Lin Evans

Project Options, Comments, Insert Template - then choose.... Lin

Hi Barry, Just install Flash 9 - download from the Adobe site free. Actually, for this type show the Flash version is about a good as an executable. There are no big zooms or long pans and the animation is quick enough that no jerkiness is visible at all - actually it looks great at full screen. The "majority" of younger users already have the latest and greatest Flash player installed. It's just we old geezers who are slow to the gate, so I suppose it depends on the audience you want to reach. Both Vimeo and Youtube now display higher resolution Flash and convert the MP4's from PTE automatically. Vimeo allows the user to determine whether they want the viewer to be able to download the original MP4 so actually it's a pretty decent system with broad appeal. The only thing I don't care for about Vimeo (and the new trend) is that they only support high definition in 16:9 aspect ratio which millions of users still have systems on which displays are anything but. Also the majority of digital cameras don't shoot in 16:9 meaning we have to crop our images and shoot with future cropping in mind to make a decent looking HD show as it is displayed on Vimeo. Best regards, Lin

Hi Igor, In my opinion - toss it out, we don't need it... converter sounds great and a much better way to go. Best regards, Lin

LOL - I'll put some sausage on those windmill blades so that dog will point in the right direction! L

Hi Ian, Great stuff!! Loved "Morning Has Broken" as well - perfect fit for Cat Steven's beautiful melody... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Lin

Just for Ken - HA! http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/ha!.zip L

Hi Barbara, If you have Photoshop CS or better, go to PanosFX - http://www.panosfx.com/ and register, then go to http://www.panosfx.com/index.php?option=co...8&Itemid=56 You have to register and sign in to get to the second link, so copy and paste it in your browser and go there "after" you have registered on the PanosFX site rather than try to link from here. Download the SnowGlobe Photoshop action and my template if you want to animate with snow. Then you only need to follow the instructions on the PDF to animate your own image inside the snow globe with falling snow. Best regards, Lin

HA! Ken can't see the lights on the windmill blades so I think I'll put a magnifying glass on them.... Lin

LOL - You got ta go see that eye doc again and get him to up the ante on your new glasses. - better yet, I need to put a "magnifying glass" on the last image - dem blades got lights! HA! L

Here's your "alternate ending".... Look for additional lights in windmill windows and on windmill blades, ending in "snowglobe".... Best regards, Lin http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...tsalternate.zip

Hi Bob, Thanks for the kind words and feedback. Threads like this help with not only the original question (lights or no lights) but also with cross-cultural understanding. We are all products of our environment and perhaps in some small way this helps to broaden our horizons and open our eyes to differences in perceptions based on our individual experiences. Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, Great idea! Best regards, Lin

Hi Ralph, Thanks for the useful feedback. Thankfully, PTE is a tool which serves many different aesthetic tastes and can be used in many ways. This last show was one, and aesthetically pleasing shows without, as Patrick refers to them, "fancy animations" can easily be done which will play even on older systems with minimal resources too. Best regards, Lin

Hi Patrick, The only transitions are fades so if there is "stuttering" it is probably the lack of hardware rendering capability. If you mean the snow fall animation is stuttering, it's also your video card which is not up to the task of properly rendering the PNG animations. As for the aesthetics, that's a subjective evaluation which "may" be colored by your hardware limitations, or not. If snow falls "upwards," it's indeed your hardware - LOL. I think over the last couple years we have been down this path with your system hardware limitations many times. It's unfortunate that you don't have a modern graphics environment because you do not see what others see. With PTE you have the "choice" of allowing retrieval of images with a decompiler, or not. By default encryption is on, and I didn't change the default so you are correct that a screen copy will not separate the PNG animations from the images, but that's not the purpose of my presentation or question which is whether the Christmas lights are preferred or not by the majority. I'm not certain what you mean by "falling snow... a great step backward...." It's only one of many possible animations which can be very realistic providing your graphics environment is up to the task of properly rendering the motion. Perhaps in the future when you replace your present system you will be able to at least see what is intended rather than what I'm certain is a real "mess" on your screen. Unfortunately, everyone does not sequence to the least common denominator so perhaps a "caveat" should be issued to not waste the time of those with older systems. I will do this in the future for you. Thanks for the feedback, Best regards, Lin

A few days ago I posted a link to a slideshow demonstrating various snow techniques and have now made some additions in terms of Christmas lighting. Just wondering which way most would prefer the show. Links below to each (about 12 meg). 1. Without Christmas lights http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/letitsnow.zip 2. With additional "gingerbread" http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...tsnowlights.zip Would appreciate suggestions, preferences, etc... Best regards, Lin

