PlaceStories Software:
Contents
1. _ Goto Parent Folder Set As Default Image import from the button at the top right of the media window and follow the prompts as for a normal import You can also edit images in the story editing Cancel Place Stories FE 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 18 area either in the media window or the timeline Right click on an image and select edit image to launch the story editor 3 2 Using Story settings Click on the settings tab in the media window You can change the duration the default transition and motion effect for each of the elements in your story The new settings will apply to all images that you haven t set individually in the settings see below Ble idup Expert Map tep Local Catalogue Images Audo Text Ties Settings Story Settings File View Map Help A Local Catalogue N Images Y Audio Y Text Titles Settings Story Settings Duration secs 5 Transition Dissolve x Motion Effect Drift In and Out Image Settings As with the overall story settings individual images in the timeline have defaults settings that control duration motion effects and transitions You can change these defaults by double clicking on an image in the timeline and a Timeline Settings window will appear The defaults are set for the image to display for 5 seconds Duration Transition to Dissolve and the Motion Effect is for the image to drift in and out You2. Version 3 3 1 20 3 4 Building a soundtrack There are three main types of audio tracks for you to use in building your story soundtrack e Narration recorded either in the audio catalogue or in the story editing area in sequence with the story timeline and plays at 100 volume o Music Track plays at 100 volume by default normally used when there is no narration e Music Loops plays at 25 volume by default and loops behind narration A simple and effective way of creating a story soundtrack is to combine a with a music loop as a background You can record a narration from a script and add it to your story or you can record a narration synchronized to images as they play in the story In the story editing area click Record Narration to launch the recording tool Check your microphone connection and levels with a short test recording before you try recording a full narration to your story You can add up to four different audio tracks to your story Doa They can be set to start and end at different points and the vion sample narration volume for each track can be set independently Audio Settings Audio Settings General You can change the settings of an audio track by double clicking on tfe Volume C mute specific track in the timeline and a properties window will appear THe End 0 Pegi Influence Ttoop main features are the volume setting cueing where the track will st Y olume Cha
3. Audio Text Titles Settings This enables you to Folder quickly move around the J Catalogue General Images Sample Project catalogue bringing in images and audio from CA al any of your folders and fae Results P J History projects L Last 24 Hours gt Last Week Last Month By default the story L Last 6 Months timeline for a new story tast Year has a title and author clip preloaded These can be edited in the Titles area of the media window or deleted Double click on an image to add it to the timeline Now try clicking and holding on another image and dragging it into the timeline When the image is positioned between two other images an arrow appears and releasing the button drops the image in the timeline You change the order of the images by dragging and dropping in the timeline If you drop the image over another image it will replace that image in the timeline fete ee _ If you make a mistake when adding media to the story timeline you E io can use the undo and redo Use the update button to save your f work whilst you are editing without leaving the editing area l Press the story player to check out your work You can play from any point in ik the story by right clicking an image in the timeline and selecting play from Properties 0 21 0 Clear Timeline here You can import images to the story catalogue from the story edit area Select
4. Next Focus Nominate the general Focus categories associated with this story Giving your story a focus helps other users find it in the system Select Next Place Sterries F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 x 24 Tags Like Focus tagging your story helps other users find it You can select from the range of general tags available or create new tags You can also add tags after the story has been published Select Next Publish You have three publishing options here 1 Don t publish now Select Done don t want to publish this story right now e You can go and view your story and publish it to a I want to publish this story to one of my communities project of community later want to publish this story to one of my projects Publish to one of my communities You can be a member of multiple communities e Select your Community e Select the Visibility for your story and add Tags o Select Done e You can either go and view it or go back to you dashboard 3 Publish this story to one of my projects Projects are collections of one or more published stories Projects can have many members or just a single member as required e Select the Project you are a member of e Select the Visibility for your story and add Tags o Select Done e You can either go and view it or go back to you dashboard 5 3 Publishing to CD Local Catalogue a Catalogue You can create a simple CD rom of a selecti
5. WHERE the Landcare Group X WHO stories If you are Writing a script or getting a sequence o eliminated weeds from the headwaters photos in order try answering these questions Arrange all the of two creeks WHAT in 2003 WHEN text and photographs that answer these questions in this order with a purpose built ripper HOW to along the PlaceStories timeline and then add your narration improve the river flow WHY over the top 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 29 6 Voice power Recording a voice track or narration for your story can add real value and impact Not all stories need a voice over or narration but done well it provides an authenticity and depth that connects with an audience in powerful ways Everyone hates hearing their own voice the first time around so new users often need a little encouragement to give it a go But after the first couple of times it is becomes a lot easier One trick that can help ease the nervousness is to do a mini interview about the subject of the story with a partner Sometimes just explaining something to someone else really helps to get a good voice recording for your story Remember it is easy in PlaceStories to extract sections of audio from a longer recording so do not worry about getting the voice over perfect 7 Show and tell It s easy to over explain things that are being shown on screen Try not to always describe what can already be seen in the pictures Use silence T
