I feel like PowerPoint has become the work mule of the Office suite that we all take for granted. It does all kinds of work for tons of people on a daily basis...yet tends to get shown little appreciation and next to no glory. One of the untapped uses of PowerPoint that teachers may not be aware of is its ability to be used as a video editor. With the Office Mix add-in, PowerPoint can be a simple way for you and your students to create video projects. As an Office product, it's an interface you're already familiar with. Granted, you're not going to create Hollywood caliber works with the depth of a full featured, dedicated video editing software; however, for your basic video projects, PowerPoint is more than equipped to get the job done. Here is a quick introduction...
Getting Started
For a while now, PowerPoint has allowed users to insert video files into slide shows, with limited editing of those files. The concept of using PP to create videos is simple: Use the familiar slide design/creation features combined with inserted video clips and create attractive video projects through the Mix feature of PowerPoint. Office Mix is what turns your slide show into an actual video. If you have not yet installed the Mix add-in, CLICK HERE and get it for free.
A Quick Run-Through
This page is more of a quick "you can" than an actual in-depth "how to". For that reason, this is pretty short and simple. If you'd like a more in-depth, detailed blog entry on more how-to specifics, then please leave a comment below and request it. If you try creating some video projects of your own and run into questions, post what those are, specifically. Anyway, here we go...
> Start with the vision that your slide show is going to become video. Use your slides to create titles, and light animations. If you are a regular PowerPoint user, you already know how to have a little fun with text animation and slide transitions. If not, play around and experiment. Again--this isn't going to replace After Effects for serious video creation, but for the average student video project, PowerPoint will take care of your students' needs.
> Start with the vision that your slide show is going to become video. Use your slides to create titles, and light animations. If you are a regular PowerPoint user, you already know how to have a little fun with text animation and slide transitions. If not, play around and experiment. Again--this isn't going to replace After Effects for serious video creation, but for the average student video project, PowerPoint will take care of your students' needs.
> Sticking a video file into a PowerPoint presentation is nothing new. Create a new slide to "hold" each separate video clip that you want to use in your project. Then click on Insert > Video > Video on My PC. You also have the option to import from the web, if there are some online clips you'd like to add to a project.
> After a video clip is inserted on a slide, you will see Video Tools options on your toolbar. This is where you can choose some basic editing to apply to those clips. The most important one is probably the trim tool, but there are also options to make other, creative adjustments as well.
> To create a nice transition from video clip to clip, use one of the many Slide Transitions offered. You can choose from very mild--like a fade--to wild--like a slide folding into a paper airplane and flying off screen.
> Yes, you can add text and text effects directly onto video files, creating similar cool effects like you see in dedicated video editing programs. The bad news? It's not quite as drag and drop precise. If you've used a full featured video editing software before, you are probably familiar with a timeline view of all your project elements, including text. With PowerPoint, you have to a little more strategizing. You won't be able to drag and drop text effects in relation to the video. Rather, you will have to set the timing of when text appears and disappears. Again, this is just an overview.
> If you need to capture live screen recordings, PowerPoint does that via Office Mix. Just look under the Mix option on the ribbon. This is an awesome resource that many PowerPoint users are not aware of.
> When you have finished putting your video project together, go to Mix > Export to Video. You will then be given some options for the output size/quality of your finished video. Choose accordingly. Obviously, if you save your PowerPoint, you can always go back and export to a different file size, as well as make any wanted changes to the video.
> And that should be enough to get you started. Depending on your PowerPoint experience going into this, you may or may not need some further how-to explanations regarding some of these steps mentioned. As stated above, this is meant to serve as a did-you-know type of introduction to creating video projects with PowerPoint.
And, as always, if I made a goof with something in this post, please let me know.
And, as always, if I made a goof with something in this post, please let me know.