Just an obscure little thing called PowerPoint, something of an international standard in the business world for, what?, the last twenty years. Works on pretty much any computer that can play a Youtube video. Maybe Michael Biel has heard of it? Does require some familiarity and forethought; a quick skim of a Dummys book for a smart guy. Once learned, it is easier to revamp than changing Ektachromes in a tray. Integrating other media into the PP is not simple, but not beyond someone with an agile mind.

No offense intended, but one root of the problem is neatly summarised below, which doesn't reflect on the quality of a presentation so much as the challenge it offloads onto the person who has to run it, plus all the others. It is good that the task is understood, better if it is minimized. Isn't assuring a smooth show a good enough reason? Pointing a finger at another guy isn't a solution. My idea may not meet ARSC's needs, but without some strategy, gradually adopted, attendees may be doomed to the same complaints, again and again.

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Biel
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2013 11:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tip for ARSC Conference presenters -- reinforcing previous lessons

I do not understand a thing that Carl Pultz wrote.  Our presenters come from all over the country and all over the world.  We each have our own personal equipment.  Most of us are not computer experts.  You cannot possibly consider that there would be one standard that all the presenters must meet.  You expect us to go out and get new equipment just to make an unpaid presentation that WE end up having to pay for because we have to travel, pay for our rooms, AND conference registration.  AND finish these things far enough in advance that someone --WHO????-- would pre-load onto equipment that the organization does not have.  This seems to mean three times the amount of work FOR NO REASON AT ALL.  Just to make it easy for some techie who nobody has met and would have different equipment every year at our different locations.  

What is not understood is that the techie is working an audio mixer and a video projector, and a CD/DVD player, and maybe a computer.  We give him our CDs, DVDs, and maybe thumb drives, or else plug in our own computers.  We arrive the day before or the day of our presentations. 
We are updating and editing our presentations the day before or the day of.  

Consistency????  Put the audio on a CD.  Put the video on a DVD.  Put the powerpoint or graphics on a thumb drive.  What kind of an app are you thinking of????

Mike Biel [log in to unmask]  

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tip for ARSC Conference presenters -- reinforcing previous lessons
From: Carl Pultz <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, February 24, 2013 10:04 pm
To: [log in to unmask]

In which case there is no substitute for consistancy. All the presentations should run the same way, from the same media, with the same visual formatting of documentation. Each one should be so simple a child could do it, because that's who you may be depending on.

Is there one app you can specify to the contractor, or bring to the conference, that will play both visual and aural elements? You can then publish out to the presenters detailed info to meet that standard. I'd suggest everything come in on memory sticks, or, better, be pre-loaded on the systems; no CDs, no switching computers. Advantages include easy copying and sharing - a speaker could send it to the "Presentation Technical Standards Committee" for a test drive on the approved platform. Those platforms, ie laptops, could then be provided to the AV operators from which to run the day's shows.

If I was running one of these things, after a night of rock-band PA-mixing and debauchery, possessing minimal comprehension and language skills, I'd love to open My Documents and see:

ARSC Presentations\Thursday\Morning\Session 1 10:00am\Presentation 1\Uncle Dave Shocks.ppt ARSC Presentations\Thursday\Morning\Session 1 10:00am\Presentation 2\Steve Smolian Amazes.ppt

Etc, etc.

Don't know if PowerPoint will support embedded audio at CD quality, but treating all elements as slides seems like a slick solution. If there's a clicker at the podium, you are in control of everything but the volume.

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Smolian
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2013 5:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tip for ARSC Conference presenters -- reinforcing previous lessons

Many hotels have strict union rules forbidding this.

Steve Smolian

-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Strauss
Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2013 3:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Tip for ARSC Conference presenters -- reinforcing previous lessons

> One approach could be to rent the equipement and installation locally, 
> but ARSC have its own operators. Hands?
>
> I have been the AV boy for a local Rotary Club for many years, from 
> back
in the days of the Kodak Carousel, and I sometimes wish for the return of the Carousel, when the worst emergency was a blown bulb or a slide that wouldn't drop. One of the most stressful situations you can have is when the speaker shows up, often a little late, and his/her laptop doesn't like our projector/sound system, or the speaker brings his/her presentation on non/semi compatible media. MS has planted enough little time bombs in the different versions of Windows and PP, so that the 5 minutes before the presentation can be excruciating. The worst case scenario is when the speaker shows up with a MAC, and doesn't realize we have a VGA projector, even though that information was sent to him/her prior to the meeting.
They
assume we have a converter/adapter and we assume they have done it before, and have the necessary equipment. There is no substitute for operator expertise and experience. Also, a very valid point was raised about what is on your PP slide. Way too many people put a slide up and then read it word for word. Another annoyance is the use of random slide transitions.
Just because they are there, you don't need to use them. Maybe a good subject for a presentation at an ARSC convention would be how to put a presentation together, including how to make things work in the 5 minutes before show time.


--
Frank B Strauss, DMD