"Envelope" project

[thedom]

I have finally finished my envelope demo (read the anouncement with the first pictures published here).

You can download this demo here.

I'm quite proud of the envelope that I designed entirely in photoshop.

The stamp was made with the help of panosfx stamp action. Download it here on http://panosfx.com

But to be honest, I'm not completely satisfied with the photo pile animation.

Please make comments about this demo to help me improve it.

I will make a template with your suggestions.

Thanks.

[jevans]

Hi Dom,

Very good as usual. The only thing I notice is the spelling of the word "vaccations" instead of "vacations". Maybe French spelling? I can't think of any changes that might make it better.

Thanks,

Tom

Hi Dom,

I am very impressed with all the effort you must put in to these effects and the stunning results. What a fertile imagination you must have. The only comments I would make about your latest effort is that I would prefer the envelope not to appear at an angle and then rotate to be level at the beginning. Also I do not like the transitions when the photos are opened. The zoom out followed by fade is a bit distracting. However this is just a personal opinion.

My favourite type of AV shows tend to be historical, describing a place, feature or event which I have researched. So I do not usually include special effects. However some of the techniques you are producing will give an added interest, provided I do not use them too much. My criterion for using any of the wonderful effects that we can now get with Version 5 is that they must add something positive to an AV show and have a particular purpose. But I am sure I can use some of your effects to add impact to my shows. Thanks for all your efforts.

Jeff

[morasoft]

Hi Dominique!

The stamp intro is impressive. A excellent work to add in your wonderful templates.

Thanks for share.

Morasoft

[Peter S]

Hi Dom,

I liked the opening part of your demo which I tought a very novel way of capturing someone's interest but, like Jeff I found the zooming distracting. Simple fades may be better. If you wanted to go a step further you could have a parcel that opened to reveal one of your excellent albums :rolleyes:

Kind Regards

Peter

[jfa]

Dominique, you have done it once again. Brilliant!! Great!! Excellent!! Well done!!

What is the font you used on the envelope? It looks very nice.

Will we be able to edit the text on the stamp? It would be good to change the text on the stamp to the location/subject of the images.

Oh did I say I like it?

[thedom]

As requested by most of you, I will remove the zoom out followed by fade.

I would prefer the envelope not to appear at an angle and then rotate to be level at the beginning

I will leave it as it is because it's really easy to modify in 1 click. Rotation = 0.

My criterion for using any of the wonderful effects that we can now get with Version 5 is that they must add something positive to an AV show and have a particular purpose.

I totally agree with you.

Actually, most of my templates are at the beginning effects on 2/3 slides that I make for my own slideshows to add impact.

And if I think it might interest, I make a template and give the ability to use it for 10, 20 or 30 slides without doing anything.

Those templates are only a start and can be modified for your own need.

If you wanted to go a step further you could have a parcel that opened to reveal one of your excellent albums

I can't imagine what you mean. Could you please give more details, or even better an image to illustrate. Thanks.

What is the font you used on the envelope? It looks very nice.

I don't remember what it is, I will check tonight.

What I know it's that it is a default font for Windows XP.

I will include it in the template in case you don't have it.

Will we be able to edit the text on the stamp? It would be good to change the text on the stamp to the location/subject of the images.

Yes, of course, everything can be changed on the stamp : amount, currency, country, date.

This are only "PTE text" objects which can be modified within seconds.

And the same for the lines of text on the envelope.

[mightec]

Dom

I would just like to add my thanks and congratulations for another stunning effect. My only minor comments, are (1) is it possible to change the way the photographs leave the envelope, can the envelope stay stationary and the pack of photographs come out of the envelope and lay on top of the envelope. (2) When the effect starts with the stamp should the Country, Date and Post Mark be seen right away and not after a delay. I hope that I have explained myself.

[Guest Techman1]

Dominque,

Hello. I hope you are doing well! Great job (as always) on this latest template. Here are my comments:

(1) Like others, the zooming of the slide out and fading to us seems to distract some. Maybe a simple fade to the next photo would look better (or even a zoom down to zero with the fade). Not sure! I know each person can modify your templates, so it wouldn't bother me the way it is.

(2) I like the stamp the way you have it. I like the idea of showing a key photo and all of a sudden it becomes a stamp on an envelope. Very cool!

(3) I like the way the envelope turns at the opening and as you say in your comments, you can always set it to "0" and not turn it if that's your preference.

(4) The rotation of the envelope (prior to the photos coming out) needs to happen a little faster so that the image doesn't look so 2D (flat) when you see the back side of the envelope.

(5) I like the idea that Mightec has about the photos coming out and laying on top of the envelope or having them come out and the envelope fades in the background. It might be a lot of work to do this, but it might look more natural than the envelope slipping off and out of the scene.

Great job as always and very usable as is. Thanks for sharing!

Best regards,

Fred

[thedom]

Mike, Fred, thank you very much for those detailed suggestions.

(2) When the effect starts with the stamp should the Country, Date and Post Mark be seen right away and not after a delay.

