Using TechSmith’s DubIt Program

DubIt is a simple program that allows you to create automated slide shows or movies. The advantage of DubIt is that you can add multiple pictures and then add narration for each picture without having to do anything complex. You can select the option of a custom slide show that will automatically keep the picture visible for the length of time that the narration plays for each frame. The instructions on these pages will demonstrate how to do just that.

Creating a Custom Slide Show using DubIt

1. Start > Programs > DubIt > DubIt

2. Click on File > New Show
   

3. Click the button next to Custom Slideshow if it is not already selected. Don’t worry about the default slide duration of 1 second because you’re going to be adding narration that will last longer than that for each frame. Leave Movie size for the largest image. However, if you have not resized your images ahead of time to something of reasonable size, you might find that this produces an immense file. Make sure your images have been resized to 640 x 480 pixels or 320 x 240 pixels. The bigger the picture, the bigger the resulting movie file.You can leave the background color for your movie as black or you can click on Set Background Color and choose any color you want. When you have finished making your changes, click OK.

5. You may add photos one at a time. If you have a list of photos you want, simply click on the first item in the row, hold down the shift key and click on the last item. All files in between those two points will be selected. Click on Open and all files will be brought in at one time. Note: You can also hold down the CTRL key and click on individual photos to select them one at a time when they are not in a series and still bring them all in at once.

6. Once you’ve selected your photos and they have been brought into the SlideShow Builder, you will see thumbnail images of them. It is now time to add the narration. You must first click on a slide in the row to let DubIt know that you are ready to go onto the next step.

7. When you selected a slide, the Slide Options button became available. Click on Slide Options (not Show Options). The properties for that slide are available. Notice that in the title bar for the Properties dialog box, you will see the title of the picture. You can choose to set an automatic duration for the slide (usually about 5 seconds) or you can use a pre-recorded audio file. You can create these using Sound Recorder or Audacity, etc. To add audio, simply click next to “Use slide audio” and then browse to where the audio file is located that goes with this particular picture. Make sure you save your audio files as WAV because DubIt doesn’t recognize other audio file types.

8. The audio files have been added to all of the slides. Click on a single slide. You’ll notice at the bottom of the SlideShow Builder, it will give you the properties of your entire slide show, as well as the slide properties for the one you have selected. When you’re all done, click OK. You’ll be returned to the main DubIt screen.

9. All the pictures and audio files have been added to the slideshow. Save your DubIt file. You’ll need it if you want to make changes later. We’re ready to produce our slide show as a movie. To do that, click on File, Create Movie. Select where you are going to save your movie. That’s important. You want to be able to find it later!

10. Your choices for movie types are AVI, RM, or ASF. The default (automatic) choice is AVI. That’s probably your safest bet because most programs recognize this format without problems.