Lin Evans

Try here. Song was recorded by a number of different people beginning with Petula Clark. Available on a number of albums: http://www.google.com/musicsearch?id=1op0S5_QztE You can buy it here by a number of artists for $.99 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_dmusic?u...p;x=11&y=19 Lin

Hi Gary, Did you by chance change the font or font size or set it to bold, etc.?? Any change that you make can be applied to all slides but won't be unless you click on set for existing slides. Also if you have inadvertently changed the drop shadow it could affect the text clarity. Best regards, Lin

Hi Eric, I thoroughly enjoyed your show! The reenactment clothing was spectacular and believable, obviously most were of authentic dating. Only the new cars, plastic bottles of tea and soda, color photos, etc., in the pictures allowed the viewer to know that it was a reenactment. Of course the age of some of the participants in uniform might be a hint! LOL. Very nice and much appreciated. The music was fitting - perhaps a collage of images could be made to display and round out the end of the show and let Vera Lynn finish the song We'll Meet Again".... Best regards, Lin

Hi Tom, Just for you! Just a "little" head movement and closer look.... about 3 meg.... http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...eadmovement.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Guys, Thanks - fun playing with the little feathered "fiend" - LOL. Robert, that's a great idea - it would improve the hand/eye coordination of we old reprobates to have to chase around after the tiny flying "target" for a mouse click - HA. It would be fun to add some more animations to the humming bird, but this was a starting point to determine the expedient way to proceed. In doing this I learned some things about PTE which helps me make numerous tiny increments in keyframe timings. It's "MUCH" easier to set a time to something such as 60 seconds, do the automatic insertion of keyframes with the "plus" key which gives timings of a half second per keyframe so zero, 500, 1000, etc.,. Then if you want it much faster just change the time to 30 seconds or 10 seconds or whatever smaller display time and check "scale keyframe in objects" (on time change). This way you get precise increments very close together. So if you "really" wanted 60 seconds but wanted the keframes separated by say 1/8th seconds you would just start with 240 seconds and put in all keyframes then change the time to 60 seconds with "scale keyframe in objects" checked and you're there! Lin

Hi Debi, Actually, you don't have the latest version which is 5.5 so go ahead and download that and install. No need to erase 5.0 it will create another folder and icon for 5.5. You don't set the TV safe zone in Video Builder but rather in PTE. Go to Objects and Animations screen then click on "Tools" (bottom right) then choose TV Safe Zone and the program will give you a visual indication of where the cut-off is so you can keep important information inside the boundaries. NOTE (9/3/08): Ken is absolutely right - you have the option of using the "safe zone" also for menu building to keep your text from running off the screen. So turn on Menu Builder in PTE to avoid loosing important portions of your images to the different aspect ratio and overscan of TV and turn it on in Video Builder to avoid misplacement of text and navigation buttons, etc. Best regards, Lin

Small - about 3 meg... ?? http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...gbirdflight.zip (improved version) 9:03 pm MT Lin

LOL - probably! But they actually have a "membrane" which covers the eye rather than closing eyelids. It's not very "photogenic" and bird photographers frequently pull their hair when their "best" shot ends up with a bird in such a condition. So my hawk model decided to keep her eye open even with the "surprise" of the lightning strike. Nice of her, eh? Best regards, Lin

Hi Bart, Thanks for the comments! Actually, it's an iterative process to try to evoke more realism in the animation process. Though PTE is actually not designed as an animation software it lends itself to some creative things very nicely I think. Dominic (theDom) has gone above and beyond in creativity with some amazing ways of using PTE. I can't wait to see what he does with the soon to be released 5.6 version and the new masking capabilities. Yes, my own private jet! I commandeered it specifically to fly past my window in weather no sane pilot would attempt so we gave the crew the day off and flew it by remote control! LOL... Best regards, Lin

Hi Robert, Yes, I think the general perception is that backlight in the clouds and the "flash" effect from rather close lightning strikes gives more "realism". The composite image was created to more or less "spotlight" this effect. In reality, there seem to be many more lightning strike images where there is little or no cloud backlighting than with, but not as impressive and perhaps not evoking as much perception of "realism" Thanks much for the feedback, Best regards, Lin

A single slide with some subtleties. Will eventually be used in a slide show.... about 7 meg... Lin http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sampl...comingstorm.zip

Hi Barry, I think the significant word in Peters suggestion is "need". Yes, you "can" make the images larger than the output size for the projector but it's not "necessary". There is no advantage to be had by making them larger except for ones where deep zooms are used. Best regards, Lin

