Graphics Software Options Add Energy to Meetings
by Jim Fuller
Published in Midwest Meetings Magazine
Due to its wide distribution and ease of use, Microsoft® PowerPoint® software has become the most widely used for creating speaker support and graphics for meetings. In the new millennium, other software options - including a new version of PowerPoint® - are available to help you create livelier graphics and more energized meetings. In this column, we'll look at three: Director and Flash from Macromedia and PowerPoint or XP from Microsoft.
Macromedia Director was introduced in 1985 as a multi-media authoring and presentation tool. Today its primary use is in web site development. As audiences become increasingly Internet savvy, presentations with a web look and feel are growing in popularity. And Director is coming back into use as a vehicle for creating presentations and shows that take advantage of its advanced capabilities.
These capabilities include:
- Extremely high resolution which allows you both to create and display consistently sharp presentations
- Advanced animation capabilities you can use to create smooth, realistic animations of multiple objects which can be individually controlled for complex interactivity
- Shape and motion tweening which enables you to morph one object into another simply by telling the program how many steps you want in between.
Director's graphics files are vector-based, which results in relatively small file sizes even for complex images. Vector graphics are resolution independent, which means a vector graphic the size of a pinhead, will retain the same file size even when enlarged to fill your entire screen with no quality degradation.
Director makes users "directors" of their own theatrical productions. Through the use of its code, named "Lingo," acts, scenes, and scores are created working with various cast and crewmembers and props.
Consider Director for creating game shows and other interactive audience participation and learning experiences, presentations that run on continuous loops in lobbies and convention booths, and for CD distribution to the field or to customers. Director is a versatile authoring tool.
Macromedia Flash is promoted as a tool for creating graphic content for the World Wide Web. It's used to create animated banner ads, company logos, e-greeting cards and much, much more. Now it's animation effects are coming into use in meetings.
Flash offers you basically the same features as Director: It differs from Director in the ways that it's used.
Flash files can be placed within other applications, such as PowerPoint®. So, you can enhance presentations with animations without switching between computers or applications.
Flash files use the latest compression technology for fast loading over the Internet.
Flash also accommodates audio. You can program .wav files into it and get precise synchronization of your graphics to your audio track.
Director and Flash will take you away from the stark, static corporate meeting look and allow you to create an energized, animated, environment for your meetings.
PowerPoint, the latest release from Microsoft, raises the bar with more effects, improved resolution, and other great improvements. Here are just a few.
Multiple file inserting allows you to select any number of objects and insert them all at once. Improved timing control improves transitions and effects. You can now control how objects enter, what they do on the screen, and how they exit. New, custom animation effects allow you to animate dozens of objects on the screen at the same time, move objects along pre-defined paths, and control them sequentially.
PowerPoint readily imports Flash, allowing you to enhance presentations with even more animation. The program's Projection Wizard is resolution scalable, allowing you to pick your choice of output resolution.
For operators and meeting producers, the most significant improvement is Multiple Masters. The master is the template used for creating a presentation. In past versions of PowerPoint®, if you tried to merge two or more presentations, the program automatically reformatted them to the look of the original master.
PowerPoint accommodates multiple masters. Now you can combine multiple presentations into one file or create separate sections within the same presentation and give them each an individual look.
New vehicles for creating and enhancing the graphics for your presentations and meetings are continually emerging. RealNetworks, Pinnacle, Scala, Inscriber, and Dataton are some of the names to watch for on the horizon. New software solutions make creating, producing, and directing the show more fun than ever.