MosheR Loc: New York City

Hello Everyone.

My name is Mel. I'm a fairly experienced photographer, and a very experienced traveler, having literally been (nearly) all over the world over the last fifty or so years. I've been taking 35mm slide photos since the early '60's ... I'm an old guy ... and turned to digital when they first came out with 5mp cameras in the early 2000's. I turn my photos into video slideshows which can easily be viewed on a television screen with an ordinary DVD player. This makes them very convenient to watch, and easy to distribute to those friends and relatives who are interested in seeing them. Many of the commercial DVD's I've viewed have an accompanying commentary, usually voiced by the director, a participant in the video, or an historian, which can be turned on an off by the viewer. I was wondering if any of you out there knew of any program for the Macintosh that would allow me to make such a DVD; one that would let me add commentary that could be turned on and off as the viewer wills it

Thanks very much in advance for any help you can give in this matter. Eventually I intend to post some of my travel pics here.

M

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Welcome to UHH Mel, glad you joined us. Sorry, I can't help you with you question but hang in there I'm sure a member will be able to assist you.

Don

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Adobe Premier is the gold standard for video production. A real bitch to learn, but there's a lot of tutorials and YouTube videos out there.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

Welcome to UHH Mel.

MosheR Loc: New York City

Thanks for the encouragement.

MikWar Loc: Chicago, Western Suburbs

Perhaps iMovie - pull the slides into iMovie and then add an audio to them. Not sure how to get it onto a DVD then - Apple used to have iDVD but is no longer distributing it. Another possibility is to use Lightroom. You would put all the slides in there. Then run the slideshow and narrate it into Voice Memo on your phone (don't know if the Mac has a Voice memo app or equivalent). Save the narrative as an mp4 file and then point LR to the file in the Slideshow mode. You can then burn the show to a DVD. FYI, why go with DVD? Apple stopped supporting iDVD because everyone uses the internet. I recently made a slideshow using LR (no narrative but included music) and uploaded it to YouTube. Emailed the link to those who wanted it and voila - they can watch it on their phone/tablet/computer/smart TV. Good luck!

Al Beatty Loc: Boise, Idaho

Hi Mel,
I suggest you take a look at Adobe Premiere Elements. I'm using version 15 but have used it since version 9. I also have Adobe Premiere CS3 and the other UHH member is correct; it's a challenge to learn. That's why I'm using the Elements version. I'm not trying to produce a full-feature film, just a few YouTube videos. Take care & ...

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Believe it or not Photoshop CC has a very easy to use video module. great for stitching videos together, transitions and other modifications. Although not proficient in Photoshop, I have successfully used this feature a number of times

locustthorn Loc: Central Iowa

After you make your DVD seems like the viewer can just reduce or shut the sound down when viewing

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Go to photodex.com and check out Pro Show. I know you can add narrative but I’m not sure about what your requirement for turning it off during the show relates to. I use the cheaper version Pro Show Gold but there’s a more spendy version called Producer if you’re into professional productions. Producer may do what you want.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

If you have MS Office with Powerpoint, you might want to search for making a voice over presentation. It has the capabilities.

MosheR Loc: New York City

Thanks to all of you who responded to my query. As far as I understand, Adobe Premier is used for actually making the videos, as is iMovie. They do not produce the DVD's. iDVD makes DVD's, but does not do what I need. To try to make the matter clearer, I already know how to add dialog to my vids, as well as background music. Many programs do that. The problem I have, is that I want to maintain the video and the accompanying music, but be able to add voice overs that can be turned on and off. This way, if a viewer wants to watch the DVD without hearing the explanations, he/she can turn that part off and enjoy the slideshow without all the gab. If they want to know more specifically what they are looking at, they can turn the voice overs back on. A perfect example of this is the Seinfeld set. You can watch each episode as it appeared on television some twenty years ago, or you can turn on the dialog to hear how each one was made. That's what I would like to do.

M

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

iMovie will do all of that, easy to learn, I have done many, just finished two.

johnd2934

Hi Mel,
I use Cyberlinks Power Director to combine photos video clips with title pages and transitions into the video section. Music can be added and narration with a microphone input.
When rendered into a combined file you can select the output type including a DVD.
I usually make a smaller digital file for a USB flash drive which plugs into the TV for viewing.
The USB drive will hold several videos depending on their size. I’ve used this software for several years now and it works well to show off our vacation photos instead of albums.
John

johnd2934

Mel,
My apologies I did not see your explanation of precisely your need. I don’t know if my suggestion will allow switch off of the narration.
J