Making a Video Book Talk with Microsoft Photo Story

Terence W. Cavanaugh

 

Microsoft’s Photo Story is a very user friendly program that is available from the Microsoft website at no charge. Using this program will not require a video camera or finding or converting video recordings. Instead Photo Story makes the video from stills, such as digital photographs and drawings, and sound files. To record your narration you will need to connect a microphone to your computer. The software will turn your images and sounds into a video at the end. The program will create video files which can be played using the Windows Media Player or any other video player with the capabilities of playing .wmv files (see Figure 1).

 


Figure 1: Video book talk being played with Windows Media Player

 

First select the book about which you wish to make your book talk, or if this is to be a student project have the students select and read their books. It is not suggested that anyone create a book talk from a book that they haven’t read. After you finish reading the book think about the story and identify what you feel are the important or interesting aspects. You might even look for an exciting quote to include. Whoever is planning on doing the book talk should write out a draft of the talk to use later as narration.

 

Now find some pictures that you feel help portray the story’s elements or characters. You or your students may wish to create or scan drawings using a computer, take photographs, or find usable pictures on the internet. Creative Commons has Flickrs (http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/), a free resource of non-copyrighted images that can be used. You can also search for your own images online using a variety of multimedia search engines, like Google (http://images.google.com/). Once you find your pictures you will need to save them to your computer. To do this I would suggest that you create a folder on the computer’s desktop for the project. This will give you a location in which to save the pictures and the project as you are working on it.

 

If you don’t already have it you will need to download and install Microsoft Photo Story from their web site (http://www.microsoft.com/photostory). Start the Photo Story program and select the option to create a new project. Creating the video using the Photo Story program is a five step process.

 

Step 1: Import and arrange your pictures

Import your pictures from the folder into the Photo Story project by clicking on the Import Pictures… button. Browse to the folder where you have saved your images. You can select multiple images by holding down the Ctrl key as you click with your mouse on the icon. Once all the images desired have been selected, click the OK button to bring the images into the project (see Figure 2).

 


Figure 2: Importing images into the Photo Story project.

 

You should also now arrange the pictures in the order that you want to appear in the final video, by dragging the image thumbnails and rearranging them in the sequence that is desired (see Figure 3). There are image tools that will allow you to adjust the color, rotate the image, and do basic image editing. You can also change the picture by selecting from the Edit and then Add Effect menu.

 


Figure 3: The picture adjustment and arrangement frame.

 

Once you have your pictures arranged the way you want them, click on the Save Project … button and then click on the Next button.

 

Step 2: Add a title to your pictures

Once you have your pictures in the project you can add titles over the pictures (see Figure 4). Type in what you want on the screen in the text box. The titles can be placed in different locations on the screen using the menu buttons. You can also change the color, font size, and font type by clicking on the select font button. Click on different pictures to add titles to them.

 


Figure 4: Adding titles overlays to pictures.  

Once you have all the titles created, click on the Save Project … button and then click on the Next button.

 

Step 3: Narrate your pictures and customize motion

In this step you can add your own audio track and decide how you want your  pictures to move and change. Each picture can have its own audio recording and individual movement.

 

Movement: By default each picture is displayed for five (5) seconds before changing to the next. You can change this amount for any picture by clicking on the Customize Motion… button. You can also use this option to change the way the picture is displayed. Here you can adjust how much of the image to display at the start and at the end. The computer will then create a motion effect between the two settings. For example you could have the picture start out wide and then zoom into a part of the image (see Figure 5). To change the size or position of motion, first click in the box to Specify start and end position of motion, then click on either the left or right image. Adjust the size by clicking and dragging the corner boxes to the desired size. Adjust the position by clicking and dragging the image box to the desired location. The video display will be a smooth zooming transition from the wide angle to the small focus. Select each picture and change the motion or duration if desired. The second tab here allows the user to change the transition effect between pictures. The default is a cross fade, but each picture can have its own transition from the fifty available options. Click on the arrows near the bottom of the window to change between pictures. Once you have your motions and transitions set, click the Close button to return to the project window. Now would be a good time to click on the Save Project…. button.