6. a couple of other small system update installers They will install a copy of msxml6 msi and flash player ActiveX msi f asked just follow the prompts to run these installs By default the installer will run PlaceStories at the end of the install process and will leave a PlaceStories shortcut on your desktop Backing up procedures PlaceStories Version 3 1 0 build 765 beta You can also make a full back up copy of PlaceStories install from File Backup Export Map Help f Catalogue Database the Backup menu in the software We recommend doing this on a Ee regular basis The software will automatically make a backup copy of images thudo Tex Wiles vestings your catalogue file each week if you don t do it yourself Place Stories F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 1 2 Quick Start Exercise 1 10 steps to creating your first story Step 1 Select Story from the media type options across the top menu bar Step 2 Select the New button at the bottom of the screen to q gt we pes create a new story New Edit Delete Upload Step 3 Give your story a name click next to choose where to save Create Ston Weard your new story Select the stories folder in the sample project and E S E PE click finish The name will appear in the first slide Give a name to your new story Step 4 The Story Editing area will launch The story timeline already has a title and author screens added by default The detai
7. catalogue You can select any area with the manual setting or choose from some standard image formats like 4 3 the proportions of the PlaceStories viewer or 16 9 a wide screen option Once you have outlined the new image area select Crop Image and Save as New This new image will be added to your current image catalogue You can apply a number of effects to your images There are four Image Effect Sets to choose from Select the effect that is right for your story When you have finished editing your image select Right Click Options Depending on where you are working there is a range of options when you right click on an image Image catalogue Right click on an image in the local catalogue will give you a range of options e Move move the selected image to another folder Delete delete the selected image from this folder pees e Edit Image the range of tools detailed above Ea nee o Reconvert from Master f you have edited an image and i alee ae ane Mater selected Save rather than Save as New you can select this EHR option to reconvert the image ea CHES e Reconvert from Working Master Same as above for the Cancel working master Import mport images as described above e Go to Parent Folder Select the image and click this option will take you to the folder where the image is located 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 Image catalogue in
8. image was imported into the software Place Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 Importing Images 1 Select Image from the media type options across the top menu bar 2 Select the import icon Import Please note you can also access the image import function from in the story editing area Select Import from disk to bring in images from your computer photo library or external USB drive This launches a wizard that takes you through the process step by step Step 1 You can select one or several images from multiple places to import to your catalogue at the same time Keeping the image s Step 2 You can set a new name for the image images to be original resolution is imported If you set a new name for more than one image the recommended if you want names are given a sequential number to crop highlight images from the original or if e Step 3 You can choose which project or other image folder in PlaceStories is being used your catalogue to put the images to look after your original hi resolution images o Step 4 You can add keywords and a text description to help catalogue your images e Step 5 You can choose to keep the master at its original resolution recommended or convert to efficient size for use in the software When Images are imported into PlaceStories a number of copies of the image are made to be used in different parts of the software withou
9. of all the contents of the data folder of your PlaceStories installation By default this is created in your documents area If you have a major failure of your PlaceStories system you can run a fresh install of the JJ Audio enaps software and copy the contents of your catalogue back up a COE nmaahenennts folders a zipped file called PlaceStories FullBackup into the data folder of the new PlaceStories install This will restore your system to the point you created your last entire catalogue back up Place Stories F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 31 5 4 Known bugs and issues Whilst PlaceStories can install and run productively on the Windows Vista operating system there are some known issues One persistent problem is a periodic loss of the display of thumbnail images in the image catalogue especially moving between between folders Resizing the thumbnails size using the slider tool brings the images back There is also a persistent problem relating to the function of Vista s user account control system that causes the PlaceStories catalogue to temporarily mask information making it appear that work has been lost Resolving these issues is likely to be reliant on system updates that can only be provided by Microsoft We run a Vista Forum discussion on the PlaceStories website as a way of keeping people up to date with known vista issues and fixes We recommend PlaceStories members run regular service pack and system u
10. of which have been described above One Record additional feature is Record Over Goto Parent Folder Ctrl F9 Cancel Add to lineline add your audio file to the story timeline 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 14 2 4 Working with Documents This section provides an overview of the main functions in the Documents Catalogue Many of the functions are similar to those detailed in both the Image amp Audio Catalogues Start by selecting the documents folder in the sample project in the Local Catalogue You wil see one word file and a PDF of the same document You can preview these files by double clicking on them The document folder allows you to store documents that are useful to your story e g narration script or content for your story description Document information fields When you import a document the information you provide will be displayed in the general information field In addition to this general information the row of tabs under the bottom of the information field allows you to do some advanced cataloguing of your documents For each document you can add details General Info Description Map Location Text Tags Description type or paste in a detailed text description for the document e Map Location set the geographic location for the document Text Tags add additional information relating to the Author o authors document s for example the auth
