you want into the callout shape, position it by dragging, make it bigger, smaller, whatever.

Rule of thumb for slides: Don't use font size less than 18 points, otherwise it gets real hard to read. 20-24 pts is probably better.

- - - - - - - - -

** Why "Network Blitz" or "Soaring" for design choices.

These should have been installed by default when PPT was loaded onto your computer.

Generally speaking for slide shows the room will be darkened, at least some. Text and images seem to show up better on backgrounds that are mostly dark vs. dark text against a light image (harder on the eyes). Dark blue is very effective in this regard.

= = = = = = =

Okay... This ought to get you started.

Good luck and have fun!
~Danny~

. 7.
. 6.

[gho64]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTION

Hi Danny,

I tried your suggestions immediately & it worked perfectly. That is exactly what I had in mind. Hope to return the favor in the very near future. Have a great day.

Hersul (gho64)

[KevinBE]

Good handle Danny. Powerpoint was the furthurest thing from my mind. Glad it worked out Hersul.

[DannyRaphael]

Hersul: Glad to help and that my instructions made sense.

- - - - -

Kevin:

It was a shot in the dark based on my early (and painful) experiences making 35mm slides via Powerpoint around 1990 -- before Microsoft bought the company who originally developed it!

Thanks for the kind words.
Danny

[gho64]

IDEAS FOR SLIDESHOW CONSTRUCTION

Hi Again Danny (The Problem Solver),

I have another related question that I am sure that you have the answer for. I will be constructing several slideshows over the next few weeks & would like to learn & insert a few new & interesting effects into each show. Where can I find that kind of information??? Is there an association or web site that specializes in Slideshow construction & related information.

By the way, I am not going to make (the old fashion) Slides, I am going to project the files from my computer as you suggested & I THANK YOU for that voluntary & much appreciated suggestion. Best Regards.

Hersul (gho64)

[DannyRaphael]

Here's a few links that look promising. I found these using a Google.com search argument of: powerpoint slide show tutorial

* http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/ppt/
* http://www.bcschools.net/staff/PowerPointHelp.htm
* http://tutorials.beginners.co.uk/read/id/323

These are just the tip of the iceberg...

~~~~~~

Here's a few more pearls of wisdom gleaned from the sharktooth marks in my south side:

Slide show guidelines:
* Don't overkill on the high-tech effects, especially transitions from slide to slide. Dazzling effects distract audience away from your presentation. Keep it simple and fairly consistent from slide-to-slide.
* Use the MSFT provided slide templates = a uniform, more professional presentation. In this case they knew what they were doing.
* Bullets: About 5 max per slide. Beyond that, the print gets too small to read from the back row. "Less per slide is more."
* Font size: Stick with the ones MSFT recommends/provides in the canned text areas. Definitely go no less than 18 pts.
* Learn to use the software... which keys to go forward, go back, etc. If this isn't you, have the person who WILL be doing the slide show well trained before the presentation. Nothing hoses a good presentation faster than someone screwing up at the controls.
* If you're doing a timed presentation, e.g., your "slot" is (say) 30 minutes, practice the presentation a couple times along with the slides. It seemed like I had more slides that time in most instances.
* Be sure to be familar with the connections of the projector to your laptop and making that all work. Many a very good presentation never got made because the speaker had no idea how to connect the projector to the laptop or troubleshoot problems.

You'll soon be in Powerpoint 2000 heaven -- or the other place!

~Danny~