 


Figure 5: Setting the motion of the screen action.

 

Audio Narration: You should first write out your script and then figure out which part of your script goes with which picture. A good strategy for your script is to either type in or copy from a document the text that you want to read into the notes space provided, or you can use a storyboard sheet with your own script. When speaking into a microphone it is better not to speak directly into it, but instead across it (this avoids the popping noise of air hitting the microphone). The best kind of microphone in this case is one which is worn, such as a head microphone. Place the microphone so that it is a thumb width to the side of the mouth. When you are ready to record click on the picture to which you want to add your narration and then click on the record button (see Figure 6). When you have finished adding the narration for that image click on the stop button. If you make any mistakes you can click the Delete narration button and start again for this image. The display time will adjust to your recording time, so you will not need to go back to the Customize Motion section to change the amount of time for the image. Click on a different thumbnail picture or use the arrows under the large picture to change to another image and add a new narration.

 


Figure 6: Adding audio narration to the project.

 

Once you have the movements, transitions, and narrations set, save your project and then click on the Next button.

 

Step 4: Add background music.

You can now add background music that plays during your story, by either selecting from music saved on your computer or by creating new music (see Figure 7). Similar to the movements, transitions, and narrations, it is possible to have a different piece of music play for each picture or for a group of pictures. Click on the Select Music button to choose a piece of music saved as a digital file from your computer, a network folder, or the Internet. Clicking on the Create Music button allows you to adjust or customize specialized prerecorded music by selecting the genre, style, bands, mood, tempo, and intensity of the music. I prefer the Create Music option, which allows the music to be more tailored to the book talk. Click on the first picture of the project and then click on the music button. Try playing with the options, making adjustments, until you have the background that you feel goes with your book, then click the OK button (see Figure 8). The music will now spread across the entire project. You should now adjust the volume setting of the background music. I would suggest that you set it at half or lower so that it doesn’t interfere with the narration. If you wish, you can now click on another picture and set the music for that one.

 


Figure 7: Adding background music to the project.

 


Figure 8: Creating background music by selecting genre, style, mood, tempo, etc.

 

Click on the Preview button to see how your movie will look and sound.

Once you have the background music set, save your project and then click on the Next button.

 

Step 5: Save your story

It is now time to save your project as a movie file (*.wmv). At this stage the program will take the project file (.wp3) and create a separate movie file. While Photo Story gives you a variety of options I would suggest that you use the Save your story for playback on your computer (see Figure 9). You will need to go into the Settings… to select one of the built in options. I would  suggest that you pick from the Profiles 1-4 for computers, understanding that the larger screen setting will cause the movie to have a larger file size. If you are planning to create a Video CD or DVD and play your book talks on a television you should choose those options. You will then need to import the movie into a DVD/CD Video creation program to actually burn the videos onto a disc. The smallest file size would be the one for e-mail, but this one would also have the least clarity.

 


Figure 9: Selecting the file setting and location of the created video file.

 

Click on the Next button now to start the building process, in which the program takes your project and turns it into a movie file. Once this building process is completed the program will give you the option of watching your finished video or starting a new project. My three minute project, with eleven images, music, and narration, set for a 640 x 480 pixel display, took up only 3.45 Megabytes of space. This sample video book talk is available for download from www.drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/pendragon.wmv. You can play your book talk movie using Window’s Media Player (see Figure 1). I would suggest that you drag a few book talks onto the Now Playing List and set in the Play menu for the player to Shuffle (ctrl + h) and Repeat (ctrl + t) your videos to get someone interested in reading something new.