11. point words pictures or sounds Most stories will include each of these three elements in one form or another but it can help to focus on one of them as a starting point You might already have the basis of a story script in a project application letter or newspaper article In that case it might help to use that text to record a voice track and this will help organise the order of your images Alternately it might be a single image or a collection of photos that can provide the starting point Organising these images in a logical order in the timeline and watching them play through can help you decide if and where your story could use some text and voice over or music Also you might have an audio interview or music track that provides the starting point for sequencing your images and text 4 Beginning Middle and End Every story needs all three This might seem obvious but thinking about what they are in your story can help you when organising your content Remember that the beginning middle and end of your story don t always have to appear in that order Sometimes it can work really well to start your story with the end say the outcome of a project and then go back to explain how you got there 5 Where Who What When How Why This is another common way to organise your story often used For example by journalists in constructing interviews and creating newspaper In Bonnydoon Central Queensland fori if iti ot tti f
12. with a single image featured and a ticker tape below 3 Use the sort button to change the order of the images By default the Poy images are sorted alphabetically by name a z 4 Use the search field to find images searching by name keywords fa description or date added _ 5 Use the arrow at the far right hand side of the window to show or hide the image information fields 6 Use the name and keywords fields to edit and make changes try clicking in the name field and changing it hit return to update and save your changes Image information fields In addition to this general information the row of tabs under the bottom of the information field allows you to do some advanced cataloguing of your images For each image you can add details General Info Description Stories Map Location Text Tags Exif Data e Description type or paste in a detailed text description for the image e Stories see a list of the stories the selected image is used in e Map Location set the geographic location of an image or images e Text Tags add additional information relating to an image or images for example the photographer place taken copyright people photographed You can also provide the same detail for multiple images by firstly selecting the images typing the detail and clicking gt e Exif data view technical information about the image added as meta data when the
13. Data 2 into the Data folder Browse Catalogue Data Folder Exit Place Stories F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 26 To work on stories from Data 2 From File in the Main Menu select Open Catalogue e Select the Data 2 folder where you pasted it o Select OK The stories from this folder will open in another Local Catalogue tab You can now edit these stories and upload them to the PlaceStories website Backup Export Map Help Open Catalogue Close Catalogue Browse Catalogue Data Folder Exit Note you can leave the Data 2 folder on your memory stick and edit stories and upload to the webserver from there by following the same method as described below o From File in the Main Menu select Open Catalogue e Locate and select the Data 2 folder on your memory stick Se data Es E DataTraveler101R F Se NONE iG 9 comms O Data 9 Catalogue gt Dataz 9 Catalogue oo Maps e Select OK E Feral rts E C PlaceStories E C Data i Catalogue Data2 i Maps Google i gtk 2 0 3 Hewlett Packard i Identities id alder system 1 C Make New Folder The stories from this folder will open in another Local Catalogue tab You can now edit these stories and upload them to PlaceStories website Place Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 27 Section 5 Help 5 1 Digital Storytelling Tips 5 2 Videos and email supp
14. PlaceStories Software 1 1 Installing the software 1 2 Quick Start Exercise Overview This section outlines how to install the PlaceStories software with an exercise to make a digital story 1 1 Installing the PlaceStories software version 3 3 1 Once you have registered as a PlaceStories member you can log in and download the PlaceStories software from the Create a story page PlaceStories is a Windows program that runs on a standard PC The minimum recommended specifications are e Windows XP or above e Pentium 4 or above with 512 meg of ram Apple There is currently no Mac version of PlaceStories software but you can run the software ona Mac with Intel processors running Windows XP as an operating system on its own Bootcamp partition Web functions are accessible across all standard browsers Downloads Click the Create icon and choose from the three options Please note We do not recommend downloading the e Full install with sample media 41meg full install over a dial up o Full install lite without sample media 24meg internet connection Use the e Update update install who have an earlier version installed full install lite option instead Installing PlaceStories By default the program will install into the Program Files folder on the C drive of your computer You can choose a different install location by using the browse option Depending on your system the installer may also ask you to run
15. ar 30 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 13 the start of the section you want to extract press the button and at the end of the section press the button Listen to the section you have selected by pressing the button Repeat the process to adjust Ze mm a cat Oy fiemnd end points or press to start over Once you are happy with your selection the wizard will take you through saving your new audio file By default it is added into the same project folder as the original file and is given a name with extract of added to the front of the original file name Right Click Options Audio catalogue Right click on an audio file in the local catalogue will give you a range of options 1 Play play the audio file 2 Rename rename your file M EPG ESEON 3 Move move your file to another audio folder ae in the local catalogue Delete Del 4 Delete delete your audio file Import Ins or F4 5 Import as described above PATT 6 Record record a new audio file Extract 7 Record Over record over the current audio file Goto Parent Folder Ctrl F9 8 Extract as described above Cece 9 Goto Parent Folder select the audio file and click this option will take you to the folder where the audio is located 10 Cancel Audio catalogue in story editing area STEERS Play In the story editing area right click on an audio file this will give you finport From DEK a range of options many
