University of Florida | 6 - 10 July 2009

Audio Slideshows with Soundslides

Soundslides Workshop

Soundslides is an inexpensive program that runs equally well on Mac and Windows. You can download the free demo version and pay for it later, if you decide to continue using it.

Before you begin:

• Have all your photos for the slideshow cropped, rotated, toned, and stored in one folder with no other photos. They must be in the JPG file format. (You cannot edit the photos inside Soundslides.)
• Have your finalized MP3 file. (You cannot edit the audio inside Soundslides.)

Tips:

1. Name and save the project folder carefully.
2. "Custom" option: Choose the width and height of the slideshow based on the size of your photos.
3. Don't forget to save AND export the Soundslides.
4. The publish_to_web folder must be uploaded to the Web in its entirety.
5. KEEP THE PROJECT FOLDER in case you need to make changes to the slideshow later.
6. In general, 5 seconds of audio = 1 photo. So, 60 seconds = at least 12 photos. 2 min. 30 sec. (150 sec.) = at least 30 photos.

See the Soundslides Forums for tips, help, and examples.

Soundslides uses the Flash player, which is a Web browser plug-in that most Internet users already have. In other words, most people will not need to download anyhting to view your slideshow on the Web.

For more tips about audio slideshows, see these posts in the Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency:

• RGMP 7: Learn how to shoot decent photos
• RGMP 8: Learn how to crop, tone, and optimize photos
• RGMP 10: Learn to use Soundslides

My Favorite Soundslides Examples

• News: After the Riots (The Guardian)
• Natural sound: Cockfighting in Puerto Rico, by photojournalist Al Bello
• Multiple voices: Guitar Lessons (The Seattle Times)
• Emotion: Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out (The New York Times)
• Reporting: The Mac, by student photojournalist Crystal Street.
• Classic photojournalism story, one subject, interview: The Peace of Dawn (The Virginian-Pilot)
• Two languages, narration: Stoves for Guatemala (Houston Chronicle)

Tutorials for Soundslides

• En español: Presentaciones Web Con Sonido
• Photoshop How-To for Soundslides -- This illustrated tutorial shows you how to use Photoshop to resize, caption and save your photos before you import them into Soundslides.
• Read Tom Priddy's tutorial (PDF, 1.2 MB) for a great overview of how a professional photojournalist works with Soundslides in his everyday job (used with Tom's permission).
• View a well-illustrated online tutorial that explains how to get started with Soundslides (from PopPhoto.com; they also have a good interview with Joe Weiss, the creator of Soundslides (and a really nice guy).
• How to make your audio slideshows better, a blog post by the great Colin Mulvany, visual journalist at The Spokesman-Review.

Soundslides does not produce video files, and you cannot import video into Soundslides. It is a simple tool that builds simple audio slideshows. That's all.

Copyright © 2009 Mindy McAdams | University of Florida