mcarthur
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Posts posted by mcarthur
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You do have multiple images per page with separate time lines now. I think you don't yet understand how this works. When you add additional "objects" (images, text, etc.) and when you select the text or image the time line and all the keypoints you add or you see is unique to that image. You have total independent control over each image added on a single slide point.
Go back and just work with two images to start with for a show. Place only one in the queue and "add" the other via the right mouse click and select from the drop down window. Now use the two small arrows at the bottom right just below the time line to switch back and forth between the two images. Put a couple keypoints on the timeline for the first image and then switch via the arrows to the second image (See My Tutorial Page Link) and you will see that each image has it's own timeline. Can you imagine how the Fractal.exe show could have been possibly built without individual control??
Hi Lin,
Oh yes, I've found that. What I used to have with my other (unnamed here) software is independent control of each image at any point in the show. So instead of any notion of a "slide", there was simply the multiple notions of time and individual image. Let me prompt in case there is and answer and I've just missed it
Say I want to have two images moving across (L-R, R-L continuously) throughout half of my slideshow, always in the background (I've seen something like this done really well in a competition, so it's "real"). All the other images in the show, for the first half say, come ontop of those two which are semi-opaque so the images on top aren't "drowned out". In PTE5, I can have a single slide with multiple images, all with their own paths etc (yee haa :-)), but I can't see a way to have this cross over into the "next slide". Now, I can make the entire show a single "slide" (in PTE terms) and just have all my images moving inside that, but then I lose all the other wonderful things like music synchro and the lighttable. Is that clear? Is it possible?!Regards
Robert
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Wonderful Igor. Superb :-)
Now, can I make some suggestions :-)
These are all animation related (since that's what I'm concentrating on)
- is there an option to see all the objects on the timeline at once (preferably colour-coded)? It would be easier to synchronise them to be able to see them all at once
- if find myself needing to often modify the length of time the slide is shown for. Can the timeline be modified so I simply move the endpoint further right, rather than needing to go into the "slide" button?
- the keypoint time for the first and last in the slide are the same - 0 - should this be so? (I tried adding some to the last keypoint but it didn't like that! :-)
- I can hardly wait until the variable speed version! :-]
- I can hardly wait until the defined path version :-] :-]
- Is it possible to go back to the light table or main screen after starting the animation screen? I couldn't find a way... Right - found it! The animation screen opens another one fullscreen and hides the underlying one. The windows toolbar still only shows a single window open for that project (ie. not MDI) which threw me. Perhaps add a button or something to the animation screen to send people back to the main.
- I'd still love a way to do what I used to, which is have multiple images per page with seperate timelines/fades/etc. Now the v5 gets me closer since I can add images (objects) to a slide but it's pretty clunky (in terms of control, not in terms of the beautiful animation and new delivery engine!).
- what I find amazing is that so far there's not been a bug. Now I can't undestand a person who doesn't comprehend that when something is labelled "beta" that it means it's a beta. The sort who when presented with "Danger! Don't touch this or you will die" is a budding Darwin award winner! But this is beta software and, apart from what's purposely left out, there's not a bug! I, for one, and someone who's been programming for years, am amazed - GO IGOR!
I was going to put up a 30s show of the fun I've had with but 3 slides, but realised I don't have anywhere to put it! Doh.
Regards
Robert
- is there an option to see all the objects on the timeline at once (preferably colour-coded)? It would be easier to synchronise them to be able to see them all at once
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Ken, the factals actually worked much better than the other two (see my previous post). There's a jump at the end before it cycles again but I assume that's not meant to be pixel perfect. Otherwise the fractals is great. Don't know why they other two aren't as good!?
Robert
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Very slight stutter in flowers just after the fade into a new slide completes. pteshow is noticeably jerky in small ways for most transitions and movements. No trouble with sound.
Dell Insipron D610 laptop (Pentium M 2GHz, 1GB ram, XP SP2), ATI Mobility Radeon X300, Internal DAC(400MHz), 64MB
Robert
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The competition will start Jan 9th and we invite you all to participate. It’s free and will be a good time for all with prizes for the top entries.
