How to Create PowerPoint Narrations on the Web

This page shows how to create narrated PowerPoint presentations using the RealMedia approach only. Click here to see a brief description of the WindowsMedia approach.

In order to make this discussion more concrete, we will use specific file names throughout this page. You should, of course, select your own names. We will create two sets of slides named "slide0.ppt" and "slide1.ppt", where "slide0.ppt" is the set of slides without any narration, and "slide1.ppt" is the same set with narration. This is because we may need to try over and over again to get the narration right, and so we can always return to the text/picture only version ("slide0.ppt"). To create and publish RealMedia PowerPoint narrations to the web, you:

• Invoke PowerPoint and create a set of text/picture only slides with no narration, and save it under two names: slide0.ppt and slide1.ppt
• Close the current file ( File > Close ) and open slide1.ppt ( File > Open ... )
• Click on SLIDE SHOW > Record Narration
• In the menu that opens up make sure that (*) Link Narrations in... is selected. This is very important or you won't save any sound files
• Now record each slide in turn using the microphone
• Save the file (slide1.ppt)
• Back in PowerPoint click on Tools > Publish to RealMedia.... This initiates a set of menus, some of which are merely informative and some of which require your input.
• In the next menu select (*) Internet as the desired option
• The next menu should show you a file named "slide1.rm"
• In the next menu you supply the title of your presentation, your name, and the date
• The next set of menus process your files; after that are some menus that require input:
  • In the menu that lists the file and buttons for Play, E-Mail Clip, and so on, select Create Web Page
  • Several menus later select (*) Embedded Player
  • In the next menu select Standard Player and click on (*) Auto Start (unless you want people to manually start your presentation)
  • In the next menu type in a caption (or leave it default) and select where you want it to go
  • In the next menu select the HTML file name, for example, C:\...\slide1.html
  • In the next menu click Finish. This takes you back to a previous menu
• Back in this menu, click on Publish Web Page
• A few menus later select Generic - No Defaults
• In the next menu select (*) Stream media clip from a Standard Web Server
• In the next menu you enter several values: the FTP server where your web page is to be placed, the directory where it goes, and your login name and password. Here at the UW, the FTP server is either homer.u.washington.edu, if you are faculty or staff, or dante.u.washington.edu if you are a student, and the directory is public_html. For example,

  FTP server:          homer.u.washington.edu 
  Directory:           public_html
  Login name/password: larryg  xxxxx
  

• In the next menu, you need to supply your Web Server (NOT the same as your FTP server) and the sub-directory where your web page will be. The Web Server is staff.washington.edu for Facutly/Staff, or students.washington.edu for students, and the URL directory is your login name or some sub-directory thereof. For example:

  Web server:    staff.washington.edu
  URL Directory: larryg
  

• Then click through the next few menus until you are done. When you invoke a browser and click on http://.../slide1.html you should see and hear your PowerPoint slide presentation.

Class Topics

Philosophy of MultiMedia Presentations

Hardware and Software Requirements

How to Create Narration of the Web

How to Edit Narration

Notes on Sound and Picture Quality

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