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Taking PowerPoint to Video and Publishing it to DVD
by Betsy Weber, January 2nd 2005 - discuss this article...
 About
Betsy Weber
Betsy Weber (pictured to the right)
is Chief Evangelist at Okemos-based TechSmith Corporation.
With
nearly
a decade
of experience in corporate
training and product management, she has worked on both
the development and customer service side of delivering
business applications.
In her current role, Betsy heads
up the company’s highly acclaimed evangelism program
where she collaborates with customers, industry experts,
and technologists all over the world. Betsy and her husband
reside in Lansing, Michigan along with their faithful
Old English Sheepdog, Mutton Chop.
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Introduction
Why Take PowerPoint to Video?
Now
it’s Easy
Slide Show vs. Video
Continued on Page 2...
To follow this tutorial, you might want to download a 30 day trial
version of Camtasia...
Introduction
Much to the chagrin of tortured colleagues everywhere, novice PowerPoint
users often find it difficult to
make entertaining and compelling presentations. Eventually, most
people figure out how and when to add graphics, transitions and
timings – and when not to. In many cases, it comes down to
trial and error. In others cases, a user may have a really good
teacher who can explain the ins and outs of presentation making.
PowerPoint has become the common language of the business world,
and its use has spilled over into homes, schools, and even places
of worship. It’s estimated that over 30 million PowerPoint
presentations are created daily. Over the past few years, as broadband
adoption and computer processing power have increased, more users
have begun turning their static slideshows into rich video presentations
that they can share with colleagues and friends online or via CDs
and DVDs.
Back
Why Take PowerPoint to Video?
It’s safe to say there are hundreds of millions of PowerPoint
presentations around the world that are sitting idle – a library
of knowledge that was used once and will probably never be tapped
again.
In speaking with users from Fortune 500 companies, schools and
government agencies, they all expressed a desire to have their
presentations live on beyond their original use at a meeting or
conference. These users point out that for every person who attends
a live presentation, countless others could benefit by viewing
a presentation later. The problem, as we have all experienced,
is that while others can view a static PowerPoint slide deck, only
those who attended the original presentation receive the full benefit.
People who view it later will not hear the presenter’s voice,
or understand what points were emphasized, or hear questions and
answers that were discussed.
There is a need for an easy way to capture the full benefit of
a PowerPoint presentation; a method that does not require extensive
training or expensive equipment.
Back
Now it’s Easy
For years, users have been using Camtasia Studio to record presentations,
but the process wasn’t very intuitive. With the release
of Camtasia
Studio 2.1 in late 2004, TechSmith began providing
a PowerPoint add-in to record, convert, and deliver PowerPoint
in multiple video formats including Flash, Windows Media, Real
Media, QuickTime, and a Pack-n-Show executable.
Users can also take advantage of Camtasia Studio’s MenuMaker
for creating an auto-run CD-ROM. Camtasia Studio is also the only
tool available to turn a PowerPoint file into a DVD-ready AVI file
that delivers superior quality during playback on either a television
or computer. This is because Camtasia Studio uses a unique TSCC
lossless codec to create a crystal-clear AVI source file. Other
tools use only a single dead-end delivery format. Camtasia Studio’s
AVI file can then easily be imported into any of the popular DVD-burning
software packages.
Here are a few instances when converting a PowerPoint file to
video would be beneficial:
- To give your corporate audience or sales prospects a take-home
video of your narrated presentation on CD-ROM or DVD.
- To record
and post your presentation online so that students and parents
can review assignments at their convenience.
- To create
PowerPoint-based how-to videos for colleagues and customers
who are learning to use new software.
- To create a presentation for grandma of her grandchildren
and deliver it on DVD in the new DVD player that you
bought her for
the holidays.
Back
Slide Show vs. Video
It’s important to remember that PowerPoint was not created
with video in mind, which is why users create slides and not video
frames. Slides, unlike frames, are static and therefore have a
smaller file size. Video, which are frames in motion, result in
larger file sizes. However, watching a full-motion video of PowerPoint
presentation, like watching a movie, is very engaging and memorable.
There are also many recording benefits that are only associated
with video, such native real-time and full-motion options. The
most popular way for individuals to deliver a rich video presentation
is to burn it to CD-ROM or DVD. In a corporate setting employees
can save videos to a network drive and a company’s systems
administrator can make videos accessible to employees, customers,
and partners to view on-demand (regardless of location) by uploading
the files to an external server. In some cases, you can even email
them to colleagues, friends and family, depending on the file size.
Back
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