Flickr Slideshow

on Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Flickr Slideshow, at http://www.flickrslideshow.com/, makes it very easy to create a slideshow from your photoset at Flickr. You give them the URL of your photoset, the width and height of the slideshow, and the site returns the code you need to put the slideshow up at a website or blog (shown below).

The first step is to create a Flickr account. Go to http://www.flickr.com/, register for free, and upload your photos.

Next, go to Flickr Slideshow, at http://www.flickrslideshow.com/. Type in your photoset URL (generally http://www.flickr.com/photos/, followed by a long number specific to your account). Choose the size of your slideshow - the one below is 500 x 400 pixels. Click Create Slideshow, and then copy-and-paste the code the sir returns to you in your blog or webpage.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Editing Video in PowerPoint

on Monday, February 20, 2012

Microsoft Office 2010 has some new video editing tools available that allow you to add fades, automatically go full screen, and make trims and cuts directly in PowerPoint. This lets you avoid the step of having to first edit your video in an outside editor, such as Movie Maker or Adobe Premiere.

To begin, you insert the video the same as you always have: go to the Insert tab, choose Video, then Video from File.

Select your video. You now will have a "contextual" Video Tools tab appear above the other tabs (see image below), and below it two other tabs, Format and Playback. Choose Playback.


To trim video, choose the Trim Video icon. A dialogue box will appear (see image at left). Drag the left marker to set your Start point, and drag the right marker to choose your End point.

To add fades to the beginning and end of your video, use the Fade In and Fade Out boxes just to the right of the Trim Video icon to set the duration of the fades (see image below).

Finally, to allow your video to automatically play Full Screen, check the Play Full Screen checkbox.