Hi Bruce, Thanks! Yes, the non HD (SD) seems to play smoother than the HD creations for whatever reason. It's the same on Youtube and Vimeo. There is less jerkiness in standard quality than in high quality and not just from PTE but from all... Best regards, Lin

Ken, Ralph, I edited out your comments by mistake! Got to watch which buttons I push! If you put your comments back in I will be more careful!! Lin

Snow has varied importance to different cultural groups. In Europe, Asia, the Arctic, parts of North and South America and even Australia, people who live in areas where snow is prevalent have greater interest in this phenomena than in desert or equatorial areas where snow is occasional but soon forgotten. Perhaps the area where snow is most important is in the frozen north where Eskimo tribes (there are five language groups of them) deal with it on a regular basis. Anthropologist Franz Boas identified four distinct Eskimo words for snow, where in English, for example, we often tend to group different types and consistency into the single word, "snow". Later studies by anthropologists have found that in the Central Alaskan Yupik, a major group consisting of over 13,000 people there are at least fifteen lexemes for snow (a lexeme can be thought of much like a "dictionary" entry). The Yupik, like other Eskimo dialects, is inflectionally complicated. So really there may be many additional "words" for snow. Suffice it to say that being able to convey rather precise information about the type and consistency of snow is quite important to a people who deal with it on a regular basis. With this in mind, I tend to attempt to create a variety of snowfall animation types to use with PicturesToExe. A few days ago early in the morning I glanced at the thermometer on my front porch and found the temperature to be minus 24 degrees F. That's pretty cold for this time of year in our area of Colorado so it got me to thinking once again about - you guessed it - snow - LOL. With Christmas coming, I decided to "borrow" some fair use web images (definitely not my own photos) of really nice snow scenes and make a little slideshow which attempts to demonstrate several different approaches to animated snowfall. Also it demonstrates a couple other techniques to enhance realism. Look for a slight snowflake build up over time on the green roof edge and green pine trees in one scene, on the backs of the horses and on the coats, noses and tongues of the Siberian Husky sled dogs. In the last scene, notice the animated windmill. Add to this a very nice "snow text" effect courtesy of Panos FX Photoshop action and a 1953 rendition of White Christmas by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters (the same one used by the animation artist Joshua Held on the neat Christmas video linked by Ken) and an old chestnut, Let it Snow, by Dean Martin and we have "Let it Snow" - fun to make with PTE in the Christmas spirit.... http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/letitsnow.zip Merry Christmas to all..... Lin

Hi Igor, I've tried 60 fps as well as normal and though 60 is very clean, there is a slight "stutter" on the beginning of rotations and on the beginnings of some fast zooms. I see this especially in horse with the three disc pictures when it rotates. Also noticeable is more "shimmer" on the chipmonk's ear on the rotate within the bezel. I see this on my analog high resolution monitor at 1024x768 resolution but less at 1600x1200. Note that I'm being hypercritical, it's not "bad" it's just not as good as the executable on my systems. There is a slight "shutter or stutter" on the start and near the stop of some rotations and pans. This may not be visible on an LCD monitor with slower refresh but on my fast refresh analog Nokia 445Xi monitor it is quite visible. I'm going to try custom at 1024x768 with 60p and see what that yields. Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, I'm not sure whether the problem I have with Flash 10 player is the player or Firefox. With Flash 10 it skips frames, a lot! Also I get error messages and Mozilla must either close or restart so difficult to tell exactly. Best regards, Lin

Hi Igor, Yes, in Classic HomeCinema, Flash Player 10 (very bad in Flash Player 10), in VLC and Kantaris. No difference between Classic HomeCinema and VLC/Kantaris - jerky in both. I tried taking out the sound and re-generating, etc., no help. Just uploaded and installed HomeCinema version 1.2.908.0 and it's "better" than VLC or Kantaris, but still some jerky movement in rotates. Best regards, Lin

Could you tell me exactly what parameters you used to create the HD? I have one system with almost the same setup (GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Video Ram, Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4 GH) with 4 GB system RAM running on Windows XP Home Edition and will use it to try to duplicate. No matter how I have created the videos I get jerky movement of horizontal and rotation as well as a good deal of "sparkle" as if the mipmapping is not working. Executable's are perfect. Worst case I can zip up the MP4 and post it so someone else with broadband can download and try it to see if the issue is with my playback or with the video creation. Thanks, Lin