16. can add caption text to an image Double click on an image and a properties window will appear In the caption section type your text There is a default grey scale colour set for the banner and this can be changed using Text Colour and Background Colour This text will appear along the bottom of your image Adjusting the Alpha Level changes the transparency of the caption background Use the Set All option to apply the new effect consistently in your story 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 Timeline Settings General Duration secs Use Story Default aS Transition Use Story Default M Motion Effect Use Story Default x caption Text Colour Backg Alpha Level 100 a Timeline Settings e Story Default 7 Je story Cf change text and background S colour Caption Text Colour Backg a Alpha Level 100 Set All 19 3 3 Text amp Titles Text Images Audio Text Titles Settings This is a very important component of your story The Text This is our sample story tab displays information in your story description when uploaded to the website Information here can add another level of detail to your story This gives the viewer more information about your story We have located the story at their north Queensland The photos are provided courtesy Blue Range Station Title Slides title and author The Titles tab in the editing area allo
17. ce and select the image where you want the change to occur Click on the Time O to set the volume level you want the track to change to and click Add The idx indicates the image number in the story ee timeline A list of your volume changes appears in the window on the left As in the image to the right You can select these settings from the list and either update or delete the setting k Time Bll i Yol 75 You can also set detailed adjustments to the timing of your volume changes by typing the specific time in seconds that you want your volume changes to occur directly into the time field as in the image to i l me D v Volume Changes the right Select your audio track click once and type in the time where you want the change to occur e g 27 27 secs Set the volume level e g Vol 20 you want the track to change to and click Add Story Editing Right Click Options In the story editing area right click on an audio file will give _ Images Audio Text Titles Settings 5 OOo 1 Add to Timeline adds audio track to timeline Name Time 2 Play plays audio track Acoustic Picking 01 es mainis ii Acoustic Picking 03 AN 3 Import from Disk imports audio file c aeng Acoustic Picking 04 Play 4 Record records audio Acoustic Picking 05 5 Record Over erases previous recording Acoustic Picking 06 a EEE i j icli ecord 6 Goto Parent Folder Select the audio file a
18. ceStories software 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 2 1 Using the PlaceStories Catalogue Managing Media and Projects The Local Catalogue has been designed as a digital media and project management tool It provides users with a place to organise all the media they will use in creating stories and projects in PlaceStories The main types of digital media are images audio and documents Most of the common file formats are supported i i placestones Chent Tool Version 2 3 6 beta File View Map Help Local Catalogue amp gj A E d Catal d i cd general folders 3 Demnate Jd Audio Loops a IF Sample EREJE Add Project Add Folder Web Server Using sample content The full install of the PlaceStories software includes sample project with media content to help learn the software in the following sections The image files are from Blue Range Station in north Queensland These are provided for you to try the image catalogue and editing areas The audio files are copyright free music loops that will also be handy in creating stories From time to time we will provide new loops and audio files to download and install from the PlaceStories website We have created a simple sample story for you to practice with in the story editing area Place Stories At the top of the Catalogue some default General Folders have been pro
19. e Te Uy ee ee If you have not saved your catalogue file for more than Backup Succeeded a one week PlaceStories prompts you to save it We J Your catalogue database has been backed up successfully recommend you take this option l Catalogue Upgrade Error If your catalogue file does become corrupt you will get an error message like this image on the right j a E The document load Failed Code 0x0 The process to revert to the last saved version of your Sues ee chee catalogue is as follows Description null From File select Browse Catalogue Data Folder File Backup Export Map Help Click on the Catalogue Folder Open Catalogue Close Catalogue You will see a number of files with an appendix of bak These are the catalogue XML backup files Find the Catalogue XML file and change its name by adding a number such as 1 to the Exit end of the name Hover over each of the bak files to find the file with the most recent date stamp Make a copy of that file and then change the name of the copy to catalogue xml The software should open and run properly with all the work and stories from your most recent backup of the catalogue file Browse Catalogue Data Folder PlaceStories Version 3 1 0 build 705 beta Backup Export Map Help Catalogue Database Entire Catalogue Entire Catalogue Back up Option F General Images Jd General Audio Ee General Documents This option creates a copy
20. e text field Use the text size buttons and the scrolling tools to help manage longer scripts Now record narration following the process described above Once you have finished Step 1 Select next to save the voice audio recording This will launch a wizard to save your recording Step 2 Give your recording a name e g narration 1 Step 3 You can choose which project or other folder in your catalogue to put the audio files Then select next Step 4 You can add keywords and a text description to help catalogue your recording Step 5 You can choose to keep the master at its original format or convert to efficient size for use in the software Audio Editing extracting You can extract a section of audio from a file to use in your story Select Audio from the media type options across the top menu bar and select the audio file from which you want to make an extract BY Extract Select the extract icon Extract Audio Step 1 of 5 Making an extract is like cropping a photo in the Extract the required section of audio image editing area You make an extract by pressing the plalyPe tton and when you get to 1S r e Extracting from Acoustic Picking 04 You make an extract by pressing the play button and then at the start of the section you want to extract press the S button and at the end of the section press the E BIE FR Sas RE DG Ye Deen ae eee A act by pressing Cle
