Trimming Audio Tracks in ProShow Slideshows

Editing an audio track in a ProShow slideshow is easy to do using the built-in Audio Trimmer. To trim your music, click on ‘Audio’ on the top toolbar in either ProShow Gold or ProShow Producer and select ‘Manage Soundtracks’ from the drop down list. Now select the music track you would like to trim and then click on the ‘Edit Fades and Timing’ button.

Remember that Proshow makes non-destructive edits, meaning any changes you make to your audio within Proshow, will not affect your original audio file. So you could in theory take a song that is 3 minutes and then trim the audio in Proshow to only use the first minute of the song, while not affecting the original file in anyway.

Edit Fades and Timing in your Song

By going to ‘Edit Fades and Timing’ from your Soundtrack options, you will see a window like the one shown above. The wave form you see here is the audio file you’re using, displayed in a graphical manner.

Remove Unwanted Sections from your Song

Let’s say you have a song with a long instrumental introduction, but you don’t want to use that part of the song in your slideshow. This is where trimming comes in handy. Simply type in a new ‘Start Time’ for your audio track and it will begin playing at that time. You can also click and drag the small triangle next to your song’s waveform to the place where you’d like your track to begin.

ProShow also lets you set a fade-in for your track so it starts off low and slowly fades in. Click and drag the small square next to the wave form and move it to the right to set your audio fade-in.

Remove Unwanted Silence from your Song

In some cases, an audio track may have 10-20 seconds of un-wanted silence at the end of the song. To remove this portion of the track, simply type in a new ‘End Time’ and the song will stop playing at that point. You can also use the slider bars mentioned above to trim your track and set a fade-out.

5 Tips for Using Watermarks in ProShow Producer Slideshows

Adding a watermark across your photo + video slideshows is a great way to add an extra level of protection to your images when sharing them online. Check out these tips for adding watermarks to your ProShow Producer slideshows.

1. A watermark is basically a show-wide layer. It will appear on every slide you have in your show in the same position, and with the same settings that you specify for it.

2. Use a PNG image file as your watermark. PNG files display transparent portions of your image, so when added to your slideshow just the logo or shape of your watermark shows up, not the background. Learn how to create a PNG image with a transparent background here >>

3. To add a watermark to your slideshow in ProShow Producer, go to the Publish workspace and click the Watermark button in the top toolbar. In the top right corner of the dialog, click the browse button to upload your PNG watermark file. Your watermark will now be applied to all slides in your show. (Click here to watch a step-by-step video that shows you how to add a watermark to your slideshow.)

4. Once you’ve added a watermark you can configure the appearance of it by dragging or using your mouse wheel in the Preview pane, or by changing the options found in the Position and Size, Adjustments and Editing Tools panes.

5. Do you have a slide you don’t want the watermark to show up on? (Maybe the title slide or credits slide.) Double-click on the slide you’d like to remove the watermark from. Go to Slide Settings > then in the bottom left of the dialog click the check box next to ‘Hide Watermark’ and it will be hidden from just that slide in your show.

Do you use watermarks in your slideshows? We want to hear from you!

2013 Zenfolio Zoom Tour

Photodex is proud to be a part of the 2013 Zenfolio ZOOM Tour. Now in its second year, the ZOOM Tour presents photographers with a unique opportunity to hear from industry professionals about site design, order fulfillment, marketing, and more. Space is limited so be sure to sign up while seats are still available. Every attendee gets a free goodie bag (including cool ProShow swag!) and a chance to win big prizes. Cities and dates are below!

• San Francisco Bay Area, CA May 10th
• Los Angeles, CA May 15th
• San Diego, CA May 17th
• Jacksonville, FL June 4th
• Austin, TX June 6th
• Kansas City, MO June 18th
• Denver, CO June 20th
• Las Vegas, NV September 7th
• Seattle, WA September 13th
• NY / NJ, October 23rd
• Chicago, IL October 25th

The Photodex team will be at the Austin, TX event on June 6th, so we hope to see you there!

