How to Make a Narrated Video Slideshow

I posted parts of this process last week, but this is the full tutorial I created for a session I prepared for teachers. It shows how to make a narrated video slideshow whether using a laptop or an iOS device. It works great for many types of presentations. With some simple image editing, this makes a great way to present an original poem.

Examples

Both of these examples are of a haiku I wrote for this project (while watching some nice weather pass me by as I worked!). I took the pictures on my iPad and edited them in Pixlr Express.

For this first example I used GarageBand on the iPad to create a simple song with my narration of the haiku. I exported that to iMovie and compiled the edited images using that app.

For this second version I used Videolicious on the iPad. My wife narrated it this time and the music is a song that comes with that app.

What you will need

• A device to take some pictures
• Optional: Pixlr Express app (iOS or Android) for editing photos and possibly adding text
• A laptop or device for recording audio and editing the video
• An audio recording program, which depends on your device:
• Audacity - Free download great for PC laptops
• GarageBand for iPad (possibly for a cost) or Voice Record Pro (free) if you'll use your iPad
• iMovie or Videolicious if using an iOS device for making the video - iMovie is best, but might cost $4.99. Videolicious is a great free option for videos under one minute.
• The Google Drive app (iOS or Android) on your device and a Google Account if you will be using a laptop to make the video

Outline

1)  Write the narration or poem that you'll read. If you will have a lot of talking and you don't want to write out every line, be sure you have a good outline to follow.

2)  Take the pictures that you will use in your slideshow. These can be of anything that fits your material, including pictures of drawings that you make. 

3)  Optional: If you want to edit your photos, it is suggested you use the Pixlr Express app.

The remaining part of the process depends on the device(s) you have and the apps or programs you can use.

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Using iMovie on an iPad - This is an excellent option, but if iMovie costs $4.99 you might opt for the process using Videolicious below.

Optional: If you have GarageBand on your iPad, you might want to take on the challenge of making your own music for the slideshow:

• Record your narration with GarageBand as an Audio Recording track. This first video gives a good overview of the process. See the notes below the video to address possible additions or differences between this video example and your project.

Additional Notes:

• Use the trim or Split/Delete features shown in the video to cut out any mistakes if necessary.
• You can add music tracks as shown for additional background, but consider using Smart Instruments instead. Strumming the guitar chords or adding some strings is an easy option. See my first video above as an example of how this might sound.
• After you make this recording, don't upload to SoundCloud as shown in the tutorial. Instead, you'll export it to iMovie as explained in the steps below.

If you didn't use GarageBand on your iPad to make the narration and music:

• Follow the steps in the this tutorial, but you will not start by exporting the song from GarageBand. Instead, just open iMovie and create a new Movie Project.
• Since you won't have narration to follow yet, you will have to guess how long to make each picture, but you can change them to fit the narration later as necessary.
• After you get all the pictures how you want them, do not export to the camera roll as shown. Instead, follow the directions beneath the tutorial below.

Regardless of whether you made your narration or music in GarageBand, add your images and set the timings as shown in this tutorial. 

iMovie tutorial

If you still need to add music and narration to your video at this point, follow these steps:

• After adding your pictures and setting length, pan/zoom and transitions, move to the beginning of your video in the timeline.
• Tap on the microphone icon in the lower right corner.
• It will open up the record options. Tap Record and read/speak the narration for your video.
• When you're done, tap on Stop. You can then replay it, record another take or accept it. Repeat the record process until you have a take you're happy with.
• Tap the Audio tab in the upper right and you'll see options for music from your iPad and preset music based on the themes. Choose one that you like. 
• If you tap the song track in the timeline it will give you some options for volume and speed.
• When you are happy with your recording, export to the Camera Roll as shown at the end of the video tutorial above.

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Using Videolicious on the iPad - Videolicious is a great app that strikes a balance between ease of editing and some control. It is limited to a one minute video, so this won't be a good option if your list of advice or tips is longer than that.

This is a tutorial I created for a different type of slideshow and it uses a previous version of the app, but all the steps are the same.

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Using a computer to create your slideshow - With either a PC or a Mac you can use free software to make the entire slideshow. 

No matter which type of computer you are using...

You need to transfer your pictures from your device to your computer. I usually use the Google Drive app for this. (Alternatively, if you have a cable to connect your device to your computer you can use that or you can simply email the pictures to yourself to download as attachments.)

Then once you have the pictures on your computer, follow the tutorials below depending on if you have a PC or a Mac.

If you are using a PC, Windows Live Movie Maker is a good option for a simple narrated slideshow.

I created this tutorial to show the basic steps. See additional notes below the video.

Additional Notes:

• If you double click the narration track or music track you'll see an option in the upper left to set the volume. Adjust that as necessary.
• You can adjust the duration of the pictures before or after you record your narration. You might find after recording that some have to be longer or shorter so the pictures change at the right time.

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If you have a Mac, iMovie is a great free option for making narrated slideshows.

This video tutorial (created by some very helpful user) shows almost everything you need to know to create a slideshow. See the notes below for a few other important steps.

Additional steps:

• Before adding narration or music, add the Ken Burns effect for the pan/zoom feature that adds movement to your video. To get to this feature, double click the Crop icon on a clip as shown in the tutorial. Then follow the steps below.

