Mont Sainte Odile

[Matt67]

In 680 AC, a young woman by the name of Odile was saved from her blindness after using a miraculous water source.

Her father decided to build one of the most iconic monastery in Alsace and to honor the miracle that just took place.

She later became the saint to help and protect my region. The source where the water was taken from became a

pilgrimage destination ever since. I decided to create this slideshow as we honor her 1300 years after she died. 

The slideshow is meant to capture the trail and the forest you could experience while climbing up the mountain... It will let you see the progress from the valley up to the monastery. You shall enjoy this location and its beauty.

This is a "hill you too have to climb" when you come to the North East of France.

 

SAINTE ODILE - SLIDESHOW IN 4K

 

I hope you like it and get the French titles (the music is a remix from the Hallelujah song by Leonard Cohen translated into alsatian).

I would love to read from you about the subject, your first impressions and the slideshow construction, so please write and let me know what your toughs were...

Thank you very much  in advance,

Matt

[stranger2156]

10 hours ago, Matt67 said:

I hope you like it and get the French titles (the music is a remix from the Hallelujah song by Leonard Cohen translated into alsatian).

I would love to read from you about the subject, your first impressions and the slideshow construction, so please write and let me know what your toughs were...

Hi Matt,

when creating this kind of slideshow (full-screen display of photos and videos), it is advisable to adhere to some approaches to the process.
- initially set the "Cover" screen fill for the project in the project settings, so that there are no black bars around the edges for non-format photos (see the picture)
- avoid complete static on the slide for photos (when the photo is displayed with absolutely no movement, such as light zooming, plus or minus, panning and rotation, these can all be combined or used separately)
- when adjusting the dynamics of the photo, make sure that the photos always completely cover the screen
- it is advisable to do the dynamics of images at the junction of slides, as if in continuation, from one slide to another (in practice, this means, for example, if you increase the photo by + 10% using + 2 ° rotation, closer to the end of the slide, then by the next slide you can do this - zoom 110% ->100% and rotate in the opposite direction, -2 °->0°), there can be many options and combinations
- handheld video, preferably stabilized, there are many programs for this, including free ones, see some recommendations at the link 

https://filmora.wondershare.com/video-editing-tips/video-stabilizer-software.html

P.S. I liked the views of the terrain in the photos.

Paul

[stranger2156]

Matt,

here I've added two simple styles that might work for your presentation.

Paul

 

[landsberger]

I have not heard of St Odile so this was interesting for me.

I like the presentation and appreciate what you tried to convey with video clips but for me the quality was not good enough to blend with the still images.

Also I would have liked to see more of the outside of the monastery when you reached the top!

Please do accept that the above comments are meant to be helpful and not negative about your sequence.

Regards

John

[davegee]

In addition to the above comments regarding Video, I would like to see video clips presented at Full Slide Duration and not freeze suddenly at the beginning of the following transition.

DG

[jmG-06100]

Thank you, Matthieu, for this pleasant walk up to Mont Sainte Odile.

 

In addition to the very valid comments above, I'd like to offer the following:

At the very start, the Stork is a well-known symbol of Alsace, but this may not be known to your international audience here on the forum (Russia, Australia, Great Britain, USA, etc.). Just the words "Alsace, France" on the side would have helped set the scene.

When there are several lines of text (at 1:20), you should give yourself enough time to read the full text out loud twice, so that we have sufficient time to discover the whole text at our own speed.

The flag at 02:54 is seen on the back side: you could do a 180° rotation so that the text reads correctly as SANCTA OTILIA.

The map of the various building (at 03:10) is cut on the left, which does not look clean.  Just put a "black curtain" on the left so that we do not read parts of words like (méro)vingien, (Notre-)Dame, etc.

[stranger2156]

In addition to the above ... an oval gradient mask is used in two places, which opens the visibility of the upper edge at the borders of the images (see the picture). It looks like a small blot, which it is desirable to eliminate by adjusting the density of the gradient at the border of the image (from light to completely black).

Quote

 

[Matt67]

On 4/19/2021 at 2:31 PM, davegee said:

In addition to the above comments regarding Video, I would like to see video clips presented at Full Slide Duration and not freeze suddenly at the beginning of the following transition.

DG

OK fair point

[Matt67]

23 hours ago, stranger2156 said:

In addition to the above ... an oval gradient mask is used in two places, which opens the visibility of the upper edge at the borders of the images (see the picture). It looks like a small blot, which it is desirable to eliminate by adjusting the density of the gradient at the border of the image (from light to completely black).

 

Yes I can :-)

[Matt67]

23 hours ago, jmG-06100 said:

Thank you, Matthieu, for this pleasant walk up to Mont Sainte Odile.

