Tested Techniques for Travelogs

For those interested in producing travelogs, or travel sets, if you prefer, there are many examples available for viewing from the Photo Travel Division's library. There is also a "how-to" program entitled "Tested Techniques for Travelogs." In the August 1994 edition of the PSA Journal, an article bearing the same title reviewed most of what was in the program, but there is a distinct advantage in viewing the examples of the various techniques which are discussed. In this follow-up I will be a little more specific about some of the groundwork in creating a travelog.

Let's start at the very beginning. Although I use Kodak film, I transfer each new roll of film into a clear plastic canister and throw away the box. This allows airport security personnel to see that there is film inside and avoids the delay by some security people who want to look inside each black canister when you request visual examination to avoid X-ray exposure.

Upon receiving the little yellow boxes of slides from the processor, the first thing I do is put all the slides in carousels, in the order in which they were taken. This is accomplished easily because I put a piece of masking tape on each film canister before I leave on a trip and can then number each roll of film after it has been exposed and removed from the camera.

After the slides are placed in carousels, they are projected to see if each one is sharp and properly exposed. If so, I mark the top edge with a colored marking pen, without removing them from the carousel. Removing the retaining ring from the carousel will make marking the slides easier. Any slide that is not sharp, not properly exposed, or has a fault, like someone walked in front of the camera while you were shooting, is thrown out, and I mean in the wastebasket. After you have viewed all the slides, you can pull the ones you have marked as being the best.

Marginal Slides

Keep the marginal slides, which you might consider using if they are necessary to help tell a story or complete a sequence. If there might be any doubt about where the photograph was taken, be sure to write the location on the slide mount. That way, if you should need it later, you will know in which part of the show it belongs.

If you have both horizontal and vertical views of a special subject, and either one is useable, be sure to keep them together. Later when you are arranging the slides for your show, you can decide which format to use. You should always try to have at least two or more slides of the same format together so that when you dissolve from one slide to the next you are dissolving from a horizontal to a horizontal, or from a vertical to a vertical. Do not dissolve from a horizontal to a vertical or vice versa. The visual effect of the two slides forming a cross on the screen is rarely pleasing, so I choose to make a quick cut between different formats. Then I return to dissolving.

Dissolving from one slide to another has the advantage of implying motion, which is what we are accustomed to in our lives, whether it be live or recorded on motion picture film or videotape. Another advantage of the dissolve is the relief it offers the viewers by not having a black screen between slides, as in some projector programs. Our eyes don't tire as easily so we will enjoy the program more--and hopefully the programs that follow.

Program Layout

Now that we have selected the best slides and eliminated all the bad ones, we are ready to start putting the program together. Probably the easiest way to begin is to lay out your slides chronologically, or in the order in which you visited each location.

The photographs of each city might be considered a sequence which you tie together. Then you must find a way to carry your viewers to the next site, either by word bridging or a transition slide. The transition slide might be a method of transportation or a scene along the road while traveling to the next place. Maps can also make good transition slides simply by showing where you are and where you are going. Maps are usually easier to read when you make your own, showing the outline of the country and just two or three place names, which can be added with rub-on letters available from a stationery store. Always be sure the letters are large enough to be easily read from the back of the room. A good rule is to be sure the letters on the slide can be read with the naked eye; these should be legible when projected.

By placing your slides on a large viewer holding 40 or 50 slides, you can see what you have available for each area. You can then rearrange them to help with your story line. At this point, when you are talking about one specific town or area, it is not necessary that the slides remain in the same order you took them. It is more important to be able to carry your thoughts from one slide to the next, all the time keeping in mind that you want to stay with the horizontal or vertical format as long as you can.

Before you start to make a travelog, be sure to read about the places involved so you can impart information that makes your program informative as well as interesting and colorful. Don't simply say, "This is the church in Dublin," for example. Instead you might say, "In the center of downtown Dublin is the Catholic University Church founded by John Henry Newman in 1854. Newman served as the first rector of the church from 1853 to 1858. His former home, which is adjacent to the church, is now part of University College."

With word bridging we have carried our viewers through three slides. When the commentary flows as smoothly as the dissolves, the show will have a finished look. In the article in the August 1994 PSA Journal you will see another example of word bridging used in a travelog on Mexico City. As you study your slides on the viewer you can look for connecting words. If you should be commenting on the architecture in one town, you can make a transition to the next town by comparing the architecture. If some person lived in both towns, you might use his name to bridge the two. There are many ways to make the connection between two scenes, and the better the connection, the better the program.

Travelog Script

With the slides arranged by subject on your viewer, you can start to write the script. Try to keep the comments over each slide to about nine or ten seconds. If it requires more than ten seconds to voice the information you want to impart, use two slides. One might be a wide shot and the next one a close-up of the same subject. If the commentary is only six or seven seconds, the slides change faster and you get that feeling of motion I mentioned earlier. During the course of the commentary, I try to incorporate the title of the program at least once.