21. el 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 Edit Edit Document The editor For this document is about to be opened You will be editing a temporary copy of this document When you have Finished editing save your changes and return to the client tool There will be a dialog box where you can elect to either save or discard the edits you made ok cancel 16 Section 3 Story Editing 3 1 Editing stories 3 2 Using story settings 3 3 Text and Titles 3 4 Building a soundtrack Overview Now the media is organised it is time to create and edit your stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 17 3 1 Editing Stories The Story Editing area will launch when you create a new Local Catalogue story as detailed in the Quick Start Exercise in Section 1 The tabs at the top of the media window allow you to choose _ Images Audio Text Titles Settings between images audio text titles and settings The Media Window will display the images in the image folder He from the current project and the first image will be displayed in na O De the story viewer as a preview SRS aK Rn Hee o eee Important Tip When using the media window in the story editing area you can access all of PlaceStories Version 3 1 0 build 765 beta the media in your ioe scp Eines cia tee catalogue by using the F ocal Catal gue drop down menu Images
22. en the story is personal journey Stories about growth and development can work well using the drift out option Other times the still images are the best way of getting the message across It is recommended that for logos and Text screens you should select None as the Motion Effect in your timeline settings 11 You ve got to laugh A bit of humour in the right place can really help your story along Captions can also add another dimension to your story A relaxed voice will usually engage a viewer more than a more formal speaker Try writing your script as if you are writing a chatty postcard to a friend 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 30 5 2 Videos and email support Placestories system provides a growing range of help and support services The Help menu contains a email help link user guide and video help files 5 3 Backing up and reverting to saved catalogue file The backup menu in the main menu provides two important backup options PlaceStories Version 3 1 0 build 765 beta Catalogue File Back Up Option Export Map Help g i D The catalogue database backup option saves your main f Hke Catalaguer catalogue file This file contains all the relevant data to e control the media elements you use in your stories If the catalogue file becomes corrupt your PlaceStories software BiSiFi F General Images JJ General Audio General Documents cannot load and play your stories JJ Audio Loops F
23. he image Click on another image to add more captions Right click on an image and select set as default image to set the thumbnail image for your story Motion Effect Use Story Default X Caption Dog Text Colour Backg a Alpha Level 100 z Set all Step 9 Select the titles tab from the media window Click and drag a text screen into the timeline Double click on it and click in the window to type the text you want Choose your own colours and font size to suit Duration secs 6 x Transition Use Story Default NRCS Motion Effect Use Story Default Text Colour Backg CM This is the text screen in my first story a Font Size Step 10 Press Save and return to the catalogue You ll see a thumbnail image of your new story You can double click on this image to open the story again in the editing area and continue to experiment with images audio titles and settings KEEF Baat nit cil N a E tae 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F Section 2 Managing media 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 Using the PlaceStories catalogue creating projects Working with images import crop effects Working with audio import record voice narration extract Working with documents import view edit Overview This section details the cataloguing media management functions and editing tools in the Pla
24. igital Stories So you have finished editing and are ready to publish your story You need to be online and have logged in to your PlaceStories community In the Local Catalogue of the PlaceStories software click on Story tab Story Select the story you want to publish Click the Publish icon gt Publish A dialogue box appears explaining that your data will be zipped into a file ready for you to upload at the PlaceStories community when you click the Publish option Publish Story Publish Story Our Rivers Our Rights Your story is always published at a web Friendly quality You can also elect to publish at high quality as well This will take longer to upload es I also want to publish a high quality version of my story If you click on the High Quality Version this wil take longer to upload to the web Click Publish Go to the PlaceStories website Zip File Click Select Story Package select story package A dialogue box appears Press Ctrl V to paste your zip file data Then click Open Title Now you can add or edit information to the Title and Description areas Also add an appropriate URL Select Next Location You can provide a general written location and or locate your story on a map Select Next Visibility amp Sharing You have options here to set the viewing status of your story to either Public or Private and whether you want to share your story with others When finished select
25. in the Audio Catalogue Please note if you are using a USB headset to record voice please save your work close the PlaceStories software and plug the USB headset before you restart the program This ensures the software knows the headset is available to use Select Audio from the media type options across the top menu bar Select the record icon to launch the record audio wizard tec You can also access this voice recording wizard from the record button in the story editing area Place Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 12 e Click on microphone icon and select the microphone 6 source you are using e Logitech USB Headset Microphone o Check your audio recording levels with a short test recording before trying a real recording e Press the red record start stop button to Record Audio Wizard start recording It changes from circle to a Siar eins ai RA red square choose mic e Speak into the microphone and press the red button again to stop the recording This is the sgt for the narration for my sto s a set recording level You capes paste this window and then record the o e Press the review button to check your test audio for your story recording i e Use the microphone slider bar to adjust recording level if required Around 75 is generally a good level for voice recording with an audio headset Script you can type or paste a script or some prompts into th
