dpeterso

Patrick - Question # 1: I used limited pans and zooms because I wanted motion in the show, and I tried to use it only where it would add to the communication of the slide. Question # 2: The thickness of the smoothing line is set at the default of 6%. Frankly, I have no idea what this function does. Question # 3: I ddn't change anything with the music between (02) and (03). Odd that you would experience a difference. Regards, Dave

Patrick - I began my slideshow making hobby with PTE/V5. Dave

Hello again Andrew, Your response has some good points. I like your assessment of why it works for you but not for "some", me included. I too have become so familiar with my own shows that I try to hurry through them. I personally don't like shows with no animation. They are too mechanical, too regimented, too much like "slideshows". (I've now just offended about 5000 people.) I try to get it to flow, to have some fluidity to it, and perhaps try to make it more movie-like. Generally the music is my director, and not the pictures. I try to move with the mood and tempo of the music. And if the music is moving my soul, the pictures should follow suit in support of what's happening. When I can get the lap/disolve, the motion of the connecting slides, and the music all working together, it becomes art for me. But, as I have learned, it's disturbing to many others. I don't feel like I'm wrong here, especially in terms of what's possible with slideshows, it's just that I'm like a chip with a paint brush and canvas trying to express what I feel without knowing how to do it artistically and pleasingly. I feel that I can identify with your intentions with the use of pans and zooms, as they seem similar to mine. And I agree, there is more than one audience. We shouldn't violate our personal sense of what's good and not good. But we can also please more than just ourselves by have multiple versions. Have a nice day Andrew, Dave

Thanks for your comments John. It's always encouraging to know progress is being made. Have a nice evening, Dave

Hello Andrew - I just finished viewing your presentation and would like to offer some comments. You have some great photographs to use in telling your story, however I couldn't fully appreciate them because of the pans and zooms. You have done the very thing I did with my first post of "Flinthills". I was so enamored by the tools that I over used them. I think you have some scenes that would lend themselves well to panning, but when you do it, slow down so we can enjoy the view. Like I said, you have some great pictures that are worth spending some time with. Also, the panning was out of tempo with the music (which I liked). It would have helped to get all the movement and animation better timed with the beat of the music. I did like the professional look of your opening slides. You had some "jerking" happening in a place I'd never seen before. Mine occurred at the end of the transition; your's was occurring further into the slide. I don't know what was going on there???? Once I regained my composure from people's complaints about my excessing panning and zooming, I sort of came up with some new guidelines for myself: 1. Only pan or zoom if doing so will add to or enhance what I'm are trying to communicate. 2. Zoom aways work well when I need to give a context to the subject, especially people. 3. Pans work well when I have a panorama. (you had several in your show) 4. Don't pan or zoom during a transition. Get the audience to my next slide, let them enjoy it for a second, then tell them the rest of the story of the slide with my animation. 5. Stop the motion before tranitioning on to the next slide. 6. Zoom in's work well if I want to isolate someone or something from it's surroundings. A different slide with a closer view is really a better way to do this. 7. Only pan from left to right, the way we read. 8. Never use back to back pans or zooms. Give people's eyes a moment to rest with just the pictures and music. I really hope you don't take offense with my comments Andrew. I was temporarily insulted by the negative reaction I received, but boy am I glad they had the courage to render some comments. I really learned from their frankness. I hope you'll feel the same. I look forward to more of your work; you obviously know how to use a camera. Regards, Dave

You made my day Neil! I don't know which version you watched, but based on the feedback I received, I "tamed down" the panning and zooming, reordered the sequence of images a bit, and then reposted it as "Flinthills(02). I like it better than the original myself. I still need to move faster on the opening slides, so I'm hunting for a picture to insert near the beginning. Thanks for your encouragement. Have a nice dayNeil. Dave

Hi John - Thank you for your comments & advice. It's important to know how it impacts others, and you taking the time to offer feedback is instructive. I feel sure that my next show will be different in that I hope it will incorporate some of what I've learned. Have a good evening. Dave

Thanks Dave. The more input I receive, the more I learn other's reaction to it. It sure seems that the panning and zooming thing bothered people more than it did me, although the feedback is from a very small sample. Nevertheless, I am listening. I wanted it to flow with the mood of the music, so I tried to "keep it moving". Maybe I misinterpreted the tool as a movie camera instead of a slideshow maker. Anyway, thanks for the critique. It will help me learn. Dave

Bob - I just now got around to looking at your first slideshow. Very nice with properly exposed, sharp pictures. The music is fitting too. The only thing that would have made it better for me was to have taken your photographs in that magic light of early morning and late evening. This is most likely out of your control; these events rarely have the photographer's light in mind. Also, it would have been nice for you to hold the music credits slide a little longer. The reason is, I'm planning a photo essay of our family farm next year and I'm on the hunt for agrarian type music. Good job & keep shootin'. Dave

Thanks for the feedback Bob. I'm beginning to understand the sensitivity of pans and zooms. I've not seen an example of a slideshow using pans and zooms that's could be held up as tasteful and judicious use of PZRs (not that they're not out there; I've just not found them). And the shimmer-- Al first brought it to my attention, but I couldn't find it. I've since found the example in the barn window , now I'll have to find it in the cow's hay. . I've concluded that the jerking is a video card issue (or RAM), and I suppose the moire (your spelling) originates from the same causes. I'll have to look into that problem further. Regarding Patrick, I've learned a lot from him already, and I agree with using a formatted critique system. Welcome to the midwest Bob. Thanks for your input. Dave

