Photo Story 3 By Dick Evans

PowerPoint is a popular application amongst faculty. We use it to create presentation to

supplement our lectures. They are easy to create and add a colorful visual component to

our talk. Most textbook companies provide pre-made slide decks for each textbook

including a number of illustrations from the book. Some use these as is and others use

them as a starting point to develop their own. Those using WebCT often post the

PowerPoint slide decks on a WebCT lecture or content page for students to review after

the lecture.

In a nutshell, Photo Story 3 is application which allows you to create a slide presentation

made entirely of pictures. You may include narration and animate the pictures. This does

not replace a PowerPoint slide deck. However, the files generated by Photo Story 3 are

remarkably small in size making them a good fit with WebCT.

Here is what Microsoft has to say about Photo Story 3

Bring your digital photos to life with Photo Story 3 for Windows. Create slideshows using

your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch-up, crop, or rotate pictures. It's

that easy! Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to

your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make

it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. Watch them on your TV, a computer, or a

Windows Mobile–based portable device.

Before installing Photo Story 3, make sure your machine meets the requirements to

install. These can be found on the Microsoft site.1 Basically, if you are running Windows

XP Photo Story 3 should install and work.

You will also need speakers connected and a microphone.

Most notebook computers come with both. Many desktops in a

business environment are missing speakers including faculty

offices. However, even if you have both the speakers and the

microphone, I suggest obtaining a headset with a boom

microphone. You will find two types; one has two plugs to

plug into your sound card found somewhere in the back of

your machine. These are often difficult to get to and may not

be setup. I suggest finding one that plugs into a USB port.

Windows XP will install it automatically and you probably

have a front USB port to plug into.

I am using The Logitech Premium USB Headset model 356A2

1 http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/sysreqs.mspx 2 http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=103,CONTENTID=10013

Obtaining the Software

Photo Story 3 is a free download from Microsoft.3

I suggest saving it to a folder in My Documents called downloads or on your desktop.

When the download is complete, locate the file in your chosen folder and double-click to

begin the installation process.

Installation Notes

If you see this dialog box, click Run

3 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92755126-a008-49b3-b3f4-

6f33852af9c1&DisplayLang=en

Click Next

Accept the terms, and then click Next

Click Next to install to the default folder under Program Files

Click Install

Wait a few minutes while the application installs

Click Finish

Photo Story 3 is now installed and ready to use

Getting Started with Photo Story 3

Gather your pictures and script for your narration and plug in your headset. You are ready

to create your first Photo Story.

Start > All Programs > Photo Story 3 for Windows

Begin a new story > Next

Click Import Pictures…

Select the pictures, and then click OK

You can move the pictures on the film strip to arrange them in the correct order. When

all pictures have been added, click Next

If you did not use the Remove black borders… button on the previous screen, this

warning box gives you the option of doing so now. Click Yes.

Add titles to each picture, if desired. They text will appear over the pictures. You can

change the look of the picture by using an Effect. This is way to create a title slide or

even add PowerPoint like text to slides.

Let’s use the Back button to add a second RIC slide.

Next to return to the Add Title window and create a title slide using the tools on the page

like Font and Effect

Click Next to continue

If you have not checked out your headset, click the picture of the microphone and the

wizard will walk you through a procedure to make sure you can both record and playback

successfully.

When ready, with your script in hand, click the record button (button with the small red

circle) and begin speaking. To move from one slide to another, click on the next picture.

When done, press the stop button (the black square to the right of the record button)

When finished, click the first slide on the film strip, and then click Preview to watch the

show.

By right-clicking each slide, you can add various effects to the pictures. Right-click the

first slide

Click Custom Motion > Transition…

Create Transitions for each slide, saving each one. When finished and previewed, click

Close, then on the main window, click Next

If desired you may add background music, then click Next

I suggest saving for playback on your computer. If you do not want to save in you’re my

Videos folder, Browse to the desired location. The default is full screen viewing. You can

save disk space and download time by clicking Settings… and reducing the video size.

Click Next

Your Story is built

Click View your story to see the finished product.

You have successfully created a Photo Story, but you have not saved the project. The end

product can not be modified. You must save the project to be able to modify and recreate

the end product

Click Save Project…

Locate a or create a folder in which to save the project, then click Save

The project file is saved

Click Exit to leave Photo Story 3

The resulting file is larger than a narrated PowerPoint slide deck. Most of the time is due

to the narration. However, the file generated is a .wmv file playable in any machine

having Windows Media Player. PowerPoint is not needed.

Click to play the generated movie file

By choosing email, the file size is reduced to 740k. The audio quality is not as good and

the picture is smaller. However, this is good fit for WebCT. It gets the material to the

student in a smaller file—they see the slides and hear the narration.