26. les for example the performer speaker and composer You can also provide the same detail for multiple audio files by firstly selecting the audio files typing the detail and E3 clicking Place Stories Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 11 Importing Audio iR Select Audio from the media type options across the top menu bar 2 Select the import icon Please note you can also access the audio import function from in the story editing area For both options Import will bring in audio files from your existing computer audio library from a digital voice recorder or USB MP3 device This launches a wizard that takes you through the process step by step e Step 1 You can select multiple audio files from multiple places to import to your catalogue at the same time o Step 2 You can set a new name for the audio files If you set a new name for more than one audio file the names are given a sequential number e Step 3 You can choose which project or other folder in your catalogue to put the audio files o Step 4 You can add keywords and a text description to help catalogue your audio files e Step 5 You can choose to keep the master at its original resolution or convert to efficient size for use in the software At any stage in the audio import process you can select the finish button and PlaceStories software will use the default settings to complete the operation Audio Recording Voice recording
27. ls in these slides can be edited in the titles area The images from the sample project are displayed in the media window There are two ways to add an image to the timeline Double click on an image to add it to the timeline or click and hold an image and drag it into the timeline When the image is positioned between two other images an arrow appears Release to drop the image Step 5 Keep adding images until you have a half a dozen or so in the timeline Drag and drop images in the timeline to change the order in which they appear Use the undo redo buttons if you want to go back or forward a step undo redo placeStories Client Too File View Map Help Step 6 Select the audio tab from the media window You will seethe piesen sample audio loops Double click one to preview Click and drag one Eeee m Ganna an Name Time Date A Acoustic Picking 01 0 08 Sat Sep O icking 02 0 08 Sat Ser of the audio loops into the area below the timeline Switch from Narration to Music Loop and select add Step 7 PlaceStories uses some default settings to present your images and audio Press the play button to watch your story Duration secs Use Story Default 5a Transition Use Story Default X Step 8 Double click on one of the images in the timeline to open the settings Click in the captions window and type to add a caption to t
28. n bottom right toggles between playback of the different compressed versions of the audio files master dvd low web Low web is the version that is uploaded for web published stories The headphone button bottom right lets you choose the audio output ol headphones speakers Make sure you select your headset before recording Use the sort button to change the order of the audio files By default the audio files are daxted alphabetically by name a z Use the search field to find audio files searching by name keywords as a e description narration or date added Audio Information Fields Use the arrow at the far right hand side of the window to show or hide the audio information fields You can use the name and keywords fields to edit and make changes try clicking in the name field and changing it hit return to update and save your changes In addition to the general information the row of tabs under the bottom of the information fields allow you to do some advanced cataloguing of your audio For each audio file you can add details V1 e Description type or paste in a detailed text description for the audio o Narration if you typed a narration script you can access and edit it e Stories see a list of stories the selected audio is used in Map Location set the geographic location of an audio files or files Text Tags add additional information relating to an audio file or fi
29. nd click seas gees pie this option will take you to the folder where the audio nota cpeee __ is option will take you to the folder where the audio i Sli p y Acoustic Slide 04 Goto Parent Folder Ctrl F9 is located Acoustic Slide 06 7 Cancel Ambient Beat 01 Cancel 3 0 bota Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 22 Section 4 Publishing PlaceStories 4 1 4 2 4 3 4 4 Publishing Digital Stories Publishing to CD Copying data Overview Once you have completed your digital story or stories it s time to publish your work To publish online you need to upload your work through the PlaceStories software to the PlaceStories website You need to have a PlaceStories account You can join any public PlaceStories Community Also if you are publishing to a Project ina Community you need to be a member of that Project You can also publish off line by burning your work to a CD rom Place Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 fe 23 4 1 Publishing So how is publishing managed in PlaceStories Unlike many other user generated content systems eg Youtube Facebook MySpace all PlaceStories content goes through a Community approval process before it becomes public This ensures work shared is relevant and appropriate to the purpose of the Community This requires some users to have different roles and privileges within each Community See the User Privileges in the Introduction to this User Manual 4 2 D
