Computer-generated: title slides

When I first began using a computer to prepare title slides (i.e., slides containing text) I used a vector drawing program exclusively. Creating text was easy and vector clip art was plentiful. Furthermore, vector art (line drawings) provided both a contrast to and a welcome change from the continuous tone photographs.

Although these title slides were impressive for their time, software advancements have resulted in tremendous improvement in both the sophistication and impact that can be achieved.

I still use a vector drawing program, however, for two tasks: 1) converting vector images to TIFF bitmaps for those vector files not readable by bitmap programs and 2) producing easily, fast, and with a high degree of edge sharpness, slides that consist predominately of text.

Today, however, most of my title slides are currently created in a bitmap program--Adobe Photoshopr--with the final product produced by the simple expedient of photographing the computer screen. (See "Photographing the Computer Screen," PSA Journal, November 1995, pp 17-19; the only change I have made since then is that I have dispensed with the color compensation filter.)

My standard resolution for title slides is 1280 x 853 pixels, resulting in a file size of, 3.28 megabytes at the standard 72-ppi screen resolution. (Although my monitor/video card combination is capable of 1600 horizontal pixels, this would produce a file size of 4.88 megabytes without showing any significant improvement in the projected slide.)

Font Selection

One can easily become overwhelmed by the number of fonts available to the computer user on low-cost CDs or free downloads from websites. Experienced desktop publishers are well grounded in the theory of font use, and these principles hold also for slides. I generally follow these basic guidelines:

1. Don't use more than two different fonts on one slide and don't mix different fonts in a heading;

2. In a slide that contains a title followed by body text, use a different color for the body text;

3. Don't use all uppercase for body text (it is hard to read);

4. Throughout your program, be consistent in your choice of font, color, and graphic design.

Readability can be achieved with serif, sans serif, script, or decorative fonts; however, very thin fonts, fonts with delicate serifs, and off-the-wall, illegible "artistic" fonts should be avoided. Readability is more important than novelty.

Some thought should be given to selecting a font that is appropriate for the subject. Figure A shows three different fonts for a program about Japan. The font shown in the top slide is a decorative gothic and is really out of place for this theme. The oriental fonts in the middle and bottom slides are ideally suited to the topic and compatible with the graphic.

[FIGURE A OMITTED]

Your choice of graphics should be consistent and appropriate as well. Although all four of the graphics shown in Figure B reflect the spirit of a program I prepared on the American Southwest, I only used the top two and others similar to them for consistency because they are from the same graphic design sets.

[FIGURE B OMITTED]

Special Font Effects

Adobe Photoshop[R] offers a number of first-rate type effects, and there are various plug-in programs available that supplement them. One of my favorite Photoshop plug-ins is Eye Candy[R] by Alien Skin software. Figure C shows some examples of different type effects.

[FIGURE C OMITTED]

No. 1 is the original initial without any embellishment other than a drop shadow, produced using the Photoshop Type tool and a drop shadow effect.

Nos. 2--6 are Eye Candy effects. No. 2, called "Internal Bevel," bevels the edge of the type--the bevel can be square, round or a number of other choices and introduces a subtle 3-D effect without overwhelming the text. Since this effect darkens the type, I use the Saturation and Lightness corrections in the Photoshop Hue/Saturation tool to restore the brightness and color. An internal bevel can also be applied to artwork as well, and I frequently use it to produce a 3-D picture frame effect.

The effect in No. 3, called "Glass," was applied over an internal bevel. Since selecting a different color for the glass effect produces complex shading effects, the possibilities are almost endless.

No. 4 is another composite effect. Starting with an internal bevel, I placed a thin yellow "Glow" effect around the initial. Nos. 5 and 6 are the "Chrome" and "Carve" effects, both used on the original.

Adobe includes a number of text effects in Photoshop that can be loaded into the Actions palette. Other text effects are available (free) on the Internet. No. 7 shows the effect of one such action ("GlowingGoop") downloaded from the Action Exchange (www.actionxchange.com). In addition to Actions, there are type creation plug-ins for Photoshop and programs that accept Photoshop plug-ins. No. 8 in Figure C is an effect created with the 3-D type program, "Vertigo 3-D HotTEXT." Complex effects can be created with this program, such as wrapping the type around a curved line, importing texture bitmaps, and twisting and turning the type into any position imaginable.

The problem with all of these more spectacular type effects is that they themselves become the subject. The goal is to convey information to the viewer, not to show that you are a wizard with digital imagery. Therefore, I am more inclined to use the No. 2-6 effects in Figure C, rather than those shown in Nos. 7 or 8.

Avoid bright screens that blind the audience or garish background colors that detract from readability. A nice alternative to a dark, solid-colored background is one that is textured. Don't use a busy texture since it tends to interfere with readability. The same holds for highly delineated textures so blur the background strongly (a Gaussian Blur works well). My standard textured background was constructed by filling an image with a medium brown, adding at random a number of dark brown blotches that varied in size from a dime to a quarter, blurring the image, and then adjusting the darkness with the Photoshop Hue/Saturation tool so that the pattern was only slightly noticeable. This image was then saved as a universal background. To match a particular graphic or type color, I alter the color of this background file by using the Hue slider in the tool.

Putting It All Together

Figure D shows eight title slides I have used in my programs, although the type effects 'are more impressive when projected. Although they serve well as examples for single projector programs, they happen to be examples of two-projector superimposition; i.e., where one projector displays the graphic, and the other places the text on top of it. This is a nice program effect--the graphic remains on the screen while the text is faded in and out over two or more slides.

[FIGURE D OMITTED]

For superimposition, either the text must be placed to one side of the graphic on a black background as in slide Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 7; the graphic itself must be dark enough so that the text will "burn" through as in slide Nos. 3, 6 and 8; or a thin, light-colored glow must be applied to the text as in slide No. 4. In all cases, the text must be on totally black backgrounds so as not to wash out the graphics.

In the "Voyage to the Galapagos" slide (No. 3) I had to darken the water at the bottom of the graphic in order to make the text stand out. To solve a similar problem in the "Egypt--Land of the Pharaohs" slide (No. 4), I applied a thin white glow to the text before it was beveled.

Care was taken in each to ensure that the color of the text was in harmony with the colors of the graphic. The fonts in No. 4 and No. 7 were effective choices for Burma and Egypt, respectively. The graceful font in No. 5 echoed the delicacy of the butterflies, showing that even a thin font can be effective when color and type effects are considered. The font used in No. 3 reflected the time of Darwin's voyage to the Galapagos, and the other fonts represented an informality that harmonized with the subject matter of the programs they introduced.

Albert J. Klee
Milford, OH

Any mention of products or services in this article or anywhere else in the PSA Journal does not constitute an endorsement or approval of those items.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group