Once the template is released, this one will be really easy : on first slide, for all those objects (Country, Date and Post Mark), for the first keypoint, change the opacity : 0 => 100%

(1) Like others, the zooming of the slide out and fading to us seems to distract some. Maybe a simple fade to the next photo would look better (or even a zoom down to zero with the fade). Not sure! I know each person can modify your templates, so it wouldn't bother me the way it is.

I'm still thinking about what I will make. Will try a simple fade and see how it looks...

(2) I like the stamp the way you have it. I like the idea of showing a key photo and all of a sudden it becomes a stamp on an envelope. Very cool!

Thanks, I will leave it as it is.

(4) The rotation of the envelope (prior to the photos coming out) needs to happen a little faster so that the image doesn't look so 2D (flat) when you see the back side of the envelope.

Do you think I should simulate a tickness for the envelope ? (I did it for the photo album template).

(1) is it possible to change the way the photographs leave the envelope, can the envelope stay stationary and the pack of photographs come out of the envelope and lay on top of the envelope.

(5) I like the idea that Mightec has about the photos coming out and laying on top of the envelope or having them come out and the envelope fades in the background. It might be a lot of work to do this, but it might look more natural than the envelope slipping off and out of the scene.

Nice, I like the idea!

I will try to make it (with envelope fades in the background) probably this week-end or at the beginning of next week.

Thanks again for those ideas.

[mightec]

Dom

Thanks for taking on board the various suggestions, this will be another fantastic template, as others have said, " you are very innovative" Please keep them coming.

[Guest Techman1]

Do you think I should simulate a tickness for the envelope ? (I did it for the photo album template).

Dominque,

If you have the time to simulate a thickness in the envelope, it would probably look better. If you just speed up the rotation, it will look fine though. Maybe in Photoshop just add a little Bevel to the edges to give it a little thickness (unless you are doing everything in PTE).

Thanks again for working on this. I'm sure it will be very well received.

Take care,

Fred

[thedom]

Project modified.

V1.1 released and improved with some of your suggestions.

You can download the new version of this demo here.

Please let me know what you think before template.

Thanks.

[frets3]

Hi, Dominique,

My wife, Becky, who creates nice slideshows with iMovie, is envious that your "Envelope" effect is available for my PC, but not for her Mac. You may have converted her.

Great job!

David

[jfa]

Dominique,

I like v1.1 very much, the small improvements have made a noticeable difference for the better.

The only suggestion I could make for a further improvement regards the size of the images when viewed just before the final zoom and slide off the screen. I would like to see them a little larger.

Perhaps the image could be the size it becomes after the small zoom just before it slides off the screen, then it could do the zoom and slide off the screen from there.

Waiting for the template, thanks.

[mightec]

Hello Dom

Like others have said, I really do like this effect, it works very well with the recent changes. My only other comment would be with the ending, I think that there does need to be a finishing feature, perhaps the photographs should finish back in the envelope, not sure?

[thedom]

I agree with both suggestions :

- size of the images when viewed just before the final zoom

- photographs finish back in the envelope.

I will include those ideas and release a "clean" template.

But probably not before the end of the week because I have to work on the initial project which was just a draft...

[thedom]

Suggestions added in the demo (v1.2).

You can download the new version of this demo here.

Thank you again to both of you.

[Guest Techman1]

Dominque,

The latest version looks great! One thing that I would like to see is regarding the first image in the stack. As the stack initially comes forward the first image doesn't become full size before it is moved off screen (rather quickly). I personally would prefer to see it come up as the other images do, so that it can be viewed nearly full size as the rest of them.

The envelope's backside really looks much better in this version. The addition of the glue area, makes it look so much more realistic than in the first version. Good work!

Thanks again for all you do,

Fred

[thedom]

Fred, I included your suggestion.

Jetfanroy left me the same suggestion on my website.

I included Jetfanroy's other suggestion : Instead have having all the pictures flying off to the right - perhaps alternating right and left as each picture flies off

=> version 1.3 released.

I think it's the last version before template.

Probably in a couple of days...

[Ronniebootwest]

Hi Dom,

Your envelope effect is going to be very popular with everyone - it is an excellent piece of work. However I have just 2 comments to make that you may like to consider:

1. The picture should stay visible on the screen for a little longer just after it has 'zoomed' in, instead of sliding immediately off the the screen.

2. I am not sure that displaying your logo in the bottom right corner is wise, it will propably put people off from using the template for thier own slide shows.

Ronnie West

[thedom]

1. The picture should stay visible on the screen for a little longer just after it has 'zoomed' in, instead of sliding immediately off the the screen.

You can modify the display slide timing as you wish in "customize slide" ("main" tab)

2. I am not sure that displaying your logo in the bottom right corner is wise, it will propably put people off from using the template for thier own slide shows.

You just have to uncheck "show copyright logo" in "Project options" ("advanced" tab) to remove it.

I don't feel like "working" tonight and will watch one or two episodes of "The Shield".

I will probably release the envelope template this week-end.

Sorry for the delay.