How to make an SEG talk
Prepare the slides
- To create text and math slides
I write the text and formulas in TeX files such as example
a and
b.
I then bring the pages up with ghostview and shoot them
(see below).
- To compute the figures:
Here are two sample makefiles (
1 and
2
) that have rules to make great slide figures.
- To display Vplot figures:
Vplot figures I bring up on the screen
with a rule specified in the makefiles above,
and shoot the slides (see below).
- To display Postscript figures:
Postscript figures (e.g. made by xfig) I
create with a rule in the makefiles above,
include them in a
TeX file,
bring it up with ghostview, and
shoot the slides (see below).
I could convert it all to postscript and shoot it from a ghostview
display. But I guess I feel that the xtpen display of vplot is superior
to the ghostview display of the the figures postscript version.
Shoot slides from screen
- Get a 200 Asa film (Kodak Chrom for example).
- Get a SLR camera with stative and cable trigger.
- Set back ground either blue or black.
Copy this Xdefaults
file into your Setup directory.
- Darken the room entirely: glue the hallway window if necessary.
- Choose long exposure and small aperture (no screen streaks).
- Take each slide twice and vary the aperture slightly.
Here is another person and his experience:
Last week I ended up wasting about 5 hours trying to get the slide maker
to work. In the end I not only wsated my time, but also a role of film.
After a suggestion from Mani, I tried taking pictures of the screen, and I
must say that the results were impressive. I believe that the potential
for quality is probably higher as the screen resolution is better than the
slide maker's
If you need to make slides let me propose the following proceedure:
- 1) Arrange your slides in a presentation, or put all pictures in a
single directory, making empty space black.
- 2) Turn off lights, and set up a manual camera on a tri-pod a few
feet from the screen (leaving space to move it as necessary)
- 3) If you have a cable release then I recommend attaching it,
otherwise just try to be still as you take the pictures. I also ended up
needing to use my macrolens on a 50mm lens in order to get the screen in
focus at the desired distance. A longer lens may eliminate the need for
macro.
- 4) Move the tri-pod and camera in order to get the framing you
desire.
- 5) Focus screen. I found that it helps to focus on the edge, as
there will tend to be a straight line on the border which aids in
focusing.
- 6) Using the spot meter, adjust the aperture and shutter speed to be
correct for the brightest spot on the screen. Next, OPEN UP TWO FULL
STOPS (give it 4 times the exposure, putting the brights in zone 7) If
you are shooting on negative film instead of slide, then you must do the
opposite: meter the darkest spot and then close down two full stops.
- 6) It is recommended to use the longest exposure time possible to
overcome the flickering of the screen.
- 7) For next frame, repeat steps 4-6
- 8) Take to developer (Photo-time at the Stanford Shopping Center does
2 hour E-6 processing: $9.20 for 36) and voila.