That's a great idea Patrick. I'll have to think about how I might do this. On a previous note, the more I think about your reaction to my pans and zooms, the more I've taken your critique to heart. One of the hallmarks of an amatuer is the misuse of tools. Guilty as charged. One should pan or zoom only if it adds to the communication/message of the slide. If the point is obvious, no sense moving around. It just makes the viewer sea-sick. Also, I've modified the slideshow a little by lightening up most of the slides and taking the animation out of some. I think it was a needed improvement. Lastly, as you surely know, there are general rules/guidelines in still photography, such as "rule of thirds, leading lines, balance, etc. This whole idea of animated sideshows opens up a new ball game, one where I've never been exposed to the "dos and don't". Do you know if any information is around, such as guidelines for slideshows, or even guidelines for cinamaphotography? That's all for now. Best regards, Dave

Good morning Patrick, I find your critique very interesting, and I appreciate it. Perhaps I can learn from it. I was concerned about the dark appearance. I use a Dell Ultra Sharp monitor and it can really make the saturated pictures snap. With some of then I wanted to give an evening feeling also. But as you say, viewed on monitors of less intensity can be distracting. Most of my family uses Ultra Sharp monitors, so essentaily that's where I dialed in the saturation and brightness. And you have confirmed my suspicions about pans viewed with sub-par video cards. Of especial interest to me though was your impression on the use of pans in all the pictures. Maybe I should have been more selective and mixed it up more, both in the use of and the duration. The reason for the slow start (and I agree with you) was that I wanted to get to a particular place in the music to present the text. I should have chopped off a bit of the beginning in Audacity. I hope to continue getting input from you and others so that I can learn. I'm new at this. Best regards, Dave

I've just finished another slideshow that perhaps you'll enjoy. It was done with PTE-5 and you can find it at this link: http://www.epetersons.com/slideshows/ It's the bottom show titled "The Flinthills". It's 23Mb, so feel free to decline if you don't want to invest in the download time. Thanks, Dave

Thanks for the praise and tips. I can't see the "shimmer" you are referring to, but I sure can see the "jerk". Maybe it's because I'm looking for it. My wife sees neither the shimmer or the jerk. Anyway, I'll post the link in the "presentations" section so other can see. Have a restful weekend. Dave

Beautiful images, beautiful music, well done Patrick. Dave

Al - You and your slideshow comrades have really helped me understand the situation and it's limitations. I like your advice, both personally and in PZR effects; "slow & easy". I've just finished another show that I would enjoy your critique on. You can find it at this link: http://www.epetersons.com/slideshows/ It's the bottom show titled "The Flinthills". It's 23Mb, so feel free to decline if you don't want to invest in the download time. Again, thanks much. Dave

Great information!. My question now becomes, if I upgrade my video card to where the "jerk" disappears, will those viewing the slideshow with lesser performing video cards see the "jerk"? I guess a way around this is to burn a DVD. Is that right? Thanks for your help. Enjoy the weekend. Dave

Igor - You've shed considerable lighty on the nature of the problem. I've concluded that I need a higher horsepower video card. Thank you very much. Dave

Well Al, I chickened out with "EndItAll" after reading the warning message about messing up my operating system unless knew what I was doing. I certainly qualified as not know what I was doing. Thanks again for your help. You've been great! Dave

Al - I've tried 1280 X 768 and 1024 X 768. It made no difference in the "jerk" appearing at the end of the transition. I think I have an undersized video card (even at 128mb) for doing significant pans and zooms. Thanks for your help. Have a good day. Dave

Al - My monitor is running at 1280 X1024. How are you resizing your monitor to 1280 X 768? Dave

I just refreshed with a download of Direct X 9.0C. No change, still have the single "jerk". Thanks, Dave

John - Yes, the "jerk" occurs right where the transition ends, even if I vary where the transition ends. The duration of the pan has no influence on the situation. It seems the only thing that does influence it is the degree to which I enlarge the frame so I can pan. A lot of enlargement is bad, a little enlargement is better. Thanks for thinking about this problem. Keep thinking. Dave

Barry - Thanks your your help. I tried all that you suggested, but unfortunately to no avail. I'm now thinking my Radeon X300 video card, even at 128MB is insufficient for what I'm trying to do with pans. I've figured out a work-around by inserting a cloned keypoint and placing it immediately following the transition effect. This allows the transition to be completed before the pan begins. Not exactly what I wanted, but certainly better than the "jerk". I'm also wondering what would happen if I went to a higher performance video card to where I couldn't see the "jerk", but when others pull down the slide show and watched it with a "lesser" video card, would they now see the "jerk"? I'm thinking they may see it whereas they didn't see it before because I limited the pans to avoid the "jerk". Anyway, I really appreciate your help. Dave

Hello Slideshow Makers - I'm new to the forum and a veteran of about 8 slideshows with PTE/V5.0. I'm have a problem with a noticeable "jerk" while doing pans &/or zooms, especially if the pan/zoom has a considerable amount of travel. It occurs consistently about 1/8 of the way into the pan/zoom. I've tried many different things to remedy the problem, and only two thing work, but at a price. One is to turn off the "Effects" toggle. The other is to greatly reduce the amount of travel associated with the pan or zoom. It seems to make no difference in the duration of the display or the size of the picture. I've experimented with jpeg pictures sized at 1280 X 853 (204KB in size) and 3072 X 2048 (486 KB in size). The problem is the same with either size of the same picture. I'm running a Dell with a Pentium 4, 3GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, and a Radeon X300 SE video card with 128 MB of memory. I've watched the forum for anyone to report a similar issue, but I've not seen any reported. So, now I'm wondering if it's unique to me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, I just love the software! Regards, Dave