Choosing a rich media production tool at DVinfo.net

David Hurdon · May 28th, 2005, 06:47 AM

A colleague of mine has been brought in by the bid winner to produce drug company presentations for Internet distribution. The projects are geographically diverse and are currently planned as two camera shoots with a sound person. One camera stays on the presenter, the other shoots the powerpoint screen. In post, using Microsoft Producer with Powerpoint 2003 or higher, the actual PP presentation will be incorporated into the screen area, using the shoot only as a visual reference to sync the entry and exit of slides. I understand that this could be done without much if any post work using the portable version of Media Site from Sonic Foundry, and I know there are other tools, perhaps Serious Magic's Ultra among them. Each has a different price point and different features. Does anyone have enough experience with the options to offer an opinion on the optimum choice for the kind of work I've described?

David Hurdon

Mark Mapes · June 8th, 2005, 11:52 AM

You might also consider Serious Magic's Visual Communicator. It supports PowerPoint slides as input sources--you can simply drag and drop the entire slide show into the Action Area and then position them on the timeline. In VC Studio, the top-of-the-line version, the program maintains a dynamic link to the PPT project, updating the VC project if the slides change. If you want to learn more, go to http://www.seriousmagic.com/newvcdemo.cfm. I'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have on this workflow.

David Hurdon · June 9th, 2005, 04:39 AM

Thanks for the input, Mark. I will take a look at Visual Communicator.

Any other experienced voices?

David Hurdon

Patrick King · June 9th, 2005, 04:56 AM

If you are a Macromedia person, their Breeze product provides a great video/data integration/distribution toolset. But all your editing must be done prior to sync in Breeze.

May 28th, 2005, 06:47 AM	#1
David Hurdon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 484	Choosing a rich media production tool A colleague of mine has been brought in by the bid winner to produce drug company presentations for Internet distribution. The projects are geographically diverse and are currently planned as two camera shoots with a sound person. One camera stays on the presenter, the other shoots the powerpoint screen. In post, using Microsoft Producer with Powerpoint 2003 or higher, the actual PP presentation will be incorporated into the screen area, using the shoot only as a visual reference to sync the entry and exit of slides. I understand that this could be done without much if any post work using the portable version of Media Site from Sonic Foundry, and I know there are other tools, perhaps Serious Magic's Ultra among them. Each has a different price point and different features. Does anyone have enough experience with the options to offer an opinion on the optimum choice for the kind of work I've described? David Hurdon __________________ Site:http://www.faceliftmarketing.ca Blog:http://www.websitevideo.blogspot.com

June 8th, 2005, 11:52 AM	#2
Mark Mapes Serious Magic Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 68	You might also consider Serious Magic's Visual Communicator. It supports PowerPoint slides as input sources--you can simply drag and drop the entire slide show into the Action Area and then position them on the timeline. In VC Studio, the top-of-the-line version, the program maintains a dynamic link to the PPT project, updating the VC project if the slides change. If you want to learn more, go to http://www.seriousmagic.com/newvcdemo.cfm. I'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have on this workflow. __________________ Mark Mapes OnLocation QA Manager, Adobe Systems

June 9th, 2005, 04:39 AM	#3
David Hurdon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 484	Thanks for the input, Mark. I will take a look at Visual Communicator. Any other experienced voices? David Hurdon __________________ Site:http://www.faceliftmarketing.ca Blog:http://www.websitevideo.blogspot.com

June 9th, 2005, 04:56 AM	#4
Patrick King Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Enterprise, AL Posts: 857	If you are a Macromedia person, their Breeze product provides a great video/data integration/distribution toolset. But all your editing must be done prior to sync in Breeze. __________________ Fear No Weevil!