14 DAY TRIAL // It is a fact. Still pictures are no longer cool unless they are really artistic or the message they convey is moving enough. I feel assaulted with the slide show creators I find on the Internet these days. Most of them are pure, 100% crap. But now and then I stumble with a "piece" of software that deserves attention.
I generally do not like slideshow builders, for the simple fact that I consider them useless and a still single picture has more meaning for me. But the software I am going to present is a fun generator.
The name is Wondershare Flash SlideShow Builder, and its developer is Wondershare Software. The installation file is 11.1MB large and the price for having fun by creating slideshows with your pictures is $39.95.
The interface of the software couldn't have been otherwise than an utter success. The flash looking software has succeeded in creating an aspect that will make you feel like playing rather than working.
To complete your work, you have to go through five easy steps. The first one is browsing in your files for the images you want to star in your show. Next comes the editing that is not a very complicated task, as the software makes available all the options and you will not have to look for them too much.
The Effects stage is the third step for you. Here, you can choose from over two hundred transitions the application has to offer. The fourth step is called Theme, because you get to customize your slideshow with one of the thirty themes available.
At last, here comes the final step, which is Publish, and which will generate your flash show. The output options are SWF, online album, HTML, EXE or screen saver.
I guess the toughest choice, when working with this application, is choosing the pictures you want to include in your show. Editing them is quite a stroll in the park, as the software does not provide intricate menus or uncommon options.
The developer preferred to keep it simple and on the left side of the application window, there are the Basic Editings that contain functions like changing the brightness, contrast, apply a blur or sharpen the image. The user has also some more "advanced" options, like Photo Filter that will change the picture by making it look old (Old Film). Some other filters in here are White and Black and its opposite Black and White, Negative and Gray. If the user is not content with them, s/he can choose the No Effect option.
In the same window, on the right, we have the Photo Motion menu, Rotate and Crop and the Audio Record. This last feature surprised me, as it is uncommon to benefit from it in the usual slide shows creators. Press that red recording button and, if you have a mic, you can record anything you want for each of the slides.
Some other options in the Edit stage are the Text Settings. You can create a funny text list to add to your slides. You can define the color, the font type and size and you can add a text effect from the eight options available (Random Color, Wink, Piano, Target, Explode, etc.).
The effects will give you the chance to customize the transition for each slide or select one for all of them. There are three types of transitions: Basic, Cool and Wipe. In order to see if one of them is what you want, it is enough to double click it and you will see the effect in the preview window on the right.
The Theme selection menu is where you can add an opening and closing theme. Something like an introduction to the show, or a kind of "curtains up". The thirty themes available here can be customized by setting the scene size (default or custom). I noticed an Edit button under them, and I guess it is activated after you buy the software.
Another interesting option is adding audio files. I am not talking about recording them, but adding an audio file (.mp3 or .wav) from your computer. You can adjust the volume and "trim the music" by setting a begin time and an end time.
Publishing is the last step and the most important one, as it is here where you decide how you are going to use the slide show: as a SWF file, HTML, Screen saver, EXE file. Here you can make the retouching for your show (Normal or Hyperlink). Before publishing your work, you can preview the slide show in the preview window on the right.
The software also installs Wondershare Flash Theme Designer, which allows you to create themes that you can use to design your own themes, but that's another story that you have to discover by yourselves.
The Good
The software does an amazing job and the results are impressive. The easiness of making a nicely drawn screen saver or online album is stunning. It only takes five steps to get the job done. And although the software seems feeble at the beginning, you will find it has all you need.
The Bad
The software is a little too spicy for my wallet. Almost $40 is pretty expensive for me. But what do I know?
The trial is limited to 30 uses of the program.
The Truth
From the moment you install the application, it takes only ten minutes to create an amazing slide show.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