Hi Geo, Yes, executable code stores all the original files along with "instructions" to the computer to create intermediate files on demand. So when you create a zoom or pan or rotate, all the additional images necessary to make the animation transition from the original photo to the end result photo are created on the fly. This is true for executable code. For movie code such as avi, mpeg, mov, dvd, etc., each individual image must be created and stored within the file structure. There are two ways to decrease the size of the executable file. You can decrease the dimensions of the original while maintaining the aspect ratio or you can increase the compression of the jpg. The advantage of decreasing the dimensions is that you have a true decrease in the load on the video card and RAM. When you increase the compression (smaller number in Photoshop, etc.) you decrease the executable file size but you do not really decrease the load on the video card or RAM, etc., because the jpg expands within memory to the same size as it would be had you used an 8 bit tiff file, etc., there is not a true advantage other than just making the executable file size smaller. It requires less storage space on the hard disk or storage media, but when the show is played each jpg which is under compression expands to the full 8 bit size without compression. The disadvantage, if you use too much compression, is that you sacrifice image quality. It's probably not wise to use a smaller number than 6 for compression or you begin to sacrifice image quality since even when the jpg expands to the full 8 bit size it doesn't magically create the data lost due to compression. So if you actually change the dimensions - such as from 1200x1600 to 800x600 as an example, you not only save executable file storage space but you also lower video card and RAM loading without undue sacrifice of image quality. Best regards, Lin

animation improvements. This, one of my earlier rain animations, has lightning strikes but something was missing which I "think" I have corrected. Lightning takes on many forms (polymorphic) where at times there are few, if any, cloud effects such as increased brightness surrounding the bolt. At other times there is a wide area around the cloud which is strongly illuminated. After studying a number of lightning strike photos, I added a new one with cloud illumination. Any thoughts??? http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/firestarter.zip Best regards, Lin

Hi Peter, There are a wide range of "adjustments" you can make on transitions with rolling or curl depending on the "radius" you choose. The effect you see which Igor used is designed to show you the 3D effect. There are nearly infinite variations you can program for yourself. Note Igor's comment that "they are not fully optimized" in this demo.... Lin

Hi Peter, Pay special attention to the upper right hand corner as the penultimate image transcends via the mask. You will see the sky from the previous image remaining. This mask allows some incredible effects permitting elements of two images to be viewed simultaneously! Best regards, Lin

LOL - Great idea! Lin

Hi Igor, Great effects! The mask is outstanding! Looking forward to the beta releases! Best regards, Lin

http://www.learntomakeslideshows.net/sample/butterfly.zip Lin

Hi Artie, Also remember that you have a navigation bar available with some great options so you can, for example, set the navigation bar to fade out after a time period so it won't interfere with your images then come back when the mouse is moved, etc. You can change the size, position, colors, type of icons for slide advancement, etc., it's very nice. You can also just use the right and left arrows to navigate and if you don't move the mouse the navigation bar can remain hidden - likewise you can use a PowerPoint controller for same. It's also possible to program a menu on a particular slide then use a hidden frame or area of the screen to actuate it so you can immediately "jump" to a particular slide. There are lots of options with the new version. Email me if you have specific questions and I can help you get going: lin@learntomakeslideshows.net data2@lpbroadband.net Just click the box as Peter Suggests. Don't be afraid to just download the latest version, it will not affect the previous one you are using. Best regards, Lin

Hi Gary, There are several ways to proceed. You can do it by screen capture as Ken shows or you can decompile the video into individual frames. To decompile you need a video decompiler which will extract each individual frame from which you can choose then toss the rest out. There are some good, free video decompilers available. Here's a link to the one I use: http://softdepo.com/video_decompiler.htm Lin

Hi Peter, No need to apologize at all. It's often difficult to convey a message in writing especially when the recipient is on a different wavelength - LOL. Having two issues compounds the communication. Once the problem with improper PTE refresh is solved it will make such communications much easier. Best regards. Lin

Hi Peter 216 degrees 218.4 degrees 219.6 degrees Lin

Hi Xaver, Nice viable work-around for finding the precise location for the keyframe.... Best regards, Lin

I see what your issue is now. There are two problems - first a logical issue. You have the ability to change the rotation between any two keyframes to anything you wish. For example you may want to make 180 degrees of rotation between keyframe one and keyframe two, then make 1440 degrees of rotation between keyframes two and three. But if you simply set keyframe one to zero degrees of rotation and the last keyframe to 1440 you will have exactly 720 degrees of rotation at the halfway point between these keyframes regardless of the real time between the beginning keyframe and ending keyframe. If you simply move the blue slider along the timeline while observing the rotation you will have precisely 720 degrees at the halfway point. But when you "insert" a keyframe, the value for the rotation is picked up at the point where the keyframe is created and it maintains this value no matter where you eventually position the keyframe. So if you insert the keframe at 360 degrees it will keep this value even if you position the keyframe at the halfway point where you "expect" to find 720 degrees of rotation. The keyframe value is not "updated' as the slider is moved. If you set the mid keyframe time to the halfway point then type in the proper rotation for that point it will work correctly, but what you want is for the program to automatically calculate the degree of rotation to coinside with the keyframe time inserted rather than assume the rotation degree from the point of keyframe insertion. This probably can be done by changes in programming, but for now you would have to calculate the proper degree of rotation for the particular time on the timeline and insert it manually. This could get complicated and it would be "better" to have the program calculate it for you precisely with the provision that you can change it manually if you so wish. I'm not certain how this will work in practice because of the non-linear functions such as smooth, accelerate, slow, etc. That is I don't know the inter-relationships at the code level but you could ask Igor if this change is possible. The second part of the problem is the nagging refusal of PTE to properly update which complicates trying to resolve the other issue. Right now it's necessary to go into the PTE file and manually remove the 3000 to make it correspond with your one second (1000) transition. Best regards, Lin