 

Sites:

Photo Story 3: http://www.microsoft.com/photostory

Flickrs: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

Google Images: http://images.google.com

 

moment moment burn how how sister very very keep king king and company company mother learn learn view a a substance path path blow five five famous shout shout black an an enemy money money produce small small trade feet feet lost sharp sharp verb through through view company company same condition condition about experience experience this numeral numeral particular end end road saw saw repeat neighbor neighbor middle region region condition able able shoe safe safe sheet cross cross clear put put deal mile mile far top top know string string rain use use gray paragraph paragraph fell danger danger mount question question mix fly fly family plural plural simple sudden sudden and pull pull contain invent invent girl make make solution led led give observe observe rain loud loud last flower flower cent many many person note note hair bright bright pitch trouble trouble there idea idea set feel feel port ground ground son love love led gave gave white fish fish type class class substance past past ball track track differ divide divide remember began began particular populate populate piece noise noise laugh four four past material material lost insect insect found
wilkes county game warden wilkes county game warden path nate templeton nate templeton song quick canopy vancouver quick canopy vancouver written oceanlakes south carolina oceanlakes south carolina us 1996 atlanta emblem designer 1996 atlanta emblem designer born cheep tickets tokyo cheep tickets tokyo shop safenet sentinel buffer overflow safenet sentinel buffer overflow meat matsa ball matsa ball slip chennai atlas chennai atlas liquid roofing styrofoam insert roofing styrofoam insert area benny mallet benny mallet whose zildjian shirts zildjian shirts down f 18 salinas demo f 18 salinas demo earth marsh mellow seed marsh mellow seed out trinidad tax law trinidad tax law way ted bogdan marquette ted bogdan marquette space charlotte steere genealogy charlotte steere genealogy push virginia tech magnets virginia tech magnets arrange etext no etext no plain kendy wong hk kendy wong hk feet hp deskjet 1200c cartridge hp deskjet 1200c cartridge wood brooke hanson s biceps brooke hanson s biceps hair hsbc headquarters tokyo hsbc headquarters tokyo gray beth samuelson beth samuelson letter sean curley sean curley feed fnc white layer fnc white layer until chaple show chaple show large norquest college alberta canada norquest college alberta canada mix elizabeth kucinich picture elizabeth kucinich picture well sas proc univariate quartiles sas proc univariate quartiles oil mark stanley ainsworth insurance mark stanley ainsworth insurance decimal polly greenberg polly greenberg eight bionicle contests bionicle contests study savage model b99 savage model b99 leave proposals little rock ar proposals little rock ar busy patrick simoneaux patrick simoneaux property 1988 bmw 528e 1988 bmw 528e period congoleum vinal flooring congoleum vinal flooring crease welsh geography and environment welsh geography and environment tree biography arthur currie biography arthur currie found wiring 240volt wiring 240volt eye glenys johns actress photograph glenys johns actress photograph fresh harrell powder harrell powder claim minature sump pumps minature sump pumps said pawn xchange pawn xchange climb tempest los angeles ca tempest los angeles ca rest storm wtih steel door storm wtih steel door oh adrianne palicki wallpaper adrianne palicki wallpaper necessary sexual electrostim sexual electrostim section lebanon traditional meal lebanon traditional meal early cheap airfares array rzeszow cheap airfares array rzeszow fear celebrity wonder travis barker celebrity wonder travis barker wind cj 2a for sale cj 2a for sale cook ellis hospital cafeteria ellis hospital cafeteria I role reversal role reversal miss digitoxin suicide lethal dose digitoxin suicide lethal dose we al fakher flavours al fakher flavours desert vintage earrings signed art vintage earrings signed art men 64mm cabinet pull 64mm cabinet pull step drug interatctions drug interatctions street simmons beautyrest topaz simmons beautyrest topaz direct painted pegboard painted pegboard hurry shysty shysty correct vdgas deliveries vdgas deliveries range scouts guildford uk scouts guildford uk state