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 Posted:
Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:21 pm Post subject:
Photostory 3 Suggestions |
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There are numerous feature "wishes" I would like to share on about the
product Photo Story 3. The present feature set is great, and the
wizard-style interface is optimized for first-time use. Although I have
noticed the feature-set has increased substantially over the previous
versions, experienced users and enthusiasts still find a few limitations for
their creative ideas to be effectively converted into their projects.
For example, many users incorporate music with lyrics in their projects.
This presents both challenges and opportunities for the software as I see
the product (especially in the first version) was more originally intended
for casual, slow-paced photo-stories with voice-overs. Projects containing
songs and users would want to make the photos match the pace or lyrics of
the song, today's Photo Story is not yet optimized for this scenario.
There's also a good chance users might want to make an actual movie out of
their photos with titles leading to other photos. With this context in mind,
there are six feature additions that I believe would prove useful:
a.. "Tempo Adjustment" - sets the display length of photos and transitions
that matches the beat of the music
b.. "Photo Swap" - allows photos to be swapped within the project so that
the effects and timings of both (or one) are preserved (no need to reapply
effects and timing just for using a different photo for the position in the
story!)
c.. "Mark for Editing" or Follow-up - puts the user in control by placing
a flag icon and perhaps a small text box for descriptions in the preview
window that the user can use to make comments and reminders of which photos
need touching-up or timing adjustments
d.. "Sequenced Custom Panning" - accommodates more than one
"point-to-point" panning by setting "focus paths" on the canvas that the
camera angle will follow, with custom speed control anywhere along the
"path", all done without the need to create copies of the same photo to
achieve the same result (the speed control is useful for simulating the
camera effects found in movies, such as a fast pan from one point and then a
slower pan just before the panning comes to a stop at the other)
e.. "Sequenced Custom Text" - makes text appear at different times in the
same photo, similar to Custom Animation feature in Office PowerPoint, and
allows placement of text in any area within the canvas (The current
workaround for this is to use multiple copies of the same photo, use a
photo-editing program such as Digital Image to create customized, precisely
positioned text such as blinking text for each "frame", and finally make
transitions between them to create the same effect. Very tedious indeed.)
f.. "Widescreen and HD authoring" - breaks the 4:3 aspect ratio and the
1024 กม 768 display resolution (to at least 1920 กม 1080), the aspect ratio
options found in Office Picture Manager's Crop Task Pane are welcome,
although there should be an additional option for 16:9 aspect ratio, useful
for projecting cinematic photo stories onto the big screen
In addition, the following five features would improve the functionality and
uniqueness of Photo Story:
a.. "Photo Montage" - combines multiple photos on a background in
sequence, and could be stacked on top of each other (For example, nine
photos popping up on one background in order that's spitted into a
three-by-three grid.)
b.. "Photo Frames" - Adds a simple border around photos, such as a white
with curved corners to make photos look more realistic, or wood frames. More
complex ones can be done with a dedicated photo-editing software such as
Digital Image
c.. "360กใ rotation" - more precise rotation, allows basic straightening,
and creates much more interesting photo stories, since it can create the
illusion of motion of the photos if the same photo is shown twice or more
and rotated at different degrees
d.. "Music Crop" - plays only the selected portion (time) of the music
file for the associated photo
e.. "Batch Editing" - applies the same effects or timing settings to
multiple photos, and moves multiple photos to a position on the "film strip"
at the same time (instead of currently one-by-one)
Given the sophistication of the above features might "scare away" amateur
users, it might be better to expose the functionalities in an "Advanced"
interface of Photo Story. Combining the best of both worlds - power and
simplicity.
Best regards |
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