Video for YouTube Without a Camera (1)

Janet Klug, WE Think

Making the Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation is the first step in preparing a philatelic movie for YouTube.

This is a set of step-by-step instructions for making a video for YouTube without using a video camera. You will need Microsoft PowerPoint software and Windows XP or Vista. If you don’t know how to use PowerPoint, read the help files (2003 or 2007) or use the wizard to help you create your first PowerPoint presentation.

1. Write the script for your program.
2. Collect the images you will use and put both into a file on the desk top where you can find it when you need it.
3. Note on your script what images need to be where within the script.
4. Open the PowerPoint software and make the program, following your script.
5. When you have completed the program, you need to save it. (Here is where it is different from saving a regular PowerPoint presentation.)
6. Click “File” on the toolbar.
7. Then click “Save As…”
8. You will be presented with a box.
9. At the bottom of the box is a drop-down menu that says “Save as Type”.
10. A blank box that has a “down” arrow behind it appears.
11. Click the down arrow.
12. Scroll down to where it says “PNG Portable Network Graphics Format (png)”.
13. Click that.
14. Give your file a name.
15. Then click “Save.”

Saving PowerPoint as a .png.

So now a bit of warning. PowerPoint allows for animated gif images and all sorts of fancy fade in and fade out techniques. Don’t use them. PNG does not support them, and all you will have are plain slides that don’t do anything fancy. But you can fancy it up in the next step.

Making the movie using Windows Movie Maker (How-to Center) is our second step in preparing our philatelic video for YouTube.

1. Open Windows Movie Maker. (If you have Windows XP or Vista, you have this software.)
2. Click the ‘Start’ button. It is at the bottom left.
3. Then click ‘All Programs’ in the box that pops up.
4. Open Movie Maker.
5. On the left side there is a list of tasks.
6. The first section is labeled ‘Capture Video’.
7. Click ‘Import Pictures’.
8. The ‘Import Pictures’ box will open.
9. Find the .png file you just made and open it.
10. Highlight all of the slides you want to include in your movie.
11. Click the ‘Import’ button at the lower right.
12. All of your PowerPoint slides will magically appear in the box at the center of the screen.
13. Now all you have to do is drag each slide down to the timeline at the bottom of the screen. (Or, you can highlight all of them and drag all of them into the timeline at one time.)

Importing Slides into Movie Maker.

You can adjust the length of time the slide stays visible by clicking on the edge of one of the slides that are in the timeline and dragging the edge to the right (to add more time) or to the left (to subtract time).

Don’t worry too much about this until you start doing the voice-overs. That is the next step and we’ll do that in the next article.

(continuation of this article Video for YouTube Without a Camera Part 2)

Virtual Stamp Campus – Basics

The American Philatelic Society is offering an online course Basic Stamp Collecting conducted by Ada Prill beginning in September.

An Introduction to the Hobby covers all the basic hobby how-to’s: from where to get stamps, to how to store them, to figuring out what they’re worth.

How Hyperlink Navigation Works

Fran Adams

Reading books and magazines means turning pages, typically in sequential order. If we reference the book or magazine’s Table of Contents (ToC), we often jump directly to a specific section or page, normally based on a page number. Using electronic media, we have greater flexibility in moving between sections or specific pages, based on hyperlinks embedded in the document.

The System
Allowing movement between pages in more than only a linear direction (‘next’ or ‘previous’ page) requires a ‘navigation system’ and that is one of the basic and more noteworthy features of a Digital Philatelic Study (DPS) – see the article Defining Digital Philately.

We should also make our ‘navigation system’ reasonably obvious and most importantly, its functions simple to use. The ‘navigation system’ becomes a constantly visible and available ToC without having to go back to the beginning of the document.

Keeping in mind we want easy access between main ‘Sections’, we’ll use embedded hyperlinks to move from one ‘Section’ to another. The hyperlinks will appear on every page so that movement is always possible using hyperlinks found in the same place each time we need them. Many times, hyperlinks are embedded in the navigation buttons we press on web sites and we don’t even think about the programming beneath the image’s surface.

Linking Sections Together.

Each hyperlink has a single function. Simply put, clicking on the hyperlink takes the viewer to a specific ‘Section’ (or page) in the study. If properly labeled, the destination should be clear – before clicking the hyperlink.