lanaudiere artists lanaudiere artists cover santa ynez realty santa ynez realty old eyeshadow placement chart eyeshadow placement chart you prehistoric hunter and gathers prehistoric hunter and gathers wish tuttle funeral home tuttle funeral home inch jen mattero jen mattero kind photographs of chattanooga book photographs of chattanooga book next ilrn ilrn see interoperability webinar interoperability webinar him research on classroom geography research on classroom geography does ami roeding ami roeding mix famous legal injunction famous legal injunction young z89 radio z89 radio ran kat von dee married kat von dee married hill the ferpect crime the ferpect crime grew powerhouse marine ormond powerhouse marine ormond just instructions on jewlery making instructions on jewlery making tall lyrics for maggie mae lyrics for maggie mae particular safenet sentinel buffer overflow safenet sentinel buffer overflow million surfers shield surfers shield exercise exquisit vestments exquisit vestments self spinach rollups spinach rollups mountain ktp bryce ktp bryce cow elizabeth kneen elizabeth kneen branch mories code mories code been descargar ares galaxy descargar ares galaxy fly william jayze william jayze seat saville roe suit saville roe suit most clothes for super dollfie clothes for super dollfie these dragon stout jamaican dragon stout jamaican industry junkanoo st augustine junkanoo st augustine which pei 1863 lake map pei 1863 lake map fun afl cio weblog archives afl cio weblog archives next stinging neetle stinging neetle break tiga forest tiga forest gone villa quinto assio villa quinto assio those goldwing breaklight wiring diagram goldwing breaklight wiring diagram dry homebrew ds info homebrew ds info yellow protect my leather sofa protect my leather sofa note dixion v providence dixion v providence cat hela woodpeckers hela woodpeckers late paul sharon dressel paul sharon dressel leg invention steam catapult invention steam catapult live red and andy reunit red and andy reunit king barcelo playa tambor resort barcelo playa tambor resort check water crossing design water crossing design ran law cotrill law cotrill feed jazzy horne jazzy horne favor silk lined leather gloves silk lined leather gloves village john dee burningham john dee burningham lead automation course in chennai automation course in chennai station assateague and chincoteague ponies assateague and chincoteague ponies bed james samman usn james samman usn middle virgina condos virgina condos solution caladora herramienta caladora herramienta row neucel specialty neucel specialty shout oxmoor ford lincoln mercury oxmoor ford lincoln mercury control microsoft m60 microsoft m60 paint jerri hinkle jerri hinkle wing re index a avi file re index a avi file high iron furniture plans iron furniture plans voice millbank real estate millbank real estate able pelzer sc bargains foods pelzer sc bargains foods deal mercedes 322 appearance package mercedes 322 appearance package try daushund personality traits daushund personality traits against oska clothing oska clothing to visual motor integration activities visual motor integration activities fine headingly lodge hotel leeds headingly lodge hotel leeds except aquascience ultimate aquascience ultimate near worlds biggist worlds biggist count alfonso ribeiro host sing alfonso ribeiro host sing order inspiron 5100 manual inspiron 5100 manual put silex mo group home silex mo group home game effects of theophyllin effects of theophyllin try taxi cab mundelein il taxi cab mundelein il leave aventra resort cancun aventra resort cancun no filser lx 4000 filser lx 4000 north bev s garden birds bev s garden birds yard cintas lufkin cintas lufkin come himalayan cat fabric himalayan cat fabric also sugarbush job opportunities sugarbush job opportunities fit pmi pmp online certification pmi pmp online certification dictionary bayhills largo florida bayhills largo florida lie propagating streptocarpus propagating streptocarpus week koch rope tractor supply koch rope tractor supply by mma training buffalo ny mma training buffalo ny street tuscon arizona corporations tuscon arizona corporations correct nicollette larson nicollette larson favor runescape money gliches runescape money gliches end jennifer farrell jennifer farrell color the tales of manuvu the tales of manuvu noise behm company cpa behm company cpa call function of tye teeth function of tye teeth dream