George!  It is not obvious to me....how can I shorten the time?  I dont want to do each one individually.  Can I do it in one fell swoop?

No problem, I am usually better at describing how to do it.  Ok, so select all of the photos you want to shorten, then right click on your mouse.  A dialogue box will come up, the third one down should say "change photo length"  click on it and you can either use the slider to adjust the length of those photos, or type in a number in terms of seconds and fractions of a second.  Then you can choose to click on "apply to all" in case you may not have selected all the photos, or "apply to selected".  I am not sure why 7 seconds is the default, I rarely have a photo on screen for more than 2 or 3 seconds unless I am doing a lot of pan and/or zoom on that particular photo or if I have built a photo collage.  I hope this helps, if not come back and I will put up a quick Youtube video showing exactly how I do it.

George

Thanks worked great.  Dropped me 6 minutes. 

Now can you help me put music on?  I saw your youtube tutorial but I already have them as mp3s.

Also I want to add a video clip that I took driving up to the High School - I may be chatting in the background.  Can I add just the video part?  It is a high school senior class slideshow so I thought it would be neat to pretend they were driving up to the school one last time.  :)

Hi,

I actually like the concept that you are going for.  It kind of reminds me of some videos that I have done in the past.  If you already have the .mp3 files, just drag it or them into the timeline and position them where you want them to be.  Do the same with the video clip.  It you want to bring in the entire video clip at one specific spot in your production, bring it in in the "scene" mode, and it will be a lot easier than having to move things around.  Put the audio tracks in last after you have placed the video scene.  Make sure that you mix down your audio file, add EQ and maybe even master it with the other audio just to make sure it sounds great instead of just good.  I know that timing on these types of projects make it hard to get everything perfect, but the more work you put in, the better your production will be.

George

Hi, I missed one part of your question.  Yes, you can just add the video part and not the "chatting" on the drive.  When you drag the video into the timeline the way I suggested, you need to make sure that the video is not grouped with the audio.  I actually don't know if "digital photo maker" will allow you to do this, but movie edit pro certainly will.  If it is only this one clip, send me a private message on this site with your email, I will reply, and you can send me the file, and I will split the audio and video tracks for you and send them back to you.

George

ps, I am not even sure why I am offering to do this other than I like the project that you are working on, and want to encourage you to keep going in your creative endeavors.  I actually do this for a living, but sometimes when a post reasonates with me, I offer some of my services for free.

Hi,

Another thought, if your audience is high school students, then, I would cut down the photo length to 1 or 2 seconds.  Fast cuts (jump cuts) will register in that time frame, the point will be made and then you move on.  Don't use fades or transitions (they consume too much time), just cut, cut, cut.  These students will get it, because they are used to it.  Not sure if you are a teacher or a active parent, but if you want to keep the attention of a under 20 year old audiene, use fast jump cuts.  They will get it!!

George

Hi George!  Figured out how to drop the audio - right click on video clip.  Boy this product has a lot of features. 

You must have fun doing this and I appreciate the offer - I have shortened my display time too, per your suggestion.  I agree.  I do not want them bored.  I am an active parent and this is my oldest child graduating and I want this slideshow to be great!