PowerDirector - Getting started with the Slideshow Creator

[@Mediawatcher2023]

ahh the modern way of the slides i remember if we have relatives coming over out comes the slide projector LOL

[@SharperTurtle]

The traditional way of working with slides has certainly changed. Back then adding music was a challenge too. --Jim

[@DanSpotYT]

Very nice intro to slideshows and the new features. I know it's a basic demo...but the music selection with the flowers led me to think "Attack of the Flowers! Coming soon to a theater near you." Pardon my lame attempt at humor. haha! Cheers and thanks!

[@SharperTurtle]

Agreed! I do think the music was not what a florist might pick! --Jim

[@donaldcashman570]

Thanks Jim, very useful indeed. Gave me some ideas on how to more efficiently include slide show content within a larger DVD productuion

[@SharperTurtle]

Don, Glad this expands your horizon. --Jim

[@VincentGrimmly]

You removed the plug-ins button. I hate to tell you, but not everyone loves having to relearn your software after every new "update"

[@SharperTurtle]

I am not fond of all the changes Cyberlink has made with the most recent update. However, I am a user like everyone else and have no connection with the product development team at Cyberlink. In PowerDirector you can click on the FILE menu at the top and then choose "Rate us and Provide Suggestions" from the drop-down menu to let the Cyberlink people know what you think would make the program better. I've done that myself. --Jim

[@BrendaDunning-i3q]

I reached out to you earlier but now can't find the tutorial. Trying again. With the slideshow, can you have different themes and music with groups of photos?

[@SharperTurtle]

You can click on the CUSTOMIZE button. That will take you to the theme designer. You can add sequences from other templates into the one you are using at the time. This is a way to mix and match sequences from more that one preset theme. I have not created a tutorial specifically on this, but I will jot it down so I can explore it in depth and work on one. If I were to mix music with different groups of slides I would rather produce the slideshow without music and then bring it into the timeline and add music there. I think that might be simpler. Jim

[@BrendaDunning-i3q]

@@SharperTurtle - Thank you. I can't find the customize button! I'm finding this all very strange I downloaded the free version and there were 6 or 7 choices to make a slideshow - including "Highlight" .. next day they were not available - purchased the product and still not there!! I need to find the tutorial about how to move photos around I moved them to where I wanted them after I uploaded them but when I hit produce .. it put them back in the order they were taken. I'll keep trying!

[@SharperTurtle]

Which version do you have PD365, PowerDirector Ultimate, or PowerDirector Ultra? --Jim

[@BrendaDunning-i3q]

@@SharperTurtle PD365. I have figured out how to put several groups together with different music - next will be to figure out how to transition between them!

[@BrendaDunning-i3q]

@@SharperTurtle - PD365. I have figured out how to do 2 groups with separate music. How to put a transition in between is next!

[@brainlessmoep]

I want to make an animated slideshow from pictures with different sizes and resolutions. All slides should simply fade over, but should be scaled to fit the screen and should use an arbitrary Ken Burns animation. I can easily configure such a slideshow with ACD see, but I cannot export it as a movie from it. Is it possible with Powerdirector? Addon: In the meantime, I found that legacy Windows Movie Maker 2012 can almost exactly do what I want with very little fuss. It's a shame that modern tools don't support this most usable mode easily anymore.

[@SharperTurtle]

It's easy to add the same transition to images in PowerDirector. I don't believe the scaling is automatic, though. I'm glad you found a copy of Movie Maker that would handle this for you. Would a more advanced version of ACD See export a slideshow to a movie? You might want to click on the FILE menu in PowerDirector and then use "Rate us and Provide Suggestions" to lobby for some additional features. --Jim

[@jzs217]

is this no longer an option on mac?

