[ale] Special effects used while creating a slide show

[Robert Reese]

Hello Jim, Richard, Aaron, et al,

Saturday, November 28, 2009, 9:00:48 AM, Richard Bronosky wrote:

> What you are looking for is "The Ken Burns Effect". It is the
> signature of iPhoto on a Mac.

It hasn't been a signature of iPhoto on a Mac for many, many years now; many PC software titles have had it since about Y2K. ;c)

Jim, one of the best ever software for the _PC_ is ProShow Gold (and its very expensive sibling ProShow Producer).  Strangely, ProShow Gold is very cheap at $69 despite the highly professional results it delivers.  In fact, it frequently beats many "professional" software titles.

To give you an idea of how good this is, here is an anecdote: I once entered a small business expo's "best product idea" sponsored by a south Georgia university to get feedback on an idea I'd had.  While the other entrants and I waited outside as the judges saw each "elevator" pitch and subsequent business plan individually, the entrants all chatted with each other about their product ideas and compared notes about their respective presentations.  I had used ProShow Gold to make it whereas nearly everyone else used PowerPoint (almost all pirated, I might add... he he) which absolutely terrified the other entrants.  They scurried back to their friends and told them about my presentation, bemoaning their potential loss to such a "professional" presentation.

Soon, I had a line of people wanting to see my presentation and to ask me about the software; many were in stunned disbelief when they were told it was only $70. As the afternoon progressed, I saw several people at Photodex's website with credit card in hand.

No, I didn't win; the contest's award was conditional that it be applied to putting the business plan into action. I was not interested in starting a small business with my product idea so I intentionally disqualified myself upfront ... I simply wanted the judges' input.  The judges were happy to oblige - but only after I told them what software I used for the presentation!

ProShow Gold doesn't work on Linux, unfortunately, but if you really wanted a premium photo -> video "slideshow" software, ProShow Gold is the one you'd want most in my not-so-humble-opinion.  (Note: I've since upgraded to ProShow Producer - a worthwhile upgrade).  It is also one of the software titles that I rely on that forces a Windows box in the office.

Cheers,
Robert~