So if you’d like get in on the fun please stop by for more details at:
www.creatingslideshows.com/forum
Hmm, I couldn't register at all - it wouldn't accept the "registration code" I typed in (about 10 different ones as it changes each time). It also forces you to put in a birthday - seems to reason for force that so I object. I'd like to participate and see the site but it doesn't look good thus far...
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Thanks for everyone's comments. I found GlobFX much easier to work with as a workflow - I tried to do the show in PTE before I realised I needed GlobFX's transitions and even without these it was taking 3+ times as long as for PTE I had to do a lot in Photoshop to prepare multi-images onscreen with separate dissolves.
However, I much prefer the quality of PTE's dissolve and the fact it uses the actual image I give it. I suspect the reason GlobFX's version looks less sharp is that it *is* - their software seems to take your image and apply compression (even when turned off from what I can see) and something else. The result is definitely less sharp and constrasty than the original images and that whcih PTE gives. I also liked the ability to do the music on the timeline in GlobFX, but I haven't played around in the new PTE so can't compare that feature.
I'm sorry about the thing trying to connect to the Internet - nothing to do with me and I wish it wouldn't! I don't know at all what's happening there.
The information on the music should have been at the end - it's a track called Fyvie Castle from an album called Fyvie's Embrace by Chris Duncan, one (if not the) best Scottish fiddle players in the world. He's also a motor mechanic! :-) Chris says it's the best ghost music in the world.
I put the show into a local inter-club competition here as my first entry, and it won 3rd (out of 8; 2 analogue, 6 digital). All of the digital were done with GlobFX, mostly I think because of the use of easy to produce multiple image onscreen with seperate dissolves, and the flexible pan/zoom effect. From talking with others, PTE is seen as a lesser option, partly I think because they took a look at it once and haven't come back, and partly because of workflow/functionality. That's a pity because, apart from what I said above, I think I've seen some beautiful shows from PTE as well as GlobFX - it's the images, music, narration, mood, author, etc. that make a show rather than just the software (although it certainly helps!).
Thanks again for the comments, and thanks for this friendly forum!
Robert
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I've been using PTE and GlobFX for some time. It happens that, with my newest show, I needed to show multiple images on the screen at once and have them fade independently, and I also had to pan a bit. So I used GlobFX (until hopefully the new v4.4 effects and multi-image screens :-). I hope people don't feel I'm bagging PTE or anything - I'm not - I just think this is one of the best digital AV communities and want to support it.
Our camera group organised a visit to a gaol which is now a historic site. Photographs from this shoot as well as me coming back late one night with a good moon, make up the show.
http://staff.dstc.edu.au/mcarthur/boggoroad2.exe (5.4MB)
Robert
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I have read and re-read your #3 but. if I understand what you are saying. the facility is already there by using "Customize Slide" and judicious use of prepared images in Photoshop.
Sorry Ron, I probably wasn't explicit enough. John's already answered it in the same way: I mean having multiple (not just 2!) slides, which can each be faded/moved/transitioned independently, on the screen at the same time. It is possible to do now by lots of photoshopping, but with new transitions (like pan and zoom? :-), it will get increasingly difficult to do what should be pretty simple (simple as in people with two or more projectors have been doing it for years!).
I'm particularly interested in this feature as there are a lot of people in the camera club who refuse to move from trad AVs to digital AVs; either they don't want to learn a program and interface that has no future but is really good (GlobFX Composer), or they don't see the shows having the quality (ProShow) and/or multi-slide feature (almost all including PTE! GlobFX has it).
Robert
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Thanks for asking! I know you've printed but perhaps some more thoughts to assist...