It is not necessary to comment over each slide, but showing two or more slides without commentary is not recommended unless you use music to fill the gap. I often use music behind a group of slides that form a sequence. I have done this with market scenes, a sequence of reflections, a series of clothesline photos, and even the rooftops of Dubrovnik. Appropriate music ties them all together and often gives a welcome break from descriptions and statistics. Choosing appropriate music requires some thought, and many times, a lot of searching.

Timing

When you have completed the script for your travelog, you need to go over it time and time again to be sure no slide is on the screen too long. An exception to this occurs when you need to change carousels for a multiprojector show. I pick a point in the program where a slide remains on the screen for about eleven seconds. This allows me to change the carousel on the dark projector and advance it to the next slide, so it is in place when the projector lamp lights up.

When using two carousels, the first slide, or title slide, can be located anywhere in the first carousel, as can the second slide of the program, which will be in the second carousel. You locate the starting position by seeing that the last slide in the first carousel is on the screen long enough to allow you to change carousels without stopping the show. If your program involves six carousels, then the last slide in both trays three and four must be on the screen about eleven seconds to allow the change to carousels five and six. I have learned that separating the carousel changes by three or four slides relieves the pressure of trying to change one right after the other, particularly if you have trouble seating a carousel on the projector during the change. The fact that you are doing this in a darkened room doesn't help, nor does the increased adrenalin flow.

Quite a few times after presenting a travelog, I have been asked how I am able to get the timing of slides and commentary to work so closely together (I consider that a nice compliment). Once I have recorded the script, I time the pause between slides and note it on the written copy. The pauses often vary from one to three seconds. I then divide that time in order to allot more time to one slide or the other, depending on the length of time each slide is on the screen. I do this with a stopwatch and mark the script, indicating the time I want to change the slides, within a half second. When you have a sequence of slides without comment, the slide changes must be indicated by lapsed time in order for the correct slide to come up on the screen when commentary begins again.

Before I do that I have already gone through the written script and marked the letter V or H in front of each slide number, so I know whether to dissolve or cut. As I mentioned earlier, that decision depends on whether the preceding slide is a horizontal or vertical image. Cuts are instantaneous, while the normal dissolve rate is three seconds, so the timing of your cue signal is determined by the type of change you select. Slow dissolves of six seconds or more can be used for artistic visual effects. I particularly like to use slow dissolves in a reflection sequence. I find that in such a sequence it is possible to also dissolve from vertical to horizontal and back. You must determine if this is acceptable by doing it and see if it pleases you. I also often use a slow dissolve to black to close a travelog. It is much more effective than the tired old cliche of the sun slowly sinking in the west. (If some would end their program with "the sun slowly sinking in the east," they might wake up their viewers before the house lights come on.)

With the script showing the exact time to change each slide, and also the horizontal or vertical format of each, we are ready to program the sync signals. The first signal will cue the first slide of the show. You must decide whether you want to fade it in slowly or appear abruptly; this is up to you. If the opening music is slow and soft, then dissolve might be appropriate. A dramatic musical opening might call for the instant bright screen approach. Music and the first slide can start at the same time or you can open with the music first. This depends on your artistic bent.

Rehearsal

You will undoubtedly run through the program many times to rehearse it before you finally actually record the sync signals on tape. When you are ready you can proceed without projecting the slides; all you have to watch is your script, for the scheduled changes. Timing the changes can be done by counting "one thousand one" for each second and "one thousand" for half a second. This way you only have to look at a stopwatch when you have a lengthy period without commentary. You will occasionally look at the change buttons on your programmer, but after all the rehearsals you will have been through, you will know the position of the dissolve signal relative to the cut signal.

Final Touches

Open and close your program with good title slides. They add that finished touch to any slide presentation. It is also a wise idea to use good, strong slides at both the beginning and the end of your travelog. By starting with good slides you prepare your audience to believe they are going to see a good show. By finishing with strong slides they go away with the same feeling provided, of course, you don't do too bad a job in between.

To further refine your program, go through it to see if any slide might possibly be improved by remounting. If someone's head touches the top of the frame, or their arm touches the side of the frame, or there is a light trap in one corner, or the composition might be improved by moving a subject slightly off dead center, cut the mount open to see if remounting can help.

Here's where all those discarded cardboard-mounted slides in the wastebasket will come in handy. I lay them out on a heavy aluminum cookie sheet and put them in the oven at about 250 degrees. When they warm up, the cardboard mounts will start to separate. At this point remove them from the oven one at a time and slide a table knife between the edges of the mount where they have separated. Open it up and remove the transparency, which you can now really toss in the wastebasket. The slide mounts can now be used to remount the good transparencies that needed repositioning. You can often improve the image even more by cropping with an Erie mount, which can be placed inside the recovered cardboard mount. The slides can be positioned and taped in place with either Magic Tape or polyester tape. The outside edges are then closed using whichever of the two tapes you prefer. The alternative to this would be buying new slide mounts or mounting in glass, which can be more expensive.

If you are a beginner, don't let all this scare you. You don't have to start with two-projector shows involving a dissolve system, although you may eventually want to go that route. For the time being you might consider some of the mentioned tips that will help any travelog maker. Either way, have fun and continue to enjoy photography!

COPYRIGHT 1999 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
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