Presentation Technologies

[RuBert]

I was wondering what digital presentation tools sculptors are using? PowerPoint is kind of the gold standard now, but is a really terrible program in many ways. Actually, David Bowie has been developing some PowerPoint art pieces, but the general overuse of its templets lead to some of the most boring presentations ever.

For those that use macs, iphoto, imovie and idvd are really nice programs that can be used to easily produce sophisticated presentation materials.

It is really not hard to shoot digital video of sculpture and quickly produce a indexed DVD containing the video or digital slide show. The latest iphoto application is really amazing for organizing digital images and also allows bulk exporting to whatever target resolution you want. This makes it much easier to get them ready for web work or to insert into PowerPoint slideshow.

What about Windows, what video programs or image programs are people using?

[JAZ]

I'm Windows based and not at the point of taking advantage of the digital presentation options yet. I'll be happy when my first ever website is up next week, to give you an indication of how behind the times I am. But I thought I'd add a small p.s. to the previous slides versus digital images for presentation to galleries,etc. In that thread I had suggested that there are still bona fide organizations who prefer slides only - the analog approach - and gave the Firehouse Center for the Arts as an example, where I'm on the Visual Arts Committee. Well, last night we met and in our current round of applications there were four or five requests asking whether we would accept digital submissions and we agreed to add that as an option. It means getting access to the equipment and it will probably add viewing time to our two nights that we allocate (we choose all of the shows for a year at once because we're all volunteers who can't commit to constant meetings). It will require some effort to view submissions in both digital and slide formats and believe it or not, we actually still get some submissions, especially from photographers, who send hard copy original prints instead of slides. For now adding digital adds to the complexity, the trickle-down of digital into the exhibit selection process is happening in our region and before long it will be standard.
I have gotten into shows via .jpg submissions and CDs are useful too. Next I'll be online (finally! Better late than never). And I'll be interested to hear what others know about what's available in terms of time-based options for us Windows users. Thanks for opening up this discussion.

[RuBert]

Jaz, you are adventurous to allow the submission of digital image to your committee, but I think that's great! I just hope it doesn't make the process of reviewing the images too cumbersome.

By the way, I agree that slides can offer better overall quality. I use a Nikon LS4000 to scan slides, and it makes a 65 megabit file for each slide. So if you compare that to the average 4-5 megabit files taken from a digital camera it is obvious that slides potentially create much higher quality digital images than do most digital cameras.

[RuBert]

There is also a great discussion about slides and digital images going on in the Art Lounge here: http://www.sculpture.net/community/showthread.php?t=767

[JoshuaBloom]

Hey Russ, I think you were thinking of David Byrne as the Artist who is doing some neat things with Power Point. He won a wired rave award for the work
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/rave.html?pg=4

In terms of Windows and creating Portfolios or single piece informational viewings I have been doing some work with Flash lately and find it to be very useful for this purpose. Especially now that you can put video in easily.

Also I would like to add that you should pay careful attention to how your Digital Information is going to be presented/used. Example:
Something that you are posting on the web for current or prospective clients to see should be fast loading and most likely not very detailed (picture/movie resolution)
Something that you are sending out for judging or to Galleries should be on a CD or a DVD and should be much higher quality in pictures and movies. This you should test with a projector, to see what its going to look like when its blown up. You can usually rent projectors for the day from AudioVideo shops.

[JAZ]

RuBert,
I've just discovered that my husband's 4 megapixel still camera can take short videos with sound. I'm think that the next time I have a kinetic sculpture up somewhere outdoors a little clip of it turning in the breeze with the birds singing would be pretty cool on a CD to send out.