I mostly agree with Richard's #2 and #3, namely
2. Ability to zoom or (I'd say and) pan individual pictures smoothly with control of in and out splines (the sometimes-called Ken Burns effects)
3. The ability to have different fade in and out transition times. This would enhance use of the third image and possibly the use of different blending modes (like Photoshop). I would add to this the request that the images can overlap (natively - within PTE not done from PS or another editor): e.g. I can have a timeline like: image 1 is fading in for 1s, stays on the screen at locn 0,0 for 6s, then fades out for 1s; image 2 fades in 3s after image 1 starts, stays for 8s at locn 100,100, then fades for 2s; etc.
...which brings me to the point I'd add: 1. A timeline view where images and their transition-in time, on-screen time, and transition-out time is visually represented. Since from #3 above multiple images can be on the screen at once, more than one "line" would need to be available (though not many needed - perhaps 3-4). Another "line" could show the background music (as a waveform of course :-), while another could show the individual slide's specific sound track (as waveform).
Thanks
Robert
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Azmi,
I sort-of agree with you. I'd add two more for people to check out - memories on TV being the first. I don't particularly like it but some people do. The second, and one which I think for workflow and the so-called "Ken Burns effects" (around long before that of course) is much better than any other one I've tried, is GlobFX Composer (www.globfx.com). What I'd like to see is that PTE takes the best parts of GlobFX and continues developing into the best there is! Things I'd like added are:
- multiple slides on screen at once, in-program (not photoshop'ed beforehand). Like a multiple projector show where two or more slides can be on the screen; each slide has it's own location on the screen, transition (include separate fade in and fade out timings!), and most importantly, time on the screen. This would allow, say, one image on the top left, another slightly overlapping on the top right, another on the bottom right, another on the bottom left, then a gradual fade-out of the top right one while it is replaced etc. Now, I know I can set this all up in photoshop but it really is a pain - the slideshow program should let me do this - I want to work with images, not screens.
- I use almost no transitions other than fade in/out. PTE has the best fade in the business - bar none. Hearty congratulations to Igor! I would like the ability to do two more sort-of transitions: 1) very smooth resizing of an image, akin to zooming in and/or out. Mostly our images are much larger than will fit on the screen, and we have to resize them for 1024 or smaller. I'd like to be able to keep my 6MP images and show a very clear 1024x768 version of them, them be able to zoom in to 100% pixel level (at the "normal" 75dpi of monitors). The image wouldn't degrade since I'm still showing 100%. 2) panning of images. GlobFX does a good job of this letting you choose a start point and end point. Even better would be the ability to define a spline path for the centre of the image to travel along. The ability to have the start and end transitions happen before or during the path would be needed.
These are both available with GlobFX (try out the demo).
I must admit I also prefer the workflow - ie. timeline views - of proshow and globfx. However, I understand why PTE hasn't (yet?! I can hope) gone that way. I find I can get a show tuned in a tenth the time on GlobFX and proshow compared to PTE. Unfortunately, neither have a nice fades and other features (noted in other items in this thread) that PTE has. If both the above could be implemented within PTE, I'd be a very happy chap :-)
Thanks Igor and everyone,
Robert
- multiple slides on screen at once, in-program (not photoshop'ed beforehand). Like a multiple projector show where two or more slides can be on the screen; each slide has it's own location on the screen, transition (include separate fade in and fade out timings!), and most importantly, time on the screen. This would allow, say, one image on the top left, another slightly overlapping on the top right, another on the bottom right, another on the bottom left, then a gradual fade-out of the top right one while it is replaced etc. Now, I know I can set this all up in photoshop but it really is a pain - the slideshow program should let me do this - I want to work with images, not screens.
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Please email me at cottage@beechbrook.com. I've made you a demo showing how this is accomplished within PTE.
Wohoo Bill - PM sent. If that's a problem, you can contact me at mcarthur at dstc dot edu dot au. Robert
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Thanks Bill! I'm afraid, though, that I don't quite understand. I'll give a precise example: let's say I have 6 images in my show. I'd like the first one to be on 2/3rds of the screen pushed against the lefthandside and there for 6 seconds. I'd like a second picture, also 2/3rds of the screen in size, to come on after 3 seconds and be hard right (thus overlaying the existing one for the middle 1/3rd - the first shouldn't show through the overlay [although sometimes I'd like it to - is it possible to have it partially opaque sometimes?]). 5 seconds from the start, I'd like the first to fade out (a quick 1s) and another to fade in, 2/3rds size, overlaying the second image. etc.
