The Original PC, The Pre-PowerPoint “Electronic” Slide Show, and Physical vs. Digital Cut and Paste

The video below is a capture of the computer screen and interface for the programming language named “ProCall”, the name given to the software used to control multiple slide projectors in order to sync slides to sound and create a slide-show, or “Multi-image” show, as it and the industry built around it was known. What is seen here is the sequencing of a few speaker support slides, and then a “run”– a looping segment that will run onscreen for announcements, introduction, or to kill time until the loops is broken, and the slide projectors advanced by the next command.

Anywhere from 3 to 15 (or more) projectors were focused on a screen, timed to music, with sophisticated graphic effects, photo sequences, title animations all happening in a careful sequence. Timing was precise; manual operation was possible (next slide, please), and even infinite loop sequences for backgrounds or logo animations used during live speaker sequences were possible.

This was in effect a video-like immersive experience for audiences. Sound came off of multi-track magnetic tape recorders, so the sound was full fidelity. Film projectors could be controlled as well. In fact, all elements of a meeting could be controlled via these computer programs– speaker support, multi-image slide shows with sound; film rolls, lights, flash bulb effects, and more.

Why does an old guy like me know computers? Well, I had to program slide shows.

I also had to find a solution to the innumerable script changes I and my clients made.

Before computers, a-v scripts were written on “copy paper” cheap newspaper typing paper that was easy to cut with a ruler. Cutting and pasting was a matter of literally cutting and pasting. Cut the paragraph you wanted to move out of the paper, past it with a big glob of glue past underneath the paragraph were it was destined to go. Because the editing process is very important, my scripts were sometimes hundreds of paper paragraphs reordered and glued together.

But there were more miracles to come. The popular operating system at the time was CP/M. It was not meant for portable computers but AVL and others (Most notably, Adam Osborne) adopted it for portable and stationary computing. AVL’s computers were at first in a big desk hogging chassis, then reduced to a one piece screen, two drive, computer configuration, and finally, to a luggable portable.

People began putting word processing and accounting programs on their AVL’s, and the personal computer era began. And of course there was Apple. Put a CP/M card in an Apple, and you were able to use WordStar, the word processing giant of the day.

Soon we were using the computer to cut and paste, I was writing a “how to compute” column for A-V / Video magazine, and slides were big business.

But video was coming, and I jumped out of the slide apple cart and into the video fire before other slide producers and began adapting what I had learned producing slides to the art of video.

Pacing, strong soundtracks, good stories– those things never change.

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Tribute Videos are videos that celebrate a person, couple, group, or institution. They can be engagement videos, anniversary videos, memorials, retirement videos, milestone birthday videos, company histories, leadership stories, school reunion stories, award-winner portraits, and more. They are at home in the living room, rec room, boardroom or ballroom.

Tribute videos are how I got my start. (See “AVSquad” in the links.) And they remain the most satisfying of the work that we do. There is nothing like telling a people story.

A lot of people are into video these days, some as a hobby, some as a potential profession, some as part of their job duties. There is a perception that video is easy, thanks to point and shoot miniature cameras, computer editing, and thousands of tipsters on-line telling you how easy it is and selling something– usually hardware.

But hardware is only part of the problem, and hardware and editing software are covered pretty readily via training web sites, DVD lessons, and more.

No one is training people on how to tell a compelling story. How to interview, how to move pictures, how to choose music, how to pace videos, how to get a visceral reaction from an audience!

That’s where “Tribute Videos for Love & Money” comes in.

Tribute Videos for Love & Money

It’s an ebook that details my communications beliefs and systems. If you like samples of my work, and you want to know how and why certain creative decisions were made, this is the place to start. It concentrates on the “Tribute” people story type of video, but frankly, if you can tell that kind of story, there isn’t much you won’t be able to do as you grow your capability or career.

For more information, go to videostoryschool.com.

I hope you like it and find it valuable.

Just bumped into this from a sight called Remarkable Communications. It’s worth a gander.