We can also embed hyperlinks within content text or images to move to specific ‘Pages’ or external documents and we’ll use this method of movement as well.

It’s reasonably easy to include hyperlinks and the greater the number, the easier it is to access all sections of the DPS and to relate various pieces of information to other relative data or documents.

Verifying Function
Let’s check how our navigation system works. On individual sheets of paper, make sample pages for each main ‘Section’ (as well as ‘sub-sections’ as desired) of your DPS. Arrange the sheets according to our pyramid layout, see the article Structure and Organization), ‘Title’ at the top, ‘Introduction’ underneath, etc.

Inter-linking Subjects Together.

Each sheet should have a ‘Section’ (or ‘sub-section’) name and the appropriate hyperlinks on it. Pretend to press a hyperlink name on one of the pages.

Done correctly, we should be able to move between any two main ‘Sections’ (or ‘sub-sections’) of the study with a click of the mouse button.

Eureka – it works. Congratulations!! You’ve just created a hyperlinked navigation system.

Online Exhibits on Computer Technology

As an added feature of the blog, we now link to several online exhibits on computer technology.

• From Abacus to Laptop: Johann Vandenhaute (Belgium)
• The Story of the Computer: Dan Dobrescu (Romania)
• Computer Stamps: Vito Galgano (Italy)

The sites are also found in the right hand navigation pane under ‘Links‘.

Digital Philately and Parisian Bridges

Thomas Broadhead, Knoxville Philatelic Society News

Philately is a visual hobby, but it is also a tactile one. Not only is it fascinating to see the many varieties of stamps and covers, but it is also amazing to hold pieces of paper that individually have interesting histories. Seeing pictures of stamps in catalogs, which are increasingly printed in full color, is almost as good as seeing ‘the real thing’ in an exhibit or in our own collections.

The advent of the electronic age has given us access to beautiful images of stamps that we will never see in person, and our own KPS newsletter is full of digital images – some scanned from the actual stamps and covers and others borrowed from the world wide web. A year ago, philatelic exhibiting in the U.S. took an electronic direction with the first competition for ‘Digital Philatelic Studies‘ (DPS) held at last October’s Fall Mega Event – a huge stamp show sponsored by the American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA) in New York City. In addition to traditional exhibiting, the ASDA again this year invited the submission of electronic exhibits, and I decided to try my hand at this new format. One great help was the information provided on the ASDA web site, which includes four complete DPS exhibits from last year’s competition.

The Alexander III Bridge Issue.

Several digital formats are possible, and I decided to develop a Power Point presentation for my study of ‘The Most Beautiful Bridge in Paris.’ I wrote an article about this a few years ago for the KPS newsletter, with the focus on the Alexander III bridge, built 1897-1900 in honor of the Russian Czar Alexander III. This marvel of architecture (4 architects) and art (more than 13 artists were involved in its decoration) is featured on a 100 franc airmail stamp issued in 1949.

Most of my DPS features this stamp, its production proofs, varieties, and postal history. However, my exhibit begins with examples of all French stamps and postal stationery that have ever shown Parisian bridges. Although there are 37 bridges (‘ponts’ in French) including pedestrian bridges (‘passerelles’) that cross the Seine River in Paris, they have not received the philatelic attention that I think they deserve!

The Bridges Shown on the Stamp.

The most spectacular depiction of bridges in Paris appears on the 1000 franc definitive airmail stamp issued in 1950. The image below is one from my DPS and shows this stamp with the identified bridges. The details of the design and the engraver’s art allow each bridge to be recognized from the number of arches and the relative locations of other buildings and monuments. The Alexander III bridge is distinctive in having a single span, more than 100 meters long, and it is easily recognized as the bridge farthest in the distance on this stamp. Note, however, that there is an unidentified bridge near the top and a missing bridge in the design.

CD ROM Postage Stamp – Bhutan

Just a quick note of digital philatelic interest from Stamp Collectors Corner:

“In 2008, Bhutan once again released a postage stamp like no other. The first ever CD ROM postage stamp was created to show the world what Bhutan has accomplished during the past 100 years.”

The article CD ROM Postage Stamp – Bhutan describes a new issue – a mini-CD.