30. nges and end in the story and the timeline influences roe Lvs A Update Delete To cue your audio track o select the audio track by clicking on it once e in the timeline click the image where you want the audio track to start and click the start box Start o e then click the image in the timeline where you want the track to SEEEEE end and click the end box End o es lia Mute amp Delete Audio Track You can mute your audio track by clicking the icon Click on the down arrow on the audio track to give you properties Stretch To Entire Timeline delete and stretch to entire timeline options Cancel Place Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 21 Timeline influence Audio Settings Adjust the timing of your images to fit with the e wre ere ee soundtrack If your recorded voice track is longer Tag voima F Mute than your story timeline select Adjust All to Fit start 0 a and this will adjust the timing of your images to exactly fit the length of your voice track i i i volume Changes Adjust All To Fit Selecting the Adjust Last to Fit changes the adjust Last To Fit duration of the last image in the story to fit nea exactly the length of the selected audio track Timeline Influence Volume Changes There are two ways you can set the volume of each audio track to change up or down at different times during your story Select your audio track click on
31. on of stories from your F General Images catalogue that will self load and play in a computer disc drive This is a fd General Audio handy way to share and present your stories offline E General Documents JJ Audio Loops Insert a CD into your drive g E Sample Project Choose Story from the media type and select the All folder li Images Select the stories you want to export JJ Audio e From the top file menu items select Export then Export Stories to Documents DVD CD 5 Stories File Backup Map Help a All Export Stories To DYDICD Search Results I 1 E L Local C C History e Select Burn directly to CD or Export to another drive handy if you want to run your story off a thumb drive on another computer Select Next Leave the framework design as is e Give your CD a Project Title In Logo Image File choose a logo optional Give your project a description this appears on the CD e Select Next this will transfer your files to the CD Select Finish e A Writing Wizard name your CD and select Next Once the files have been written select Finished Place Stories Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 25 Export to a Drive e Select Export to a directory Select Next e Select a directory or create a folder e g create a folder on your thumb drive Select Next e Give your export a Project Title o In Logo Image File choose a logo to go into export file opti
32. onal e Give your export a description Select Next Select Finish this will then open the folder where your stories were exported to You can play your stories by clicking on the 5 4 Copying Data You can copy your data from one computer to another This allows you to move your work between computers or to upload a story ies to the database From File in the Main Menu select Browse Catalogue Data PlaceStories Version 3 2 5 build 3100 beta Folder Backup Export Map Help Open Catalogue This will take you directly to where your Data folder is located Close Catalogue Click on the Data folder and Copy Browse Catalogue Data Folder Exit Fie Edit view Favorites Tools Help ae e Back gt a pb Search Wey Folders Address C Documents and Settings Feral Arts Go Folders E Feral Arts E PlaceStories OF D Catalogue fm Maps Paste the Data folder to a disk memory stick Important Note f you have existing stories on the second computer pasting the data folder will override the current stories To avoid this rename your data folder e g Data 2 On the second computer you are pasting the Data 2 folder to install the PlaceStories software if it is not already installed e Copy your Data 2 folder on your memory stick File Backup Export Map Help e Open the PlaceStories software Open Catalogue o From File in the Main Menu select Browse Catalogue Data Folder Close Catalogue Paste
33. or filename Date created etc File Type amp Full File Mame Click the icon to add data Importing Documents Select Document from the media type options n man uaa EE Document across the top menu bar Select the import icon Import Step 1 You can select one or several documents from multiple places to import to your catalogue at the same time Step 2 You can set a new name for the document s to be imported If you set a new name for more than one document the names are given a sequential number Step 3 You can choose which project or other document folder in your catalogue to put the documents Step 4 You can add keywords and a text description to help catalogue your documents Select finished Place Stories F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 15 View Document Select document and select View icon This will open your document Edit Document YJE Select the document and click on the Edit icon A copy of your document will be opened in the same file format e g Word for you to make changes Once you have made your edits save the file Return to the PlaceStories software and select Save Edits Edit Document Edit Document You are currently editing the document Beta Testing Agreement in an external editor When you have Finished editing the document return here and click Save IF you don t wish to save any edits you may have made then simply click Canc
34. ort 5 3 Backing up and reverting to saved catalogue 5 4 Known bugs and issues 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 28 5 1 Storytelling in PlaceStories Tips to get you started 1 Keep it short We encourage users to create stories between one and two minutes long This keeps stories small enough to download and view online over slow connections Research into internet use shows people viewing content online tend to click away after a couple of minutes As a rough guide if you are working from a written script keep it to no more than 360 words half a page Even speaking quickly that s all you have time to say in 2 minutes If each image screen is on average five seconds long your 2 minute story will use 24 images You will probably be surprised how much you can convey in a short story 2 Stick to a single idea What is your story about Don t try to tell lots of stories in the one PlaceStory The system is much better suited to a series of short connected stories You can use PlaceStories to create longer pieces but we don t recommend trying to share them online You are better off burning those projects to a CD rom or presenting to an audience directly from the software If you are creating a longer project like an oral history for example we suggest making a number of short stories that can either be viewed together like chapters or individually if you just want to see part of the story 3 What s your starting
35. pdates as provided by Microsoft We will endeavour to inform members of relevant updates as appropriate 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F