[@SharperTurtle]

I don't have access to my Mac at this time, so I cannot tell you exactly what is in the Mac version. Here is a link to the Cyberlink promo page for the Mac. It might show something i did not notice . --Jim www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software-mac/features-details_en_US.html

[@gtmangum]

I'm struggling. How do get the slideshow creator plugin? I have paid for the full version and only have 'Video Collage Designer' under my plug-in selections.

[@SharperTurtle]

According to the help menu, you Select Slideshow Creator in the launcher window at startup, or select Plugins > Slideshow Creator if you already have CyberLink PowerDirector open. Can you do that in your version? --Jim

[@gtmangum]

@@SharperTurtle I cannot. That’s what I’ve seen in other videos as well, but when I open the program it goes straight into a project with no option to select slideshow creator. It also isn’t showing up in my plugins. I’m using Power Director 365 and have paid for the full version. Not sure what’s going on.

[@SharperTurtle]

It sounds like it's loading your last project automatically. If that's the case and you want to turn it off, go to the gear icon at the upper right to change your settings. Then in the "Preferences" menu select "Project" on the left. In the right panel uncheck the box "Automatically load the last project when PowerDirector opens". --Jim

[@gtmangum]

@@SharperTurtle found out Power Director for Mac doesn’t have the slideshow creator plug-in, it’s only a feature on the pc version.

[@SharperTurtle]

I did not know you were not on the Windows platform. Hopefully the next upgrade will bring it to the Mac. They have improved lots of features since it was first released for the Mac, so I expect you will see it at some point in time. I had a series of tutorials specific to the Mac, but the commands are nearly identical (but for CMD and CTRL) and I lost access to a Mac. As the two versions of PD on both platforms get more identical, there will hopefully be little difference in the long run. --Jim

[@mikegarrison1218]

How do I organize picture order and how do I change the transition?

[@SharperTurtle]

On the PREVIEW STEP you will need to select the CUSTOMIZE button. The process is a bit strange. But you can pull slides out of the sequence and put them into the right panel. Then move to the place in the sequence and pull images back into the flow of the slideshow in the left panel. Highlight the photo you want to take out of a particular shot and click on the right arrow to move it to the panel on the right. Then do the same with another segment in your slide show. Move back to the slide you started with and reverse the operation to put a different slide from the right panel into the vacant place in the slideshow. It does not allow you to change the transition. If this does not clarify things, let me know. --Jim

[@mattslaboratory5996]

Thanks for doing this. I've always been frustrated by the lousy slide show templates. Looks like they're getting more useful.

[@SharperTurtle]

You are welcome. The templates sure vary in flexibility, but they do offer some nice features--especially if you want to throw something together quickly. --Jim

[@WhoaNellieRVAdventures]

👍👍👍

[@SharperTurtle]

Thanks for checking this out. --Jim

[@cjogocarmel]

How to make a simple "straight" fade/dissolve >> between image

[@SharperTurtle]

To do a simple fade from one image to another, drag the images to the timeline, then drag the fade transition between the clips. If you have something else in mind, let me know. --Jim

[@cjogocarmel]

Yes know that one well --wanted to have that transition on the newest opening ~~ update page -- where we can sync to the music --- and all the steps are "auto" between the images >> instead of the manual way you have presented ..... @@SharperTurtle

[@SharperTurtle]

I just tried out the auto settings for the slide show and synced the clip duration to the audio in PD365 / 2024. When doing this you need to use one of the slideshow templates. --Jim

[@cjogocarmel]

Just moved from 15 over to the newest 21 --- will have to watch a few more tutorials ..."things" have moved :-) Thanks

[@cjogocarmel]

BUT none have a " simple" fade ===way too modern of spacey offerings ...@@SharperTurtle

[@jserenity]

I wish they can do auto edits to the beat of the music like gopro quik. I roll out so many video in just under an hour that would otherwise take me like 2 days min

[@SharperTurtle]

Glad you have found that GoPro app useful. You could mention it to the Cyberlink folks under "Rate us and provide suggestions" from the File menu of PowerDirector. --Jim