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Move over Soundslides: 4 Free online slideshow creators Tuesday, February 03, 2009 The photo slideshow has revolutionized online journalism and can be seen on nearly every major news site. Many are created in Flash and many more are created using the popular program Soundslides. The problem is building slideshows in Flash can be daunting for the non-technical reporter and Soundslides, while extraordinarily simple to use, costs money. Because many newsrooms face financial difficulty, journalists must cut corners where they can. In that spirit, the following free online slideshow creators allow the user to blend photos and audio to create embeddable slideshows without spending money on software. Each slideshow was created with the same seven photos (source) and 30-second audio clip. Which one is best? You be the judge.

The Beauty of the Slideshow - Now Available to Everyone By Stanley LearystanleylearycloseAuthor: Stanley Leary See Author's Posts (38) Recent Posts * Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video * Teaching Is a Great Way to Learn * Telling Stories with a Telephoto Lens * If Your Pictures Aren't Good Enough, You're Not Close Enough * What Kind of Photographer Are You? Stanley Leary is a Black Star photographer who has been telling stories for more than 20 years as a photojournalist. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Chicago Tribune, NY Times, World Book Encyclopedia, Information Week, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and many other publications. in Video and Multimedia on January 20th, 2008 Even before the Internet, I appreciated the slideshow. I created presentations with multiple projectors and audio, and I was always impressed with what the combined media could communicate. Even compared to video - where you move right through a moment so quickly you can miss the subtlety of it - the slideshow has its unique charms. The problem, in the old days, was that you had to have the audience present to deliver the program; it was a lot of work for a small number of people. The printed page reached a much larger audience. Today, with the Web becoming the leader in delivering the news, we are no longer limited to printed words and still images on the page. Rather than publishing a quote, we can deliver audio of the interviews and the experience, giving a story authenticity in a way that we couldn't achieve before. We can create slideshows for everyone - to watch whenever they choose.

Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video By Stanley LearystanleylearycloseAuthor: Stanley Leary See Author's Posts (38) Recent Posts * Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video * Teaching Is a Great Way to Learn * Telling Stories with a Telephoto Lens * If Your Pictures Aren't Good Enough, You're Not Close Enough * What Kind of Photographer Are You? Stanley Leary is a Black Star photographer who has been telling stories for more than 20 years as a photojournalist. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Chicago Tribune, NY Times, World Book Encyclopedia, Information Week, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and many other publications. in Video and Multimedia on March 27th, 2009 I've written before about multimedia slideshows, and how nice it is that today they are available to everyone via the Web, when in the past they were generally created for small groups. In this post, I will make the argument that multimedia slideshows can be a more effective way of communicating than online video. Advantages of Multimedia Slideshows Today nearly 70 percent of Americans are considered visual learners. That only leaves about 30 percent who learn primarily from words-only communication. But does that mean we should skip past slideshows and go straight to video? I don't think so.

Cheat sheet for multimedia story decisions As newsrooms everywhere struggle to adapt to the digital information environment, everybody in the newsroom needs to gain some multimedia literacy. At the basic level, that means you understand what the media are suited for. Even if you do not know how to make an audio slideshow, you must understand what kinds of stories work well in the audio slideshow format - and which stories are poorly suited for it. If you don't understand that, you're in a weak position for telling stories in the 21st century.

guardian slideshows

The New York Times is running a slideshow by photographer Jan Grarup about life in the Daadab, reportedly the oldest refugee camp in the world. "The strength of the project rests within its immediacy," Mr. Grarup said. "It has an honesty to it." I was in Daadab not so long ago myself. I may not have been there for long but I was there long enough to notice that life in the camp wasn't one you would wish on the  worst of your neighbors -Kenyans and Somalis from Somalia aren't the best of neighbors. In the camps there is of course suffering but I would also have loved to see images of the children that were playing in the camp, images of the schools set up, images of the street with all the shops where refugees who've refused to be victims of circumstances are taking charge and rebuilding their lives. Where are the photos of the weddings that happen in the camp and where are the photos of people who despite their many tribulations, still observe prayers without fail? Where are the photos telling the other side of the story?

http://www.ted.com Accepting his 2007 TED Prize, James Nachtwey talks about his decades as a photojournalist. A slideshow of his photos, beginning in 1981 in Northern Ireland, reveals two parallel themes in his work. First, as he says: "The frontlines of contemporary wars are right where people live." Street violence, famine, disease: he has photographed all these modern WMDs. Second, when a photo catches the world's attention, it can truly drive action and change. In his TED wish, he asks for help gaining access to a story that needs to be told, and developing a new, digital way to show these photos to the world. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 23:41)

"Finding the Frame is a gathering spot where multimedia journalists can receive feedback on their videos, audio slideshows and multimedia projects from industry professionals and fellow visual journalists. "

PhotoPlus Event: Elliott Erwitt and Alec Soth\n\nElliott Erwitt and Alec Soth, two great photographers widely separated by their vision, style, and generations--but sharing a sense of irony, self-effacing wit, and a photo agency (Magnum)-took the stage at New York's Javits Center last night to talk to a packed audience about their work and careers.\n\nPrompted by the moderator Harald Johnson and a projection of some of his most iconic images, Erwitt spoke first, offering a brief, matter-of-fact accounting of his career and work, which he peppered with one-liners.\n\nErwitt is a keen observer of people and dogs, and the absurd things they do. He also has a sharp comic sense of visual timing and juxtaposition. All of that was on display in his slideshow. Describing one image of a dog in jumping straight upwards, Erwitt said, "People ask, Why is he jumping?' It's because I barked. I bark at dogs, they jump."

Nan Goldin & Patrick Wolf The Balland of Sexual Dependancy UBS The Long Weekend @ Tate Modern London 24.05.08

How to create a multimedia presentation

It's easy to mope and groan about the economy, our industry, and the inevitable changes that are taking place. But, let's look at the glass half full and get inspired to make the most of the situation, eh? Listed below are 15 inspirational packages and sites for you to peruse. I have featured many of them in the past, but hopefully this collection will motivate you to get excited about your potential and what lies ahead …

Welcome to Innovative Interactivity … for those who are curious about the ever-evolving trends of interactive multimedia, who's doing it best and the tricks to staying on top.

Lisa's amazing story about the truth of what is happening in the Northern Territory of Australia: In her own words: "It is almost as difficult to get any information about the truth of what is happening in the Northern Territory of Australia as it is to get an idea of what is happening in Tibet, except here they are not using guns anymore- Well at least it has been 50 years since you could buy a gun license to kill an Aborigine- truly… I am sure you will go what is the fuss about when you see this work. To me they reflect the vibrancy of the people but also their isolation. The conditions are harsh but the Warlpiri people have a beauty and strength that is of the environment. Which they don't want to lose. These photos also include a self portrait in the landscape and I am not allowed to use that either. I am at a complete loss to know why but I guess its because its uncovering a part of the country of Australia that is very resource rich and heaven forbid beautiful."