Tech T.I.P. 9/30/2010

Create a Cemetery Virtual Tour

Denise Barrett Olson

You have researched the cemeteries in your local area. You know their history and you've taken the time to learn about some of the more interesting people, gravestones and epitaphs. You've taken dozens of photos and told many of the stories on your blog. Have you ever considered pulling it all together into a virtual tour?

Mission of Nombre de Dios from Moultrie Creek on Vimeo.

No, you don't have to have any movie experience or fancy equipment. You can easily pull it all together with a basic photo editor and a presentation graphic app like Microsoft's PowerPoint, iWork's Keynote or OpenOffice.org's Impress. Combine your photos with a narrated story and you can build a fascinating look at your favorite cemetery.

Here's how.

I built my tour using iWork's Keynote for the Mac. Although the actual commands are different, the process will be much the same with each app. These presentation apps are really quite versatile and will support just about every aspect of the production process. The only thing they can't do is edit your photos.

Keynote’s Light Table View

The first - and most important - step is to create the story board. I start by adding slides for each topic I want to include in my tour. I'll include slides with the photos I want to use. At this point, I'm not too concerned about order - I'm mostly brain-storming. I use the "presenter notes" area to make notes about what I want to show or say at this point in the presentation.

Next, I'll begin to fine-tune my story. Take advantage of Keynote's Light Table view (called Slide Sorter in PowerPoint) and drag and drop slides to reorder them. Once again the presenter's notes area comes in handy and my notes get fleshed out into a script. Not only do I have all the "production information" contained in one file, but now I can print a copy of the slides with the notes/script to use while I'm recording the narration. Don't forget to include a slide at the end of the presentation to give yourself credit - and include the address of your blog.

Slide view showing script text in the presenters notes area under the slide image

I use my headset to record the narrative. While a quiet recording location is preferred, it’s not always possible. The headset helps to filter out distracting noises like the tv in the next room or the dog's squeaky toy. Your app probably offers the option to record the entire presentation or add audio clips slide by slide. I usually prefer to record the entire presentation. Yes, I often flub a word or lose my place and have to record my presentation several times before I have results I'll produce.

You now have a slideshow with sound. It's time to put it online for everyone to see. The easiest option is to upload your PowerPoint file to SlideBoom . This slide sharing platform supports slideshows with narration, embedding the show on your blog site and offers free accounts. It can also handle OpenOffice.org Impress files that have been saved in PowerPoint format.

Keynote users and PowerPoint 2010 users can export their presentations as movies and then upload them to their favorite movie-sharing platform like YouTube or Vimeo . Like SlideBoom, these movies can also be embedded on a post at your blog.

My best advice is to start small and experiment. Build a three-slide presentation, record a short narration and upload it to the site of your choice. Look at the image quality, listen to the sound and make adjustments to your images, text and narration until it's just the way you want it. Make sure to look at the uploaded version so you aren't surprised - like I was - to find something like the volume on the uploaded presentation being significantly lower than my desktop version.

Your experiments will build your confidence and you'll soon find yourself a full-fledged documentarian!

If you're looking for inspiration, take a look at Maureen Taylor's video podcasts . These are delightful short stories and great examples of the possibilities available with tools we already have.