Esotropiart

I have accumulated considerable man-hours working in various versions of Microsoft Powerpoint. I run the video ministry at my church from week to week, so it is an application of familiarity for me. I can't say I know it inside and out because I don't use every feature to the full. The presentations I create for worship services are not all that complicated. However, I feel pretty comfortable throwing together presentations of varying complexity and don't consider Powerpoint to have any features beyond the grasp of simple understanding. I know the programs' strengths and its limitations. I have been familiar with the concept and operation of presentation software for a long time, going back as far as memories of using a program called "Action 2.5" in the early 90s. About a year ago our church bought MediaShout, a program designed specifically for church use. I use MediaShout almost exclusively now for services but often combine the use of several other programs, including Powerpoint. If someone else prepares something for inclusion in the service, they invariably use Powerpoint (especially sermon notes and slides), so the program is in constant use.

Last week I had my first chance to utilize my presentation skills in a professional environment. My responsibilities at work are quite diverse, and I am often called on for a variety of tasks due to my gifts in media and arts. Our company had a sales conference last week on the East Coast, and my boss requested assistance in finalizing a Powerpoint presentation she prepared for display in a convention booth. She did most of the work in preparing the order and content of the slides. I simply re-arranged things graphically, added some verbage and formulated sleek transitions and animations to give the presentation a little extra zip.

The entire week beforehand I fed various photos and graphics to my boss as she requested them for the project. Most of the photos I shot myself with the company camera (suicide by camera). The most challenging task was to gather pictures that represent the company. I photographed the building and as many employees as I could. This is always a slightly under-enjoyed task because virtually no one wants to get their picture taken! One picture was really bad because I caught someone off-guard - kind of like a deer in the headlights syndrome. I fiddled with layers, cloning and liquefy in Adobe Photoshop and made it half look like he is smiling... it ended up in the presentation with no one the wiser! HA! Probably the most interesting picture I took was a group shot of everyone standing outside under the company logo. The event was arranged a day in advance. I picked an angle and stood on a tall, rickety wooden ladder to get the shot. It turned out surprisingly well - very professional, minus a few people who purposefully hid behind their coworkers (including me - behind the camera)!

My boss' final presentation definitely had my stamp on it, and I think it turned out great. Included were some slides presenting my recent redesign of the C2F website, as well as the version for schools. This was the first time my new designes had been revealed to the company by large, and I hear they were well-received. Our website in general is praised among our customers for its simple and effective interface and thoughtful featureset - something developed long before my involvement.

While the C2F Powerpoint presentation was originally designed solely for display in a convention, it wouldn't be surprise me to see it in use at other future functions as well. It was an enjoyable project and a rewarding experience. Of course, if I had more time, I would have produced a video using Blender particle effects and Serif Movie Plus! ;)