Just finished a HUGE multi-day presentation...happy to have survived! Suggestions for better organiz

I am accustomed to using 40-50 slides on a Sunday morning... I just finished s presentation at a 2-day conference where I must have had HUNDREDS of slides - many in 30 to 70 slide Powerpoint presentations, as well as a dozen or so videos from various organizations, photos, info slides and so on,. I was doing a favor for my bishop and running sound, video switching and filming (with some help on the cameras), integrating two laptops with different content, and even bringing in a little IMAG from one of the cameras. It was exhausting, but fun. I bought a Roland VR-4HD for the switching.

I have never had to use Proclaim on that level before. I found that the software was able to handle it, but it was difficult to find what I needed if it wasn’t in order. Finding a slide in the middle of a 30 slide presentation used the day before, while being ready to go to the next thing at the bishop’s request was sometimes harder than I would have liked. You can’t see the slides on the left column in an imported PowerPoint - so you end up scrolling on the iPad to find it. By the end of the event, I had the laptop, my iPad Pro and iPhone X all live with different options to click on. I was impressed with that, but it was more difficult to find things than it should have been. It was all in one huge Proclaim presentation because I would sometime have to gack and forth and revisit slides.

Do any of you have experience with mega presentations? How do you organine them so that you can’t find and access slides?

Another isssue I had was that when last-minute content was added WHILE THE SHOW WAS LIVE, the iPad app wouldn’t be updated to show the new content. I would go to select a newly added item in an already live presentation, and the iPad’s display wouldn’t see it unil I closed out the app and restarted it. Not really convenient. i thought you COULD add content while you were live. If the iPad app isn’t updated live, this is a problem.

Thanks for any input!

Pastor Larry Becker

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Comments

Justin (Faithlife)

Hello,

Glad to hear you're using it for such a large event!

As for the difficulty in navigation, are you using Full or Grid preview mode? Grid view will allow you to resize the thumbnails to find a better balance of visibility/efficiency of space. You may have already been using this though.

As for the PowerPoints not appearing, it looks like the slides were attached to an Image Slideshow, which only generates one thumbnail. Is there a reason you're preferring this route over using Add Item > Import Item > PowerPoint?

One recommendation which may help you, is to use the group functions. If you hold down the control key (or command on Macs), you can multi-select slides, and then right-click on them and select "Group". Would any of your slides be able to be grouped logically so you can locate certain slides better?

As for the remote app, at the moment it will not sync with added slides while the presentation is On Air. You don't have to close the app, but you would have use the back arrow, re-sync from the main screen, and select control again. We definitely hope to improve the functionality of the app and the way this syncing interacts in the future.

David J. Wilson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/981326#Comment_981326

We have been successful in using Proclaim for full day and multi day presentations at our Diocesan Synods over the past several years.

We have found that there are several sets of expectations that can present some logistical challenges that should be thought through in advance:

Music/ hymns: the intended timing during the day can often get switched from that originally scheduled, so can the number and selection of verses and unscheduled hymns can get added (all to keep the overall agenda on schedule). (Proclaim can often quickly add new songs just based on the title)
Items such as motions and elections can require editing "on the fly" as wording changes and new candidates get proposed.
Final wording of lengthy motions and results of elections, or feedback from break-out discussion groups, often require scrutineer checking before being projected
Presenters often have slides or slide shows they want added or changed at the last minute while an earlier agenda item is still being presented.

We have found it always necessary to have the overall presentation projected by someone who has had time to go through the overall content, rather than have it presented by Techies who show up just before the start. (Otherwise any changes in agenda sequence lead to very inconvenient and unprofessional looking delays as the presented has little idea where to find the "other" material).

Full day and multi day presentations are ideal for development in sections by different individuals who normally work from different, often widely separated locations. However it is a good idea to have an overall theme/color scheme selected and known in advance so that different sections and reasonably well coordinated rather than appearing to visually clash/conflict. One individual should be appointed to ensure the entire presentation is style/theme checked and proof read to eliminate typos a couple of days before you go "On Air".

For "on the fly" changes while "On Air" it is quite reasonable to use additional laptops (or even desktops) than the one being used for the actual presentation (you are only rarely editing the slide being presented, except perhaps while amendments are being proposed to motions). Don't forget to force a manual Sync after editing on a second or third laptop and don't for get to sync the presenting computer to get the changes.

Technically competent presenters can use a tablet of phone to change their own slides at their own pace per the remote app if the venue has a good wireless network. (That always seems to go down better than the presenter having to ask for the "next slide please", BUT not all presenters are comfortable with this option being suggested only a minute or two before their presentation is scheduled to start !!.)

Would be interested to hear tips from others on the use of Proclaim (both for development and delivery of presentations) for large full day or multi-day events.

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