36. ry not to talk the whole time Leave some space for the pictures music or text to tell the story 8 Missing pictures If you find you are a little short on images for your story here are a couple of tips Try cropping your images to get a close up or two or try adding a text slide to help connect the visuals and fill the gaps Some great PlaceStories have been created from a single photo scanned in at a high resolution You could also be able to take a few filler images of everyday objects with a digital camera and bring them straight into the story Generic images like open doors sky sunrises nature shots close ups of cups of tea or animals will often fit neatly into a story and add another dimension You can also stretch the length of time key images appear to help fill empty spaces Also check Flickr for images people are happy share Make sure you have selected an image under the Creative Commons licence and attribute the creator of the image in your story 9 Need audio Check the online audio sharing website SoundCloud and search for PlaceStories There will be some small audio file there that you can download import into PlaceStories and add as a loop to your story 10 Motion Sickness The default effect of the story settings is a drift in drift out and while it works in lots of situations it can get a bit much for some stories Think about the meaning attached to the movement Sometimes drift in works well wh
37. story editing area Right click on an image in the story editing area will give you another range of options e Sort by allows you to sort the images by name or date added Add add as the last image in your story timeline Sort By Insert adds image to the space next to the selected space in Prg the timeline UN e Replace replaces the image in the selected position in your Add To Start story timeline with the selected image cae e Add to Start add as the first image in your story timeline apart From De Edit gives you the range of options as detailed in Image Import From TWAIN Source Editing Goto Parent Folder Ctrl F9 e Import from Disk imports images as described above ees Import from Twain imports images as described above e Goto Parent Folder takes you to the folder where the image is located There are also other options when you right click on an image in the story timeline which are dealt with in Creating and Editing Stories 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 10 2 3 Working with Audio Audio Catalogue This section provides an overview of the main functions in the Audio Catalogue Many of the functions are similar to those detailed in the Image Catalogue Start by selecting the audio folder in the sample project in the Local Catalogue You should see the list of sample audio loops provided with the software You can preview these files with the audio player The Master butto
38. t having to do other compression and resizing At any stage in the image import process you can select the finish button and PlaceStories software will use the default settings Twain Image Import If you select Import and then Acquire from a Twain Source you can bring images into PlaceStories directly from a scanner mobile phone or other TWAIN devices This can be especially useful if working with historical photos and documents Import From Disk Acquire From A TWAIN Source Digital Camera Scanner etc Cancel You will need to have the scanner driver already installed on your PC to make use of this feature You can get some great results scanning small photos at high resolution to get multiple highlight images from a single photo Try using settings between 600 and 1200 dpi Some users have created whole stories from a single historical photo 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F Image Editing Properties You access the image editor either through the image catalogue or the ne ay From mere story editing area Highlight an image in either area and right click select aa edit image ern x Set As Default Image Alternatively in your image catalogue select Edit Ea j Cancel You can edit images as you would in other common photo editing programs ost Crop a You can create several images out of one high F a y resolution image by cropping highlights and saving them as new images in your
39. vided for storing general media Items images audio documents that you use in a number of different PlaceStories projects Soonsors logos are a good example for images The History Folders at the bottom of the catalogue lets you view the media you have added to the catalogue recently The Search Results folder shows the outcomes when you search the catalogue Adding Projects to the Catalogue At the bottom of the Catalogue is an Add Project button This enables you to add new projects to organise your work You can also add sub projects as your work grows Within each project individual folders are provided to manage the images audio documents and stories related to that project You can also customise your project further by adding your own new folders as required BAER f f de 3 0 beta Draft User Guide Version 3 3 1 F 2 2 Working with Images Image Catalogue This section provides an overview of the Image Catalogue Let s work with the images in the sample folder Start by selecting the images folder in the sample project in the Local Catalogue You should see thumbnails of the twelve sample images The default view is a contact sheet in which you can see thumbnail images of each of the photos in the current image folder 1 Use the slider to increase or decrease the size of the thumbnails in the contact sheet 2 Use the toggle button to change from a contact sheet view to a _ preview mode
40. ws you to set text for Local Catalogue your Title Caption story Author and Text slides When you _ mages Audio Text Titles Settings create a new story Title and Author slides are set as a T Sample Story a default The default author slide is taken from your computer Caption This is our sample story For PlaceStories login name You can change the information in these fields by sara ae clicking and editing The changes will be updated when you save or update your story You can add a one line caption for your story Double click or drag and drop a special title element to add it to F a ee e 7 E Text Slides Add a text slide to your storyline by double clicking on the text slide icon or dragging and dropping into the desired position in the storyline Double click on the slide and a properties window will appear Type your text select your font colour size and background colour Title amp Text Slides Right Click Options Right click on a Text or Title in the local catalogue will give you a range of options 1 Add add the selected slide to the story timeline m ae 2 Insert add slide to position next to the selected position in the timeline Mair coe Add To Start 3 Replace replace the selected slide in the story timeline 4 Add to Start add a slide to start of story timeline 5 Cancel Add Insert Cancel Place Stories F 3 0 beta Draft User Guide
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