burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Sad truth: One of the reasons Photodex died was audience boredom. Just about every Pro Show show I ever saw looked like all the rest — a jumbled mess of special effects so dizzying, you forgot what you just saw. It had no cohesion or coherence, and seldom a point other than, "Rah, rah, oompah pah!" Once you've seen one, you've been annoyed enough to check messages on your phone during the next one. People want story... message... a point.

Most people doing slide shows are now using VIDEO EDITING software. That's because it can combine ALL media — still photos, video, text, and audio — seamlessly. Watch any recent Ken Burns documentary and you'll see what decent video editing software can do. It can pan and zoom video and stills, add titles, add special effects, mix multiple stereo and mono audio sources, etc. Even iMovie, free with every new Mac since the turn of the century, can do that.

Video enables real storytelling that combines words, images, music, and more. It's better than the old multi-projector multi-image slide shows we had in the 1970s and '80s.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I was doing corporate video slideshows in iMovie in 2007 and 2008. It did everything I wanted. It justified my getting a Mac, in the eyes of my boss!

These days, I have Final Cut Pro for video and slideshow editing, but I could use iMovie for most of my projects.

eternal camper Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Guys

I use a program called PTE AV Studio but I did look at the website for Photopia and was impressed. I just may get it as a Black Friday gift to myself if they have a Black Friday special! Anyone know if they do? It does look like a good slide show program and I do very little video so I like to put slide shows together as a way of showing some of my work. I
How easy is it to get familiar with Photopia Creative?

Steve

Frank 2012 Loc: Olathe, Kansas

Is Photo Stage the replacement for ProShp Producer/Photodex?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Some people like to use the gee-whiz-bang special effects because they think it's neat and because they can.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat (and presumably FoxIt) can be used to make slide shows. I have made slide shows in an academic setting for more than a decade.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Apple Keynote is another one. It’s similar in purpose to PowerPoint. Free with every Mac.

dhsheffield

Hi Tom,

I use SmartShow 3D and I've been exceptionally happy with it. It's not an expensive purchase and had most, if not all, of the features that I need.

Dave

Dave H2

Have you tried any of the free ones like Fastone Image Viewer?

drrobins Loc: San Francisco East Bay (Walnut Creek)

I would have kept using Quicken 2007 (Mac) too, but it stopped being able to link and download from my accounts. :-(

tgreenhaw

I have been using Amazon Photos because I have an Amazon Fire TV device. It makes it easy for me to show family and friends in our big screen tv.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Apple has changed MacOS and their hardware so much since 2007 that almost no Mac software from back then will run on current machines.

banjoboy Loc: Austin, TX

No, that would be Photopia. It can import ProShow shows, transitions, etc.

Alexid1

A new version of PTE AV Studio 11 has been released for PC and Mac. I use this software to create photo slideshows.

V11 includes some nice new effects and possibilities:
- Text animations (by letters and words).
- Displacement Map effects (waves and water simulation).
- Directional Blur. And Blur with bokeh effect.
- More slide styles and transitions.

The good news: no subscription required. It's one time payment (a full version or upgrade from the old version).