Creating a presentation with side by side video and slides

Mar 21, 2017

I am not 100% sure if I am going about this the right way.  I have an hour long video with a corresponding PowerPoint of 60+ slides that I am importing into Storyline 2 so that at specific predefined time frame the Articulate slide shifts to a new corresponding PowerPoint slide so that both are visible side by side (make sense so far)?

My first thought was to insert the video and then create layers for each of  the slides with triggers indicating when to show each layer.   I am not looking to reinvent the wheel so any guidance would be appreciated!

6 Replies
Walt Hamilton

In a case like that, I put the video into Microsoft MovieMaker (free) and split it into chunks that correspond to the length of the slides. Put one slide and one video chunk on the slide.

That gives you a lot of flexibility. You can divide the course into manageable learning-sized chunks for the user, you can add interactions or enrichment material on layers, you can preview one slide at a time it just makes it much more manageable for you.

Walt Hamilton

Not necessarily. My point is that if you break the video to slide corresponding chunks, I think it is a lot less work. You put the PPt slide and the video together on the SL slide, and set a trigger to advance to the next slide when the media (video) finishes and viola, Bob's your uncle.

I can't imagine the work it would take to show the video as one piece, and create the triggers to move layers in and out. For one thing, you can import the PPt slides as SL slides, but you can't import them as layers. For another, unless you will be happy with timing that is accurate to within a couple of seconds, you will need to preview each change once or twice. Trying to jump into the middle of a video to preview the timing is notoriously inaccurate. To get a true picture, you have to preview from the beginning, and can't count on using the timeline to jump ahead, especially when layers are involved. On the other hand, previewing a one minute slide is doable.

I'm really just suggesting what my experience shows is the best workflow for creating slides with video narration.

IS Training Team

Ok.  I can see that.  

Now another option I am toying with would be to load the video straight up into Storyline and then create a Resource library where viewers could simply download the PPT deck.  I guess I shouldn't assume that split screening it in Storyline would be best way to go or that everyone would want to launch the PPT.

With that I would really need to only create and narrate one slide with how to launch documentation located in Resources, hence lowering the workload. 

To be fair and honest I don't have the video yet, but the expected turnaround time from when I receive the video to when it should be published is minimal.  I'm just trying to gather ideas so I don't kill myself while making this.  If you can't tell I'm still green with SL.  

Is there an article that can show me how to resize a PPT when I import it?  I am having trouble placing the two items side by side.  I can import the PPT but the video will overlay the slide.  Or am I going to have to change the story size?

Leslie McKerchie

We do typically advise to be sure your story size will work well with your powerpoint import to prevent too many adjustments. You can check out this article for further details and assistance. 

I'm not familiar with the project idea that you are undertaking, so I'm glad to see you are getting some community feedback on your design need.

Walt Hamilton

As far as during the import process, I'm not sure there is a way to change the size of the PPt.

Here's a test I ran.

1. In the PPt, I went to Design, chose Slide size. and turned it from landscape to portrait, and choose to minimize the material. I probably could have changed the exact size, but for a quick test portrait was the shape I wanted for the import.

2. Saved with a new name.

3. In SL, I started a new course, went to Design and chose Story Size. (ALWAYS be sure to deselect Lock Aspect Ratio. And  every time you made a change you have to do it again.)

4. The size was set to 720 X 405, for example. I set the size to 360 X 405.

5. Imported the PPt.

6. Returned to Story size. Unlocked Ratio, and set width to 720. Don't hit Enter or Return, hit tab.

7. Chose If new size is larger, Fill Background. This brings up the options for Story position, which is " Where do you want the current slide material?"  I recommend middle right, or middle left. That moves the slide to one side, and gives you room for the video beside it.

Nice thing is that you can practice with importing just a couple of slides until you find out what you want. If you make a mistake, CTRL-Z works pretty well.

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