Can you assist me in having this happen in PTE?
Thanks very much,
Robert
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I've seen some beautiful slideshows from people here, and I'm wondering how to do one thing: I'd like to have two or more images on the screen at once, perhaps one of the left, staying put while another is shown on the right perhaps slightly overlaid, then the left dissolves and another takes it's place overlaying the old one on the right, etc. Is this possible? Have I just not RTFM properly
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Dear Al, this would be a dream for all "old" enthusiasts of AV shows ("diaporamas" in French)... and mine too. Actually, PTE cannot reproduce all effects we were able to create with two (or more) projectors.
But I think this feature, even if theoretically possible, is not suitable nor convenient to WnSoft. Here are the reasons, in my opinion:
1. How many users can be interested in this? Thirty, sixty, hundred in all the world? Maybe even two or three hundreds... Is it worth while to a software house?
2. It would be a really hard work, because it means to rewrite all the code. PTE now works as one projector, with a little "memory" to make transitions.
3. To manage two projectors it is necessary a much more complex program, and even its use would become more difficult. Reading this forum, we can see that PTE is already not so easy for many people. We too are using it since several years, but sometimes we forget something...
In conclusion I think such a software should be a software for very few people, and also rather difficult to write. It would be necessary to be an enthusiastic creator of AV shows, and at the same time a great "open source" programmer. Only under these conditions I think this software could arise.
Don't you agree?
I'll remind people that there is software which can do this - GlobFX. I believe lots of people are interested as well. Again (sorry to bore), I love the workflow and flexibility of GlobFX, and the smooth transitions, openness and user community of PTE. I just wish the two could easily be combined!
Robert
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Personally, since I want to use PTE for digital AV's, I don't want or need people viewing the show to have much control. I'm happy for it to be seen as designed and that's it. Proportional scaling would be nice, but I'd like to put in (another) plug for seamless motion paths for pictures (panoramas or just overly large pics). I realise that I'm in the minority (of one!) for not needing the two features mentioned!
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I'll add my ask for zooming and, especially panning. Panning should be based on a path, preferably a spline with as many points as the person asks for (well, upto some max like 20 would probably be fine). You would place the image where you wanted it to start from, give the path, and the picture would be moved along that path for the time it is displayed. Of course you would be able to fade in and fade out, either during the path or before/after all movement (selectable). It would be possible to have multiple images panning at the same time: e.g. a background image moving very slowly up the screen while in the foreground other images were fading in/out, and possibly panning in from the side. I've seen one done fwith GlobFX Composer which was very effective like that. Oh, and the panning can be selected to move back along the path as well once it has reached the end (like in the background pan in the above example).
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Another very nice piece of software which does this is GlobFX Composer. I must admit that the two things that GlobFX does that I find I can't do without, and is stopping me using PTE much, are the workflow - being able to do and see most everything on a timeline - and the panning. GlobFX can do more than simple panning, it can move the picture (not create an AVI or anything, merely moving the image on the screen) in a linear path as provided by the user. I'd like to be able to move on any path, provided by a spline or something, but at least I can choose one!
So I'd like to register a huge vote for basic panning of images, then linear path panning, then complex path panning.
Thanks
Robert
PicturesToExe v5.00 beta #1
in General Discussion
Posted
Thanks Igor. It's a wonderful breakthrough for PTE and I know I'm going to enjoy using it immensely!
Robert
Good idea Lin. That will certainly work (with some elbow grease) in that situation. I'm really looking forward to trying things out a lot. Of course the caveat is to use the wonderful new animation features appropriately - I've seen some truly terrible shows where every conceivable transition was used and some sea-sickenly bizarre animations :-)
Thanks again,
Robert