The default layout is "Fullscreen": it asks for a background ('fullscreen') element — a photo, for our purposes
— that is blown up to fill the whole slide. That means thatunless the image happens to be exactly sized to
match the window in which it is being presented, it will usually be cropped: the sides or the top and bottom
may be cut off in order to fill the screen. This item is designated by the plus sign on the left of the slide.
"Fullscreen" further asks for an additional element— which for our purposes mostly means a picture, but
could also be text, e.g. for a title slide or possibly for captions — and displays it centered in the middle of the
frame.
It is also possible, however, to use "Fullscreen" but simply never designate either the fullscreen or the
centered element; think about the differing visual effects of each, and play with it.
"Title and Text" is like a very specific "Fullscreen" layout, with an additional text element: it asks for a
fullscreen background, a large piece of text (the 'Title'), and an additional, smaller text elements. In addition,
you can drag the text elements to reposition them in various points around the slide. As with the other
layouts, none of the elements are required, so you may be able to achieve some very different effects by
using some or all of the potential elements
Adding narration
Each slide can have narration embedded in it, which you'll likely want for your Video, except perhaps for a
title slide. To record narration, click and hold on the microphone button at the bottom of the slide, and speak
into your computer or mobile device's microphone. Release when finished.
It takes just a moment for the recording process to kick in, so wait for a moment after clicking to begin
speaking, and continue holding for just a moment after you finish speaking to ensure your speech doesn't get
cut off.
If you need to re-record a slide for whatever reason, just click and hold again: the new recording will replace
the old one. (There is no way to undo this change or recover a prior recording.)
Captions
In addition to narrating your presentation aloud, your instructor may ask you to display the text of your
narration on screen. Such captions can be helpful for viewers who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are
learning the language, or who process information more readily in textual form. Be aware that, due to
technical limitations of the software, you may have to make creative decisions as to exactly how to
incorporate on-screen text.
If you or your instructor have chosen to include on-screen text in addition to spoken narration, you have many
options. All of the layouts include the possibility of having both text and image, so experiment to see which
best fits your purposes. Think about the rhetorical effects of having text superimposed on an image, as
opposed to below or beside it. For "Fullscreen" and "Title and Text" layouts you can drag the text around,
which creates different effects and spacings.
You also need to be aware that you may have more caption text than can fit in the designated text space, or
that the font size will be rendered so small as to be illegible. (Font size is not directly adjustable; adding more