Absolutely! Sideshows are a great way to share some memories with your guests. The North Garden Theater has a ceiling mounted projector that shoots a 12-15' wide image at our back wall behind the stage. Sideshows usually happen in the background during some or most of the event. You let us know when you want the slideshow to be playing. We usually recommend shutting the slideshow down if you have a dance portion of your event with louder music as we prefer to close the curtain.
We use two methods that allow you to create your slideshow at home on your own schedule and easily and seamlessly share it with us at the North Garden Theater. Both solutions are "Google" based applications. The first one is Google Photos and the second one is Google Slides. Both will require you to have an account with Google. Next, we'll share the "how tos" of each online method / application.
GOOGLE PHOTOS
Google Photos say they are "the home for all your photos and videos, automatically organized and easy to share." They are right! They do make it easy.
To create a slideshow on your desktop computer, first, open a web browser and launch the Google Photos site. Sign in to your account on the site if you haven’t already.
If you're starting from scratch, you'll need to upload your photos. You may already have photos there that you want to use or add to. You'll find the Up-load link in the upper right hand corner of your screen. Use that to get your photos uploaded.
Next, we suggest you create an album that you will decide which photos you'll want to include in the slideshow. To do this, click on the Albums link on the left hand side then click on the "CREATE ALBUM" link near the top right hand side of the page. Give your album a name and then add photos (follow the prompts on the screen)
Once you have your album you can test / view it by clicking on the three dots in the upper right hand corner. In the menu that opens, click “Slideshow” to test / view your slideshow. Your browser will go full screen and your slideshow will start playing. You can stop the slideshow at any time by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard.
Now you're ready to share your slideshow with the North Garden Theater. When you're in your album, click on the share icon (it looks like the "less than" symbol with dots attached). In the "To" field, type northgardentheater@gmail.com Our name and logo should pop up underneath, click it to select it.
Finally, hit the blue arrow to share with us.
GOOGLE SLIDES
The second method of creating a slideshow is a little more like a traditional power point experience. Except for you'll use Google Slides instead of Microsoft PowerPoint. Again, you'll need a Google Account.
To create a slideshow via Google Slides, first, open a web browser and launch the Google Slides site. Sign in to your account on the site if you haven’t already.
Go to Slides and click on the colorful + sign to start a new blank presentation. This will launch the slide creator.
Click near the upper left hand corner where it says "Untitled Presentation" to give your Slideshow a name and hit enter.
Get rid of the title and sub-title boxes by clicking on their box/frames. Selecting them will turn them blue. Then hit your delete or backspace key to get rid of each one.
On the right hand side, you'll find themes. You'll want to select the second one down which is called Simple Dark. This will make the background of your slides black which shows up the best at the North Garden Theater.
You're now ready to create your first slide out of many. Click on INSERT in the top menu, then float your mouse over the word IMAGE, then choose which method you want to use to get your photo there. You'll probably be uploading from your computer.
Once your image has been inserted on the slide, make sure it's centered. Drag and drop it in the center of the slide.
To create your next slide, go to the top left hand corner and click on the + underneath the Google Slides Logo. This will load your next slide. The "Click to add title" and "Click to add text" won't show up unless you click on them and want to add a title or text.
Repeat steps 6 through 8 to continue adding slides.
When you're ready to share it with us, click on the SHARE button in the upper right hand corner. Share it with northgardentheater@gmail.com
Some things to remember about your slideshow.
You can still edit your slideshow after you've shared it. Your changes will reflect in the shared version.
If there's a lot happening on the stage and the stage lights are up, the slideshow gets somewhat washed out. Your slide show will be more vivid with a dark stage. We do our best to optimize the lighting so the projection can look its best.
Please share your slideshow with the North Garden Theater at least a few days in advance of your event.
Please do not bring your photos on a flash drive, CD, or other separate medium.
Sometimes, we can open a Microsoft PowerPoint, but it does not always transition well.
There you have it! We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. We look forward to seeing your slideshow bring smiles to your face and the faces of your guests!
Comments