Barry Beckham

Just to inform all interested people that PTE is feattured in the September issue of Digital Photo. The magazine is called Digital Photo and it is the premier UK digital Imaging magazine and is the sister magazine to Practical Photography that has been out for years. Digital Photo started off at Digital PhotoFX about 6 years ago and I am told by the Editor it has the largest readership of the digital magazines in the UK. I have written tutorials for this magazine since its launch and the September 2003 issue carries the PTE slide show put together by myself on the Yosemite national Park in the USA. I think the magazine also carries both a written and a movie tutorial of the whole process, but as yet I have not seen this issue magazine yet. I am aware from emails received that the early copies have already been sent out to subscribers of the magazine, but it wasn’t on sale in the book stores this lunchtime when I checked. I expect it to be in the UK shops within a day or so. I am also aware that at least one reader has bought PTE because he emailed me for some help. I suspect there will be many more. bbdigital

Good work Olga a great slide show with quality images bbdigital

Although I have not seen it yet, I understand that my Yosemite AV is included on the cover CD of the latest copy of Digital Photo. I presume the tutorial is also included. Igor may see the sales of PTE rise for a week or two, with a bit of luck. bbdigital

Marianne Just read your mail about black country, I actually use PTE quite basically and all the work is done in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements for the slides that blend fropm one to another as parts are added. Basically all that is, is a montage of 5 or 6 images, broken apart and each layer or added part is then saved as a slide. Some advice already given is good and that is to start a bit more basic and work up. There is some information on my web site here http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu...v/startercd.htm with a tutorial CD that is available if you still need some help. bbdigital

nobeefstu I go along with all that, but....................why are there always so many buts in this life LOL...??? Anyway, what was I saying. Oh yes, but!! people will still print screen grabs and despite my earlier comment about low quality, have you printed out a 72dpi image on a good inkjet printer lately, they are not bad you know. Probably good enough for 70% of people to A4. Especially if they are getting them free of charge. Don't get me wrong I am not paranoid about people stealing my pictures, I am sure it has happened already. It's just a shame that we cannot prevent screen prints and have confidence that it stays that way. I suppose its the age old argument, if you can put in an electronic anti copy device, some clever bugger will develop an electronic way to take it out. Oh well, what the hell. btw..........Tonight I have been bombarded with virus emails, all picked up safely, but be vigilent with what you open people. bbdigital

No, still can't see the point and the Pros I have lectured to would love their low res images free from a screen grab possibility. We, the initiated understand the resolution issue but most don't. They will grab the images, print them out and then blame the photographer for the poor quality image, that is if they even realise they have a poor quality image. Never mind, I can see that one more program to take a screen grab will not hurt. I use one myself for writing tutorials called Hypersnaps. I just wondered what the enthusiasm for this software was from a group of people who had the originals. bbdigital

Am I being daft, but why would anyone want to capture PTE screen images unless it was that they are up to no good and stealing someone elses work. If you make a slide show, where is the need to capture images from the show in this way, you would have higher resolution images at your disposal wouldn't you. Am I missing something or just being suspicious. bbdigital

Sorry Sharon, but I found the fractals very uneasy on the eye. I need something gentler and with more variety for the slide show to appeal to me. Individual slow disolves to a haunting peice of music may work better as the shapes and colours blend together duting the transition. bbdigital

I would love to see PTE display the images in the left window as small thumbnails that I can sort into order of preference. I would also like to be able to maybe right click the thumbnail and change the name and/or rename the whole slide sequence once it had been sorted. bbdigital

Yes, the lakes is a mystery as it has been made for a couple of years and has worked perfectly since then. I have used it in my demos and lectures and it was only on a run through prior to putting it up on my site that I noticed the problem. It played perfectly on my PC this morning, but yesterday it wouldn't. I doubt I will go back and remake it, there are too many new projects to do. I have just put another slide show up on my site, hope my band width can take all this. http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu..._av/explain.htm bbdigital

I have added a new slide show to my web site that is a bit more up beat and based on the ZZ top song Viva Las Vegas. It is a bit on the large size tho (16 meg) as the images change fairly quickly and there are a lot of them. I have another nice slide show based on the lake district of England, but although it has always run perfectly in the past, the sound appears intermitant now when I tried it over the weekend. I was about to put it up on my site, but not if it is not running right. I am not sure if it is just a querk of this PC, but I doubt it as it runs the other slide shows OK. Perhaps I will post it anyway and you can tell me if it runs OK for you. bbdigital http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu..._av/explain.htm

The main link to the forum is working but not the bit about DVDs bbdigital

Michel Thank you very much bbdigital

I have tidied up my web page for PTE and put up a couple of new slide shows. The url is http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu..._av/explain.htm Just click on the thumbnail to download bbdigital

I have been interested in an answer to this query and the http://www.barcin.net/forum/ suggested does not appear to be up and running. Is it possible, does anyone know how we can save our PTE file to a DVD and have it play automatically? bbdigital

Dlesko Using batch files is all explained on an easy to follow PTE tutorial CD both in written form and on screen video here http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu...v/startercd.htm Hope that helps bbdigital

This is a great sequence of images of old Liverpool and a good choice of music too. It all seemed to flow nicely. Nice one Tom bbdigital

gourmetphoto There is a Pics2exe tutorial CD available here http://www.barrybeckham.co.uk/tutorials/tu...udio_visual.htm that will take you through what you need to know and it doesn't cost a bundle either. bbdigital

Iceberg I can recall sitting in our lounge with 2 Kodak Caroursel projectors and a Kodak Dissolve unit and a hand control slider putting together sequences, been there done that, but make a mistake and it was back to the start, so PTE has the the lead there by a mile. It would be really good if we could perhaps right click a transition point on the time line in pte and just have one value box come up to adjust the transition time. Look forward to seeing your AV's................. Back in the DDBD (dark days before digital) there was some real god awful slide shows doing the rounds, poor photography, poor technique, I can even recall seeing one where mould was growing inside the glass slide mounts. No chance of that with PTE either bbdigital

What is a WMA file? bbdigital

Iceberg Are you going to post some AV's to show us what you mean with regard to fast and slow dissolves? If the music demands it, then I think that is a fair comment, but if it doesn't a fast fade just looks odd in my view, especially to generally slow music like Dvorak. Check my balloons AV, I think that is more like what you mean. www.bbdigital.co.uk

This pte forum prompted me to try and create an Invision board on my own web site, what a palava, but I managed in the end. I don't wish to tread on the toes of the PTE forum, but perhaps develope mine for those that have questions regarding digital imaging with Photoshop and Photoshop elements being the core subjects. So, if you would like to take a look just go to my main page at www.bbdigital.co.uk and click the super little movie that BJC made for me. bbdigital.

imageartz It is not worth the risk of using music you have do not have the right to use. If you are making money from this venture you should compensate someone else for their music. You wouldn't give your wedding photographs away would you. Try here http://www.trackline.com/ a site that I was put onto and for under £30 you can buy all your wedding music. www.bbdigital.co.uk

Jim I have posted it on my own site and created a link here. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/barry.beckham...ual/balloon.exe This is a second attempt at a jigsaw AV following comments received on this forum. I knew my first was a bit slow, so I have tried to address that and think this is better, but perhaps I am not the best judge. It is based on a clearer image and there are more pieces, but I hope it works better because it runs much more in tune with the music. Barry

I have tried a few times to upload AV's to Beechbrook, is there a 2 sequence limit because I can't get anything else posted apart from the original 2 shows. I zipped the show and send a small thumb too, any ideas? Barry