A) Click on Ken Burns.
B)  Move the corners of the Start and End box to indicate where you want the view to start and end when the clip plays.

C)  Click the Preview icon to watch it. Repeat step B until you're happy with the pan and zoom of the clip, then click Done.

• Next, record your narration. It is simple to record right in iMovie. Just click the microphone icon (A) and follow the on screen information (B). Include as many group members as possible in your narration.

• Finally, you need to export your video. Go to the Share menu and choose Export Movie. Select the Large option.

How to Use Pixlr Express to Make Comics

This has been a popular post on this blog! Unfortunately I haven't updated it recently and Pixlr Express has been updated. I'm not sure how accurate the directions below are. If you are interested in the process I now use for making comics from real life photos, see my ebook Creating Comics with G Suite Apps. It is $3 from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Pixlr Express can still be used for this activity, but they recently updated the app.e menus are different now, so the pictures below aren't exactly what you'll see.

Also, if you're interested in using the iPad for comics, see this post on my other blog for how to make comics with Google Slides.

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This tutorial was designed for a specific assignment. Learners would create a comic that communicated tips or advice for success. Ideally I like to make comics using Google Drawings, but there's no doubt Pixlr Express is a great free app that works for any device. It can be found online here and with links to the mobile apps. It will get the job done for a good comic formed from photos.

Here's an example I created from pictures I took on a PD day at our school.

And here are the basic steps:

1)  First you will make the layout using the Collage feature.

2)  Choose a layout first. It's suggested you only put 3 or 4 images in each collage (essentially you are creating just a page at a time, not necessarily your entire comic as one picture).

3)  Tap in each square of the layout to fill them with your chosen pictures. Zoom and position each as necessary. Use the other tools to set the background color, proportions and borders as you like.

3) Select Finish in the upper right when it looks how you want it. 

4)  Just to avoid having to start over on the layout due to editing mistakes, save it using the Save options in the upper right. Save as Current Size.

5)  Now you will add speech or thought bubbles to each frame. Go into the Stickers menu and select the Comic stickers. It will have to download the first time you select it.

6)  Scroll through the Comic stickers until you find the different word or thought bubbles. When you pick one, it will appear on your picture. 

• Move and resize it as necessary. Be sure to make it large enough to hold the text you will put in it. 
• Tap Apply when it's positioned how you want it. Once you tap Apply the only way to change it is with the Undo button. Be sure you're happy with it before moving on to the next one.
• Repeat for all bubbles in your comic.

7)  Next, use the Text features add the text to each bubble or to a frame (for a caption or title). On the app, I found it's easiest to work in this order:

• Choose your font.
• Type your text. Keep it brief so it will fit in the bubbles.
• Change the color as necessary.
• Resize it and position it.
• Tap Apply.
• Repeat for each bubble, caption or title on that page.

8)  When all the bubbles and text are done, save the image by tapping Save in the upper right. To make sure the image is not too large, choose the resize option. Pick the one that's close to 720 x 540.

9)  Repeat the steps for another page as necessary until all your frames are done.

10)  Ideally you need to get all those pages into a single PDF. If there's any way you can use a computer for the final step, import the page images in order into a Google Document and download as PDF.

Poetry Slideshow Using iMovie for iPad - Example and Video Tutorial

Last week I wrote about how I made a poetry slideshow with the free apps Pixlr Express and Videolicious. It's a great method, but I wanted to show an example I created with GarageBand and iMovie for iPad.

I am continually amazed by how much I can create with those two apps. And for new devices, they're free! (GarageBand has some in-app purchases to get all the features.)

Here's my example. I recorded the narration first. Then I created the music by just playing four chords on the guitar and strings Smart Instruments in GarageBand. Smart Drums were added too.

I exported it from GarageBand and imported it into iMovie to add the images. iMovie gives a lot more control over the pan and zoom features than Videolicious does.

This is the same haiku I used in the example in my previous post.

And here's a quick tutorial I made to show the steps I used in iMovie.

Poetry Slideshow using Pixlr Express and Videolicious Free Apps

I'm working on one of my P^3BL sessions this weekend. One possible project from attendees will be a poetry slideshow. I made a very short example with two of my favorite free apps for the classroom: Pixlr Express and Videolicious.

First, here's the example I created. I wrote a simple haiku as a sample. It sums up how I felt as I watched some nice weather go by on spring break while working on this session!

The pictures were edited in Pixlr Express then I used Videolicious to make the slideshow and add narration and music. My wife read the poem.

You can see I added text with Pixlr Express to the first picture. Other than that, I didn't do a lot of editing. The overall look was achieved with the Silk Stylize option. It's in the Adjustments menu (not Effects as you might expect).

Videolicious is a great app that strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and control. It will only make videos that are a minute or less, but for a quick story or a video slideshow like this, it's wonderful. Here's a tutorial I created last year for a different project. It uses a previous version of the app, but the steps are the same.

I refer to an Edit option after selecting the pictures. That allows the user to indicate where the app will zoom on the picture. (Otherwise it just does it randomly from what I can tell.) I don't show how to use the feature in the tutorial, but I did use it on a few pictures when I made the short video.