OzarksNatureShooter

I'm preparing several new slide shows. Just wondered if anybody has a good rule of thumb for the most desirable time a single image, with little or no text, should appear on the screen before the next image comes on.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Watch some TV. Whether it is commercials, the news or a soap, the screen changes every 3 to 5 seconds. I don't know if that is what the brain expects or if it has been trained that way.

There are notable exceptions, but not many?

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

I did several slide shows for the last company I worked for before retiring. Shows included both projected slides using up to four projectors synced to narration and digital (Powerpoint, etc) presentations with live narration. If your transition is normal (well, at least normal back in the '70's) out/in, the standard recommended time seems to be three seconds. Anything beyond that seems to have one of two effects: the audience loses interest or the audience becomes so fixated on an image that they have a hard time re-orienting on the next slide. On the other hand, if you are using more sophisticated types of transition, you may want to make sure that each new slide has at least three seconds for the audience to register the new image; this may mean a total time, including transition, of five or more seconds. The one thing you want to avoid, beside lingering boredom, is giving the average audience member enough time to recognize the slide, to have it register on their conscious mind without allowing them to become engrossed in one image. Note that few, if any, tomes on the subject spend time on one aspect of such shows, subliminal imaging. If, during transition, you show the same slide repeatedly (with occasional gaps to recognize a pattern) for ⅛ or less second, by the end of the show, you will have imprinted that image on the subconscious without it registering on the conscious. One caveat: if you are selling something, "subliminal advertising" is strictly controlled by many US Federal and state laws.

Bobbee

Start at 3 seconds with a 2 second transition

Dogman Loc: Michigan

Agree with Bobbee. I've created several slide shows, my last for my 50th class reunion.

Group shots needed a longer duration.

Transitions, in most cases keep the same throughout. Some tend to fiddle with using several different transitions but IMHO a slide show is about whatever the topic is and not transitions. But, if you like different transitions, by all means go for it.

Oh, add some music. It helps.

Dogman

j.collinst

My caution as a designer is to keep it simple. Remember, it is the images and not the effects the audience needs to remember. Special effects tend to be pedantic, but using one occasionally for emphasis or to rouse the viewer is good.

I've never been able to hold an audience's attention for more than 20 minutes. Shorter is better in the post-M-TV generation.

Watch TV commercials for pointers. Some images are recognizable in the bat of an eye, others need a couple of seconds. 3 seconds is pushing your luck.

Music does help. Surprise is your friend.

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

Great tips. I agree... I even think 20 min is a bit long. Of course, too short is not good either. I've seen some slide shows that try to squeeze/sync too many photos in to the music of one song. Just pick the very best photos, and keep it simple.

Bobbee

After the first 6-10 pictures. People get bored. The effects retain their attention.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

You make an important point here, one that should not be overlooked. There are reasons some transitions were developed. Fade out/fade in with overlay is important when each slide's relationship to the next is important, such as when comparing houses or appearances. For most slide shows, a direct cut is quite abrupt, whereas a fade out/fade in with no overlay may provide a smooth transition. Whatever you do, however, limit the number of different types of transition. Using a different transition between each slide will distract the audience. You can lose your audience with excessive transitioning.

Boone Loc: Groundhog Town USA

[quote=OzarksNatureShooter]I'm preparing several new slide shows. Just wondered if anybody

I have done some research on this myself, and applying that info. to my own I have found that 9.0 sec. is the magic time for anyone to look at any given image. Thanks, Boone

mdorn Loc: Portland, OR

9 seconds per image? Wow... that's an eternity. Is this research based on a population of viewers older than 80? :-) <joke>

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Probably. Usn's in thar 70's don't never need longer than seven or eight seconds. :wink:

Boone Loc: Groundhog Town USA

Actually, this was a time frame quote from NYI of Photography. It is really not that long when you consider fade in, fade out. I have used it with good results. Thanks, Boone