I have been doing photo montages for years and I find that seven seconds is the perfect time. I then add trasistions at 3 seconds each make a nicely timed sequence.

Great, thanks a bunch. I dont have a problem messing with settings. Thats how I have learned everything I know about computers. Play Play and more playing with things is the only true way to learn (and mess things up).

Thanks again
Jason

Wow. This is cool to know especially since SoFo has indicated this is not possible with their Knowledge Base 1374 included below. Thanks for posting this cool find!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Knowledge Base: VideoFactory: Basics
Applies To: VideoFactory(all versions)

Item #: 1371

Summary: Can I preselect the still image duration when importing stills to the timeline?

Solution: The option to set still image duration is a feature of Vegas Video, but is not available
in VideoFactory. The default is 5 seconds.

Author: Sonic Foundry
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Does this mean that you reset the default of all stills to 7 seconds? And then put 3 second transitions on top of that? Or, is the total time - picture + transition = 7 seconds?

I'm working on my first slideshow project and am not sure what works for people in terms of user-friendly viewing!

Thanks!

Kim

The transition cuts into the time of the still. So a 7 second stills with a 3 second transitions on either side will only show the image for 1 second! 3 + 1 + 3 = 7. I usually use 7-second stills with a one second transition on each side. This keeps the image on the screen for 5 seconds, which I find is a good amount of time.

~jr

You might also consider a music track to accompany your show. Adjusting the timing of transitions and holds to accompany the beat/measure can upgrade a production significantly. Grob

Hiyah - Adding to what Grob suggests [hello Grob!], have the clip and the music "going", listen to the music with your finger hovering over the "M" [marker] key - when you here the "beat" of the music, tap the M key. You now have a "marker" which you can use as a reference to make Video changes - Cuts, Dissolves, Transitions, Pan/Crops, Creeps etc etc - yeah? You can even "name" the markers for total control.

Oh yeah, failed to say, this depends on you having a good sense of timing.

Grazie

Keep an eye on the waveform, too - with a bit of practice they're quite easy to read.

Ian G.

This may not be the proper topic for this question but perhaps someone can help me. (I have not yet decided whether or not to buy VF.) I have several slide shows in MS Powerpoint that have very precise timing and would like to convert them to something that plays on a TV. What I want to know is if there is a way to manually input the length the slide is to display so that I can use the same timing I already have set up.

Thanks for your help

But won't this set them all the same length? I need to set each picture seperately.

The default time is just that, a default time. Whenever you place a new still onto the timeline it will start with this duration. Once the picture is there you can very easily drag the right edge of it out farther to make it last longer or in to make it shorter. It's very easy to line up the picture transitions with specific things in the audio track this way.

Download the demo and try it for yourself for free before you make your decision to buy. http://www.sonicfoundry.com/download/step2.asp?DID=243