How to Mute a Video Clip in ProShow

Sometimes when using a video clip in your ProShow slideshows, you may only want the visuals from the video to appear and not the audio. In essence, you want to mute your video clip’s audio so that just your show’s soundtrack plays.

This technique is used by many show creators and photographers when mixing in video clips between a series of photos. A great example can be seen here in this ProShow Producer slideshow.

To do this in ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer, double-click on the slide that contains your video to bring up the Slide Options dialog. Now, click on your video layer on the left, go to Layer Settings > Video Settings and lower the video clip volume to 0%. This will mute your video so that your slideshow’s soundtrack plays and you won’t hear the video clip’s audio.

If you’re using ProShow Web, upload your video clip and make sure it’s selected. Towards the bottom right of the screen you’ll see a series of buttons next to the video preview. Select the button for ‘Mute’ and your video clip will be muted when it plays back in your slideshow.

Using Video as a Background Layer in ProShow

Video clips can not only be the stars of your show, but can also serve as great background layers to make your still photos pop! In this video, you’ll learn how to use a video clip as a background layer in both ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer. Don’t have ProShow? Download a free 30-day trial and follow along!

Beauty Box Photo App: Instant Digital Makeup for Portraits

Our friends at Digital Anarchy recently turned us on to their new Beauty Box Photo app for iPhone and iPad. We’ve long been fans of their arsenal of plug-ins for Photoshop, Premiere and Final Cut, so when we heard they had a free app, we had to check it out!

If you’re looking for a great app for touching up portraits on-the-go, check out Beauty Box Photo. It features many of the powerful effects found in their Beauty Box plug-in for Photoshop, but in the palm of your hand (and it’s free!).

Just select one of the 37 presets, and the Digital Makeup technology automatically identifies skin tones, lighting and coloration to apply the level of smoothing you request and beautifies your photo. Some presets are more subtle and natural while others can get pretty creative.

If you enjoy the app, remember this is just a taste of what can be done with Beauty Box. For photographers there’s a Photoshop and Aperture version and if you do video, it’s available for Adobe, Apple, Avid, and Sony video editing applications, allowing you do to automatic retouching on video. (The video plug-in is used by NBC, Universal Music, E! Entertainment, Home Shopping Network and many others!)

Free Mother’s Day Slideshow Effects for ProShow

Few things are as sure to please a lady on Mother’s Day as flowers, a hug and some good memories. Whether she goes by Mama, Wife, Grandma or Nana, you are guaranteed to make her day extra special with a surprise photo slideshow made with ProShow. Just drop in your favorite family photos into ProShow, add a song she’ll love, then create! Use the ‘Bloom’ instant slideshow effects (available for free download or as a theme in ProShow Web) to make it gorgeous!

Watch the Bloom Effects in Action:

Download Free Effects: Bloom

Inspired by the feminine nature of garden and earth, and honoring both the beauty of the present and past, the ‘Bloom’ effects are perfect for Mother’s Day slideshows, as well as nature and portrait photography. Compatible with ProShow Producer 5, ProShow Gold 5, and ProShow Web.

Download the free ‘Bloom’ effects (.zip) >
ProShow Web users will be able to use these effects as part of the new theme, ‘Bloom.’

To Use Your New ‘Bloom’ Effects:
You’ll need to manually install your new effects into ProShow Producer or ProShow Gold. Once installed they’ll show up like all your other slide styles and transitions. Need help with manually installing? Read this how-to article on installing & managing FX in ProShow 5.
 

Like the Effects Used in the Demo?

Many of the transitions and slide styles featured in the demo were sampled from our popular Transition Pack 2 and StylePacks 4 & 5. To see the full selection of instant add-on effects, check out our Effects Packs for just $19.95 >

Want more Inspiration for Mother’s Day?

Check out our Mother’s Day Photo Projects board on Pinterest for more fun DIY gift ideas, crafts and photo projects.