Consider the theme

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

A theme is the glue that binds everything together, and when it isn't there, a slide show is the lesser for it. Let's say we're going to build a Valentine show for the spouse...

First up is the question of whether it's for husband or wife. We can go all frilly with ribbons and lace for a wife, but that sure won't do for a husband. Since he can be the more difficult subject for a Valentine show, let's try to create a theme for him. For the sake of example, we'll imagine he enjoys woodworking, in which case we can use wood as the basis of a theme. We have a small gang of photos, and we've decided on a nice oak background, but now what?

We can't have a Valentine show without a few hearts, but will bright red heart graphics blend well with a wood theme? Uh-uh. They're going to clash, but we don't have to discard those hearts. We can use them as masks with a simple setup such as this:

Layer 1: heart graphic (if it has transparency, set as alpha mask)
.....Layer 2: duplicate of oak background (tint it with hue adjustment & maybe make darker)
Layers 3, 4, etc. on down to the "real" oak background

We now have hearts constructed of wood (and thus consistent in design and theme) that we can move around by setting the masks in motion, perhaps having a heart glide over to a photo and come to rest on one corner.

Yes, you say, but can't we have a bit of pizzazz? Pizzazz is needed, but here's where dragons lie in wait, so we'd better walk carefully. We've had a plethora of new styles and transitions recently dumped in our laps, and if we don't choose wisely, we'll end up with garbage. There's no way of dictating which effects to choose, but we can test the effects with the provided previews while keeping in mind what we're trying to say in our show. We should watch for how effects deal with background, embellishments, and photos. For instance, the camera flash effect has nothing whatsoever to do with wood, hearts, and love, and the page-turn effect looks downright weird curling a piece of oak. In most cases, using similar effects throughout a show works best. For sure, having a special and different effect in every single slide is like vitamin A: a little is good; a whole lot is poisonous.

This merely touches on the idea of theme, which is consistency in idea, design, and special effect. If everything we use--color, shape, motion, photo--is there for a reason, and if it looks like a matched ensemble, we've started down the road to fabulous shows.

After briefly mentioning theme to someone in the sharing section, it occurred to me that maybe there would be value in expanding on the topic just a bit. I could actually go on and on, but who wants to read something a mile long in the forum?

Barbara

[im42n8 Profile Private messageWebsite]

Along that line, keeping to that theme during your show will enhance the viewability of that show. Be consistent when using your theme. Using multiple themes in your show will tend to confuse the viewer unless you can break them apart somehow

In the example provided by Barbara, your overall theme for the show will be for a valentine show, with sub-themes for some of the characters/players. However, each theme should be related to and consistent with the overall theme of the show.

If you change from one theme to another, generally, you'll want to flag the viewer that some kind of change is going to occur. If you've been consistent in your application of a transition, you would use a different type of transition to kind of warn your viewers that a change is coming. For instance, using a fade to black into the new section/theme vs the crossfades you may have been using can serve as notice that a new theme or some other change is happening.

Dale

[ChrissyC Profile Private message]

Hi Barbara and Dale, loved this post about finding a theme.
My computer is in for repair, back light went out on my screen, going on 2 WEEKS without it! I can't watch shows on my work computer so I'm up the poop creek without a paddle till it is shipped back to me (sigh)
I can still read my forums, on the office computer downstairs which is a pain in the butt!
2 weeks with no computer, I feel like my brain isn't working right! LOLOL
miss everybody!!
huggs, Chrissy

[BarbaraC Profile Private messageWebsite]

When using what Dale calls a sub-theme, you aren't really changing theme at all. If, for example, you're going from winter to spring and then from spring to summer and on into autumn, the true theme is seasonal change, not the specific seasons. And his suggestion of fading to black before the next section is used constantly in the movie industry because it just plain works. You know the old adage: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Barbara