 

 

 

In addition to the very valid comments above, I'd like to offer the following:

 

At the very start, the Stork is a well-known symbol of Alsace, but this may not be known to your international audience here on the forum (Russia, Australia, Great Britain, USA, etc.). Just the words "Alsace, France" on the side would have helped set the scene.

 

When there are several lines of text (at 1:20), you should give yourself enough time to read the full text out loud twice, so that we have sufficient time to discover the whole text at our own speed.

 

The flag at 02:54 is seen on the back side: you could do a 180° rotation so that the text reads correctly as SANCTA OTILIA.

 

The map of the various building (at 03:10) is cut on the left, which does not look clean.  Just put a "black curtain" on the left so that we do not read parts of words like (méro)vingien, (Notre-)Dame, etc.

 

EXCELLENT remarks I will work on them

[Matt67]

On 4/19/2021 at 1:51 PM, landsberger said:

I have not heard of St Odile so this was interesting for me.

I like the presentation and appreciate what you tried to convey with video clips but for me the quality was not good enough to blend with the still images.

Also I would have liked to see more of the outside of the monastery when you reached the top!

Please do accept that the above comments are meant to be helpful and not negative about your sequence.

Regards

John

Agreed on the video, the look is a bit shakky and dark but it conveys the movement on the path to the top... I am looking at a free software to

have it upgraded. Point taken for the monastery, I kept it short but this is obviously of interest for the viewer.

Thanks for the help. Matt

[Matt67]

On 4/19/2021 at 10:09 AM, stranger2156 said:

Hi Matt,

when creating this kind of slideshow (full-screen display of photos and videos), it is advisable to adhere to some approaches to the process.
- initially set the "Cover" screen fill for the project in the project settings, so that there are no black bars around the edges for non-format photos (see the picture)
- avoid complete static on the slide for photos (when the photo is displayed with absolutely no movement, such as light zooming, plus or minus, panning and rotation, these can all be combined or used separately)
- when adjusting the dynamics of the photo, make sure that the photos always completely cover the screen
- it is advisable to do the dynamics of images at the junction of slides, as if in continuation, from one slide to another (in practice, this means, for example, if you increase the photo by + 10% using + 2 ° rotation, closer to the end of the slide, then by the next slide you can do this - zoom 110% ->100% and rotate in the opposite direction, -2 °->0°), there can be many options and combinations
- handheld video, preferably stabilized, there are many programs for this, including free ones, see some recommendations at the link 

https://filmora.wondershare.com/video-editing-tips/video-stabilizer-software.html

P.S. I liked the views of the terrain in the photos.

Paul

As per now, I have downloaded the Filmora app AND tried it. Unfortunately the export video will be marked with the software name

which is useless for me. I guess I will use my old good iMovie to have the stabilization of the clip done. Thanks for the review and comments.

Matt

[stranger2156]

Matt,

Judging by the link I gave above, there is one free app under # 3. DeShaker.
There is also a video tutorial on this application, maybe it will suit you.

Paul

[Matt67]

Hello,

thanks to the many contributions in this forum, I have updated a new version of this slideshow

and upgraded most of the slides. It was great to get to see what were the technical aspects that could

be changed. I added a new introduction, some new photos and more of the water source and monastery that

are on top of the hill.

 

I hope you get to know better this very special place from my region and will be looking forward to reading

from you in order to know what you thought of this creation:

Link to the 4K video

 

Thanks for your consideration and have a great week.

 

[jmG-06100]

Mathieu, it is good to read that you were able to improve your slideshow based on the various comments you received.

Could you please provide another link (I do not belong to SmugSmug) similar to the first version that was easy to get to.

[Matt67]

2 hours ago, jmG-06100 said:

Mathieu, it is good to read that you were able to improve your slideshow based on the various comments you received.

Could you please provide another link (I do not belong to SmugSmug) similar to the first version that was easy to get to.

Hello jmG-06100, I sometimes hear that SmugMug will ask you to accept a cookie but the page should work fine after saying yes.

If not, this is a second specific web page that shall let you access the slideshow in high res: 

https://magnakreation.smugmug.com/WEB-PAGES/ODILE/n-qdxcZq

Thanks!

[jmG-06100]

Many thanks for the new link, which works fine.

I like the new version better.  The historical details on Sainte Odile have now been moved near the end : good idea as a conclusion.

I would keep the Road Sign just before you take us on the (long) walk to the hill, amongst the moss covered tree stumps (all green features), etc.  The colourful foliage (red & orange) is more the starting point that the journey itself (to me).  Also the song would probably start at that moment and accompany us to the climb.  JUST MY OPINION.

Anyway, congratulations for your efforts.  You'll have a lot of pleasure using PTE for your slideshows, I'm sure.

Jean-Marc G.

[landsberger]

A great improvement compared to the original.

John

 

[Matt67]

Thanks for all the great ideas and comments posted on the forum.