• Registered: 2016-08-29
  • Posts: 4

Topic: transition duration

I would think that the transition duration between slides would be a part of both slides' time duration and not add or take away total time of the slide project. That doesn't seem to be the case because when I change the duration of the transition between two slides it messes up the timing of the slides with the synced music going forward.  Am I missing something?

And while we're on the topic of transitions, what's the difference between a constant speed transition and a smooth transition?

Thanks.

  • From: Travelling the world :)
  • Registered: 2014-01-24
  • Posts: 359

Re: transition duration

dfwpike wrote:

I would think that the transition duration between slides would be a part of both slides' time duration and not add or take away total time of the slide project.

That's totally correct. The transition duration is a part of both slides' time duration, so it's not an additional value. You can clearly see it if you switch from Storyboard to Timeline.

dfwpike wrote:

when I change the duration of the transition between two slides it messes up the timing of the slides with the synced music going forward.  Am I missing something?

The point is that during the transition, both slides are on the screen simultaneously. You can see the previous slide disappearing and the next slide appearing - both of these happening at the same time. So, for two slides, if the duration of each slide is 7 sec. and the transition duration is 2 sec., the total is 7+7-2 = 12 sec. In other words, for the first 5 seconds, slide 1 is on the screen on its own, then there are 2 seconds when it is being wiped off / dissolved etc. and slide 2 starts to appear, and for the next 5 seconds, slide 2 is on the screen. I hope you get it now.

So, if you change the duration of some transitions, the total slideshow duration will change inevitably. For example, if you make transitions longer, the whole slideshow will become shorter.

dfwpike wrote:

what's the difference between a constant speed transition and a smooth transition?

It's about animation modes actually. In smooth mode, there is some acceleration at the start, then constant speed, and the object slows down towards the end - it's all to prevent jerkiness.

  • Registered: 2016-08-29
  • Posts: 4

Re: transition duration

Thanks for the response, Lesley.

You say the transition duration is a part of both slides' time duration and is not an additional value, yet later you say if you change the duration of some transitions the total slideshow duration will change inevitably.  Not sure what you mean. I'm currently working on my first slide show and initially thought the former would be true, but am now beginning to wonder.

Let me give you an example of my dilemma.

I'm creating a slide show with slides A thru Z that is synced to a soundtrack. Each slide comes in at a certain point in the soundtrack so timing is important. Let's say I've completed the project and all is good but then I decide to change the transition duration between slides C and D from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. The slide duration of slides C and D are both 7 seconds. I would think that increasing the transition duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds would just affect slides C and D, but what I'm finding out is that making this change causes the timing of slides E through Z to be off with the music.

Why is this happening if the slide durations haven't changed and, supposedly, transition durations don't add time?

Thank you.

  • From: Travelling the world :)
  • Registered: 2014-01-24
  • Posts: 359

Re: transition duration

dfwpike wrote:

You say the transition duration is a part of both slides' time duration and is not an additional value, yet later you say if you change the duration of some transitions the total slideshow duration will change inevitably.

The transition duration does not add to the slideshow duration - that's true. It's vice versa actually. The longer the transitions, the shorter the slideshow.

I'd suggest that you re-read my explanation above, make a small test project of 4 or 5 slides, activate the Timeline mode (as opposed to Storyboard) and play with the timing there to see what happens. You can see it all in the Timeline - just look at the slide thumbnails, transition thumbnails and the actual timeline - try changing the transition duration and see how the slides move.

dfwpike wrote:

... then I decide to change the transition duration between slides C and D from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. The slide duration of slides C and D are both 7 seconds. I would think that increasing the transition duration from 2 seconds to 3 seconds would just affect slides C and D, but what I'm finding out is that making this change causes the timing of slides E through Z to be off with the music.
Why is this happening if the slide durations haven't changed and, supposedly, transition durations don't add time?

The total duration of slides C and D together was 7+7-2=12 sec. before you made the change. Now it's 7=7-3=11 sec. So if slide D ended at, say, 0:40, it will now end at 0:39 after the change. You can see that in the Timeline. This means that the rest of the slides will be 1 second off with the music.

  • Registered: 2016-08-29
  • Posts: 4

Re: transition duration

Ok, I think I'm beginning to understand things. I should probably spend more time looking at the timeline instead of the storyboard. Not sure I agree with the logic behind transition duration adding or taking away from the total duration of the two slides it's between but I'm sure there's a reason for doing it this way which I'll discover the more I delve into transitions. My thinking is that slides 7+7=14 duration should remain 14 total duration regardless of what the transition duration is (in other words, transitions should "overlap" and not have an affect on total slide duration)

At any rate, thanks for the feedback, Lesley. It's been very helpful. I'm glad I found this program. It's perfect for the project I'm working on.

Michael

P.S.  An "Undo" option in the Edit drop-down menu would be nice

  • From: Travelling the world :)
  • Registered: 2014-01-24
  • Posts: 359

Re: transition duration

Thank you for your feedback on the software Michael!

dfwpike wrote:

My thinking is that slides 7+7=14 duration should remain 14 total duration regardless of what the transition duration is

But it's not really 14! Well, it's 14 if you have a zero transition, that is, when slides change very fast, slide A immediately following slide B in a very dynamic show. In all other cases, it's less than 14 because there are always a few moments when both slides are on the screen at the same time. Here, I've made a screenshot to demonstrate this: https://i.imgur.com/XPBOSrT.jpg - so this is the moment when the 7 seconds belonging to slide A are not over yet, but the 7 seconds belonging to slide B already step in. Hope it's easier to understand now.

dfwpike wrote:

An "Undo" option in the Edit drop-down menu would be nice

It's on our updates plan as far as I know.

  • Registered: 2016-08-29
  • Posts: 4

Re: transition duration

Ah. I've been oblivious to the fact that transitions equate to slides overlapping. Duh. Got it! smile

  • From: Travelling the world :)
  • Registered: 2014-01-24
  • Posts: 359

Re: transition duration

smile

  • Registered: 2018-02-08
  • Posts: 1

Re: transition duration

I want to see more of the slides and less of the transition. The transition is starting before the slide ends therefore cutting off the ending of the slide. How do I change this so I can see the whole slide when its an animated slide.

  • Registered: 2014-01-29
  • Posts: 311

Re: transition duration

You need to adjust the animation keyframes. Open the slide and switch to Animation. Select the last keyframe and drag&drop to move it to the left, so the animation will appear earlier than the transition starts.
I also recommend checking this tutorial out: http://smartshow-software.com/slide-ani … -types.php
It covers various types of animations you can make with SmartSHOW 3D. The video also shows how to edit the animation's settings to get the best result.

If you need a detailed guide, contact our support here: http://smartshow-software.com/support.php