Showcase your photos in an AV presentation
There are quite a few programs that you can use but PhotoStage is free, which is pretty hard to beat.
It can be downloaded from www.nchsoftware.com
It is available for Windows or Mac computers and includes an easy slideshow wizard, image editing tools, transitions and effects, the ability to include video and add a soundtrack or narration.
The resulting presentation should be exported as a Video File, which should be an MP4.
TIPS
• Your AV should tell a story to keep your viewers interested. Think carefully about the order of photos, making sure they follow a logical order. Make sure you finish up with a nice strong image.
• When selecting your images, remember you can only enter an image once into a competition, so these ones cannot be used anywhere else.
• All of your images should be the best quality you can manage. Don’t be tempted to include any blurry or badly cropped images to fill it out – you will be marked down. All images should be edited separately before bringing them into the program. This would be in preference to trying to adjust them once they are already in the slideshow even though that is possible.
• I would recommend numbering the images and saving them in a separate folder so you get the order right from the start. Then you will need to decide on the types of transitions you want, the time between each slide and getting your music to match. Keep them all the same size and orientation – if you mix horizontal and portrait, it would be jarring in a slideshow.
• Choose music that fits the atmosphere you are trying to create. Try pixabay.com, where you can download royalty-free tracks of all types of genres and you can listen to and see exactly how long they are before you download them. You may need more than one track to fill out the entire presentation.
• The AV competition asks for presentations that are up to a maximum of three minutes, which requires about 17 to 20 photos at about 5 seconds each. Allow for about 2 seconds between each photo to fade or transition in and out. This creates a smooth viewing experience.
• You can add words to help tell your story but it is recommended to put these on a separate slide between the image slides – don’t cover your images with wording. However, words should be used sparingly as this is about showcasing your images above all.
• Do not put your name anywhere in the AV to retain anonymity for the judges.
• At the end of the AV, give credit to the music producer in your final slide.
• Upload one image to the club website for points (not the AV as it’s too big).
• Play it over and over again to make sure you are happy with everything and then export it as an MP4. This format can be viewed on any computer. Bring the final presentation on a memory stick with your membership number on so we can compile them all for the judges.