[jsimms]

check out the movies on my site..........http://www.johnesimms.com/NU/index.html


They were taken with my canon s40, with which I'm very pleased

[JAZ]

Originally Posted by jsimms

check out the movies on my site..........http://www.johnesimms.com/NU/index.html


They were taken with my canon s40, with which I'm very pleased

John,
I have an ancient dailup here at my studio, so I'll have to wait for the full effect until I get home, but it's great to have motion when you're doing kinetic stuff. I tried viewing the first one and saw it turn about ninety degrees, then it stopped. this computer was left behind when my son moved to Iceland, so I'm not complaining - it was free. But I'll check it out later and sent the link to my husband. He's taken some video clips with his camera too, but isn't sure how to get them on a site.
In two weeks or so I hope to have at least one short clip on my site too. Over the weekend we looked at two videos a friend of mine made, one about one of my intallations, and the other about a group of artists' installations, one of which was mine, trying to select clips for the website. The problem wiht that path is the VHS/CD format. We just have to figure out a way that works with what we have.
It's really a great way to show kinetics.
Bravo for you that you figured out how to get it up there yourself. It's a great aid for your clients.
JAZ

[kaidu]

I work each year as an A/V technician for NCECA(National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts) at their annual conference. My opinion after three years of this is that slides are instruments of the devil. We have seen more people start to take advantage of new technology recently, which makes our job much easier. But, the technology does not make up for poor presentation or bad public speaking style. There are also compatibility issues, Large files that bog down etc. On the whole, however, the powerpoint presentaions this year were mostly smooth sailing. They elimnate problems caused by out of focus images and slide projector problems.
In the ceramics world, electronic submissions to shows and publications are very slowly catching on. Slides are still the norm for the most part.

[JAZ]

Thursday night at our meeting of the Firehouse Center for the Arts, we looked at submissions (10-20 images each) from 100 artists for our year of monthly shows. The submission requirements specified slides. There were about ten hard copy portfolios, about 25 digital submissions on CDs and the rest were slides. Becasue we needed the digital projector, we looked at the images in the theater rather than projecting them on the white lobby wall as we usually to. Because we had to keep one light on so we could see to mark up our rating sheets, all of the images were not so clear as they used to be. It also was awkward to have so many different formats to compare. The hard copy ones are the worst becasue we had to pass them around among committee members. Not the best way to see them.
Otherwise, it was fine.

[RuBert]

Originally Posted by JAZ

Thursday night at our meeting of the Firehouse Center for the Arts, we looked at submissions (10-20 images each) from 100 artists for our year of monthly shows. The submission requirements specified slides. There were about ten hard copy portfolios, about 25 digital submissions on CDs and the rest were slides. Becasue we needed the digital projector, we looked at the images in the theater rather than projecting them on the white lobby wall as we usually to. Because we had to keep one light on so we could see to mark up our rating sheets, all of the images were not so clear as they used to be. It also was awkward to have so many different formats to compare. The hard copy ones are the worst becasue we had to pass them around among committee members. Not the best way to see them.
Otherwise, it was fine.

So you specified slides, but then also allowed the other formats? That does sound confusing to compare.

But with good equipment and technique the computer images look just like slides to a audience. On Tuesday, I made a 15 minute speech to a local audience of about 200 people and showed about 150 "slides" using PowerPoint (yes, I know I complained about that software earlier in this thread, but it is seamlessly compatible with the Mac and Windows XP).

The program was very well received and the photographs got rave reviews.

Then Thursday I presented for a public art competition, and it was very different. I could only show 10 slides - of the film kind. The projector was rather noisy, the screen small, and the auto-focus was actually slightly out-of-focus.

So that was a very different environment than the earlier presentation and rather limiting and frustrating, as it is hard to show kinetic work with just one slide.

It did go fine anyway, and I'm still a finalist, with the next step in the process to look forward to.

[sculptor]

Originally Posted by RuBert

.......... I'm still a finalist, with the next step in the process to look forward to.

Please elaborate>

rod


and JAZ ....darned nice of you folks to accommodate people who can't follow simple directions........

and....it seems that more and more RFQs and RFPs are inviting digital media..as an alternate to, or....in addition to slides.

