Customizing Motion

By default, Photo Story will automatically chose the motion that your pictures will have.  However, you can easily customize this motion to focus on whatever you would like in your image.  Think about the story that you will be telling.  Do you want to reveal certain parts of the image as the story unfolds, or are you simply providing a more interesting view of your picture.

To customize motion

1. On the Narrate your pictures and customize motion page, click the picture for which you want to specify the motion, and then click Customize Motion.
2. In the Customize Motion dialog box, select the Specify start and end position of motion check box.

   A rectangle with handles appears on the picture in the Start position and End position boxes.

3. In the Start position box, do one or both of the following:
   • To resize the rectangle, point to a side or corner of the rectangle. When the cursor changes into a double-headed arrow, drag the handle.
   • To move the whole rectangle, point to the center of the rectangle. When the cursor changes into a four-headed arrow, drag the rectangle to the area of the picture that you want to receive focus when the picture first appears in your story. 
4. In the End position box, do one or both of the following:
   • To resize the rectangle, point to a side or corner of the rectangle. When the cursor changes into a double-headed arrow, drag the handle.
   • To move the whole rectangle, point to the center of the rectangle. When the cursor changes into a four-headed arrow, drag the rectangle to the area of the picture that you want to receive focus at the end of the video for that picture.
5. If you want the motion for the selected picture to start where the motion for the previous picture ended, select the Set start position to be the same as end position of the previous picture check box.

   Moving the rectangles clears the check box.

6. If this picture does not have narration and you want to specify the number of seconds it will be displayed when your story is played, select the Number of seconds to display the picture option, and then type or select the number of seconds you want the picture to display.
7. Click Save to save the motion and duration changes you made.
8. To preview the panning and zooming effects, click Preview.
9. When you are done customizing the panning and zooming motion for the pictures in your story, click Close.

Other Notes

• You should preview the panning and zooming effects for the picture to ensure that you achieved the desired effects. If you do not achieve the desired effect, you may want to try different start and end positions.
• If you do not want any panning or zooming effects for a picture, select the Set end position to be the same as start position check box. This option is also useful if you want the area for the start and end position to be the same size. Select the check box and then move the rectangle in the Start position box where you want it. When you move the rectangle in the End position box, the check box is cleared.
• If you want Photo Story to determine the number of seconds to display a picture, click the Set duration automatically check box.
• Clearing the Specify start and end position of motion, Set start position to be the same as end position of the previous picture, and Set end position to be the same as start position check boxes returns the start and end position for motion to the default positions.
• You can also customize motion or specify the number of seconds to display a picture on the Narrate your pictures and customize motion and the Add background music pages by right-clicking a picture, pointing the Customize Motion, and then clicking Motion or Duration.
• When you preview the panning and zooming effects, the preview resolution is 320 x 240 pixels. Your final video story may have a different resolution depending on the activity you select on the Save your story page.
• Clicking the Reset button in the Customize Motion dialog box discards all changes made to the selected picture on the Motion and Duration tab and on the Transition tab.
• You can save a project for your story at any time while working on the story by clicking the Save Project button. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the project. You must save a project for your story to be able to edit it later. Projects created by using Photo Story 3 for Windows must use a .wp3 file name extension. Otherwise, Photo Story will not be able to open the file. By default, the project for your story is saved in your My Videos folder.