Soundslides star in Nick’s round-Britain Slowcoast odyssey

This latest post applauding great examples of audio slideshows is not so much about a Soundslides project, but a Soundslides epic. I mean it. Think Illyad.

So meet Nick Hand, left, a Bristol born-and-bred graphic designer and photographer … with a bike.

This summer he cycled  5,000-odd miles around the minor coast roads and tracks of Britain, A – to see if he could “still do it at the grand age of 52”, B – “to find out more about the island I live on and the people I share it with”, and C – to raise money for people with Parkinson’s, like his brother.

En route, Nick set himself the additional challenge of speaking to artisans who live and work on the coast – people who “make their living from passion and craft.” (more…)

10 TIPS … to help you create great-looking audio slideshows

Starting out with audio slideshows? Follow the basics and you’ll soon be producing compelling, professional content for your website or blog, with less hassle than you might imagine.

Here are TEN TIPS I hope you find useful …

1. You’re creating a multimedia story – NOT a picture gallery. Plan your story before you start taking photographs and keep it in mind as you shoot. What’s the opening and last shot going to show? Be aware that you are guiding your audience through time (and two minutes is plenty long enough) (more…)

SIDE BY SLIDE 1: Apps for creating audio slideshows

Part 1 of a comparison between audio slideshows created with Soundslides, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and Picasa. Other pages: Soundslides, iMovie & Windows Movie Maker, Picasa, the Verdict.

Audio slideshows are a great way to tell a human story online. They are also a powerful learning tool for journalists and bloggers.

For many from a print background, ‘going multimedia’ means diving headfirst into video. I prefer a step-by-step approach,  focusing on audio and photography in turn, then bringing these skills together to create audio slideshows. This way, learners expand their multimedia toolkit and embed some of the most important skills needed to tackle video.

In resource-strapped newsrooms, audio slideshows can also deliver high value in a lot less time than video. The mighty Soundslides is easy to learn and remember, slideshow ‘movies’ can still be uploaded to YouTube or embedded within Flash projects, and good photography is pure gold that can be used in print and online.

So it’s no surprise that the newspaper journalists I’ve been working with in the Emirates are bursting with ideas for using Soundslides. (more…)

SIDE BY SLIDE 2: Creating audio slideshows with Soundslides

Part 2 of a comparison between audio slideshows created with Soundslides, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and Picasa. Other pages: Introduction, iMovie & Windows Movie Maker, Picasa, the Verdict.

Meet the benchmark for professional quality and ease of use, with a well-earned reputation to match.

Upload a folder of jpeg images and an MP3 file and Soundslides spaces the timing of images to match the audio (in other words, your project is as long as your MP3 file). On export, Soundslides creates a ‘publish to web’ folder which must be uploaded to a server. Armed with the folder’s URL, you then visit the online Soundslides utility, which generates an embed code for your blog or website. (more…)

SIDE BY SLIDE 3: Creating audio slideshows with iMovie and Windows Movie Maker

Part 3 of a comparison between audio slideshows created with Soundslides, iMovie, Windows Movie Maker and Picasa. Other pages: Introduction, Soundslides, Picasa, the Verdict.

iMOVIE 09

iMovie 09 is streets ahead of iMovie 08 in my book and a deceptively-powerful editing tool.

To create an audio slideshow just drag images and an MP3  file directly to the project window. It’s then easy to change the order of images, add transitions (one-second dissolve in this case) from the extensive library, and adjust the timing of images. When complete, the slideshow can be exported direct to YouTube. (more…)