[sculptorsam]

Originally Posted by RuBert

On Tuesday, I made a 15 minute speech to a local audience of about 200 people and showed about 150 "slides" using PowerPoint (yes, I know I complained about that software earlier in this thread, but it is seamlessly compatible with the Mac and Windows XP).

The program was very well received and the photographs got rave reviews.

Wow! That is a lot of images to see in a relatively short time span. The few times I've given presentations I've used around 30 images in 40 minutes or so.

And I'd love to hear more about the process of this public commission. Would you consider starting a new thread to outline how you found/were contacted about it, your initial application, follow-up interviews/presentations and eventually (knock on wood) the fabrication and installation? It would be great to get an inside look at this often mysterious process.

Sam

[sculptor]

Russ.....yeh wut sam said

and........anyone....
what is an a3 and/or an a4 format?

"see posting how to become a rich and successful artist"
ok....I started that as a takeoff on a sam joke,

but seemed like a good place to post a call for artists and see peers share the process...and maybe one of us share the experience.......one of their requirements was the .....a3........format.....and Ariach had mentioned a4 in why slides

from their...."....The documentation should be delivered in printed form (black/white or colour, A3 format) to not exceed a maximum of ten pages, or in a maximum of ten slides (24x36), or in CD-ROM form with jpeg format;....."

...and I ain't got a clue as/re: a3 nor a4

then........anyone speak Italian? Veneziano?

[JAZ]

[quote=sculptor]Russ.....yeh wut sam said

and........anyone....
what is an a3 and/or an a4 format?

Sorry, no Italian, but the paper, yes. A3 is 11.7"x16.6" (29.7 cm x 42 cm)
A4 is 8.3" x 11.7" (21 cm x 29.7 cm)
The US uses inches and feet and pretty much everyone else in the world uses the metric system.
You can actually order A3 or A4 paper on line.
JAZ

[RuBert]

Originally Posted by sculptorsam

Wow! That is a lot of images to see in a relatively short time span. The few times I've given presentations I've used around 30 images in 40 minutes or so.

And I'd love to hear more about the process of this public commission. Would you consider starting a new thread to outline how you found/were contacted about it, your initial application, follow-up interviews/presentations and eventually (knock on wood) the fabrication and installation? It would be great to get an inside look at this often mysterious process.

Sam

Yes I blasted through them on the first presentation, which I like to do, but may be a little fast for some older audiences. I did notice at least one person was still able to sleep through it.

Rod and Sam, I'd like to post more about the competition I'm in now, and perhaps I can find a way to do that.

The problem is that they do not decide on the person for another 30 days. So... I'm not sure I should post much about it because for one, I may not get it, and secondly, they know about this community, so I'm not sure how they might react to me posting about the process as it is still going on.

I did meet the other two sculptors that are finalists and encouraged them to visit us here at Sculpture Community. In general I think we have much more to learn from one another as artists than lose in head-on competition. I'm not sure the other artists would agree.

In fact my biggest feeling in looking at the project was that if they could get the funding they should get all the finalists to do something, and I actually told them that.

I'm not sure how it will turn out, but I can let you know of my failure or success in about 30 days.

[sculptor]

Thanks Jaz
I'm printing the above

this is gonna be a stretch---but---we dined with 3 Italianos this weekend, so when I get a proposal together one will translate, then, my old hpdeskjet500 is inadaquate, so i'll call a copy center...give measurements.... copy to floppy and haul it to town.----

as/re slides----5 cm x 5 cm---is the same slide size universal? or does Europe have a different size?

[sculptorsam]

I fully understand the reluctance to post anything while it's still being considered.

And I do think about the consequences of revealing information to potential competitors. I generally take the view that we should work to make the pie bigger instead of fighting over the crumbs. That perhaps creating a stronger, well-educated community will offset any losses to individuals and that increased competition makes us all work harder to create great work.

But then, perhaps I only think that way because I'm young and barely even have any crumbs of my own. That my advocation of this communal spirit is a self-interested ploy to unseat the established players. But if that were the case, I would be rather silly to reveal that on a public message board... right?!

