Video Edit Magic 4.47

Inserting videos into PowerPoint

Many PowerPoint presentations include graphics, sounds and PowerPoint's built-in animation.  However, effectively adding video clips to a presentation can really make it stand out.  This article explains how to use Video Edit Magic to create videos to use in PowerPoint.

Tips for creating good PowerPoint presentations

  • Be sure each slide contributes toward the primary point of your presentation.  Shorter presentations are more understandable and more memorable, so if a slide isn't adding something important to the main thrust, either remove it or move it to the background materials.
  • If the PowerPoint show is meant for unattended viewing (the viewer watches it with no speaker present) use voice narration.  Video Edit Magic lets you illustrate and discuss concepts using selected images and your own voice.
  • Unique presentations get the attention they deserve, so think of innovative presentation techniques.  For example, have a "mascot" cartoon character, doing the actions the presentation talks about, and "saying" some of the text in word balloons.  Presentations should reflect your personal (or corporate) style.
  • Graphics and photographs are self explanatory and focus the audience's attention.  Illustrating points can let you eliminate many words from the slides, and text-heavy presentations can lose the audience.  With Video Edit Magic you can Take Snaps from video footage, and use the still pictures to illustrate your presentation.

Why is Windows Media format used for PowerPoint?

Microsoft's Windows Media Video (WMV) gives high quality playback.  It also requires less processor overhead, which means smoother playback on older PCs.

The movie should have the same aspect ratio as a PowerPoint slide, or it will appear distorted or stretched when it is played.  Most PowerPoint slide shows have an aspect ratio of 4:3; so we recommend that you save your movie at 640 x 480 resolution, which has the same aspect ratio.

Creating videos for PowerPoint

The editing process in Video Edit Magic begins with importing video files from a PC’s hard drive or capturing footage from a camcorder.  To create your movie, drag the video clips onto the video tracks.  The software has two video tracks, and you can place videos on both of them.

If a video clip has sound, when you add it to a video track, a corresponding audio clip will be placed on the audio track.  If you want to replace the original audio track with narration of your own, click on the audio track and press the Del key.  Connect a microphone to your PC. Select Narration from the Tools menu.  Position the Seek Slider on the timeline where you want to start narrating, and click Record.  You can watch the video play in the Preview window and time your narration to match what you see.

Video Edit Magic avails you with an array of video effects and transitions which can be used to enhance your movies. To see how videos look after applying transitions, read our Applying Transitions Correctly article.

When you finish editing your videos, use Video Edit Magic's Make Movie Wizard (on the File menu).  This wizard enables you to choose a video or audio file format for your movie.  Select Windows Media Format (WMV) and click on Next.  The Windows Media Format Properties page appears.  On this page select DVD quality video (2 Mbps CBR) from the Video drop-down list.  This encodes the video at a bit rate of 2Mbps and a resolution of 640 X 480, which is ideal for PowerPoint.

Inserting into PowerPoint

Video Edit Magic - Insert Videos into PowerPoint
  1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and go to the slide you want the video clip to play.
  2. On the Insert menu, point to Movies and Sounds, and then click Movie from File.  Choose the video you want to use and then click OK.
PowerPoint does not include the video in the actual presentation file (.PPT).  It only creates a link.  It's a good idea to put the movie file in the same folder as your PowerPoint presentation.  If you later move the PowerPoint presentation to another PC or folder, copy the movie too.  Keeping your movie in the same folder as your presentation guarantees that the link will still work.  If you plan on distributing copies of your presentation, you should consider using the Package for CD command on the PowerPoint File menu.

Trouble Shooting

  1. If your video doesn't run smoothly, try turning your hardware acceleration down.  If you use Windows 2000 or XP, then right-click the Windows desktop and choose Properties.  Switch to the Settings tab, and click the Advanced button.  Finally, click on the Troubleshoot tab and move the slider to the left.
  2. If your movie does not play, or a blank box appears on the slide where you inserted the media file, rename the movie so that the filename and the full path to it (all the folders and subfolders) are less than 128 characters long.
  3. It is always recommended to have the latest version of DirectX and Windows Media player on the presentation PC.
    Adding video clips to your presentations can really help you stand out from the crowd.  Be outstanding—use Video Edit Magic and move beyond routine slideshows today.

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