[JAZ]

Originally Posted by RuBert

Rod and Sam, I'd like to post more about the competition I'm in now, and perhaps I can find a way to do that.

The problem is that they do not decide on the person for another 30 days.

Ah, yes, but you could PM them now and post to the rest of us later, when appropriate.

[sculptorsam]

Originally Posted by JAZ

Ah, yes, but you could PM them now and post to the rest of us later, when appropriate.

I'm patient. Russ has enough to do without slipping notes to us during class.

[GaryR52]

I'm currently looking for a cheap (or free) animation package to create simple rotations of my digital sculptures, which I can then convert to Flash movies. So far, the nearest I've come to a reasonably priced tool for this is Swift 3D (http://www.swift3d.com/) from Electric Rain. It is a web graphics creation package that includes modeling tools and simple drag-and-drop animation presets you can apply. It outputs to Flash format, which can be embedded in any web page and played automatically when the page loads. I tried the Swift 3D 4 demo today, in fact, and, if it had only been able to export to Flash (it's disabled in the demo version), I'd have created a little Flash flyaround of one of my pieces. I guess I'll have to shell out $229 and find out how it works. My alternative is to use Bryce 5, which I already have, but the animation capabilities aren't as quick and easy to use, nor can it output directly to .swf format (though I have what I need to convert my AVI file to SWF).

Gary

[Julianna]

Hi, Gary.

Have you tried download.com?

J

[fritchie]

Originally Posted by GaryR52

I'm currently looking for a cheap (or free) animation package to create simple rotations of my digital sculptures, which I can then convert to Flash movies. So far, the nearest I've come to a reasonably priced tool for this is Swift 3D (http://www.swift3d.com/) from Electric Rain. It is a web graphics creation package that includes modeling tools and simple drag-and-drop animation presets you can apply. It outputs to Flash format, which can be embedded in any web page and played automatically when the page loads. I tried the Swift 3D 4 demo today, in fact, and, if it had only been able to export to Flash (it's disabled in the demo version), I'd have created a little Flash flyaround of one of my pieces. I guess I'll have to shell out $229 and find out how it works. My alternative is to use Bryce 5, which I already have, but the animation capabilities aren't as quick and easy to use, nor can it output directly to .swf format (though I have what I need to convert my AVI file to SWF).

Gary

Gary - Be a little careful with Flash or other animation technologies, if your target audience is other sculptors. You clearly have state of the art computing facilities, but many artists (including me) don’t. One of my jobs is being assistant advisor to a local university fraternity, and one of the members moved our older website from html to Flash this fall. I had to get the latest reader even to see it, and I still can’t get it half the time because my connection is dial-up.

I did some research on this matter back then, and could find only about 3 - 4 Flash references on this site, and only about 1 over the last year. I looked at several Flash-ed home pages, and only a couple were fast enough for me to load. Depends wholly on your target audience, though.

[GaryR52]

Actually, I hadn't considered other sculptors as my target audience, but, now that you've mentioned it, I can see how some of my sales might be to other sculptors. Afterall, who better appreciates sculpture?

Even with a dial-up connection, Flash shouldn't be a problem, as long as it's not used for the entire website, which I wouldn't want to do, for various reasons, not the least of which is that an all-Flash site can't be linked to search engines very well, if at all. What I'd like to do is have a Flash animation for each sculpture, or at least a few of them, activated by the user. But, anyway, while many still have dial-up, broadband is gaining market share all the time. I would imagine most serious collectors have highspeed connections.

Gary

[fritchie]

Good series of points, Gary. That university website I referenced wasn’t all Flash either. but most was. The designer put all topical photographs under html, and used Flash for the general introduction, most reference material, and schedules.

I just wanted to make you and others aware that we constantly fight (so to speak) a technology battle in websites like this, trying to gain the greatest degree of audience and intelligibility while advancing as fast as possible on the technology front.

You’re doing a great job with your sculpture, and you’re also educating many of us on the newest presentation technology. Thanks on both counts!