A slide show is a display of a series of chosen information or pictures, done for artistic or instructional purposes. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation software. The term "slide" originates from the use of slides which have been around for many years. Slides originally were projected on a screen, for example in a theater by magic lanterns, a practice that later evolved into moving picture shows. Even after the advent of motion pictures, slides continued to be employed for a time between showings of the films, especially to advertise local businesses or maintain theater decorum—for example by requesting that gentlemen remove their hats and refrain from smoking, and urging mothers to remove crying infants from the auditorium.
The earliest slides were pieces of glass carrying photographic images, and later, pieces of photographic film sealed between two thin sheets of glass. Projectors had a frame mechanism which accommodated two of the sealed photos and was moved from left to right to left, bringing one slide between the lens and the light source, while a "next" photograph was inserted into the frame, alternately from the left or right side of the projector. The image medium itself came to be called a "slide." The black-and-white images were sometimes hand-tinted. With the widespread availability of color film in the 1940s the large, cumbersome and fragile glass slides were replaced by individual pieces of 35 mm color film bonded between two thin 2-by-2-inch cardboard frames. The Kodak Carousel projector accommodates some 80 of these frames in a doughnut-shaped slotted plastic container and has a motorized mechanism to drop and retrieve each slide sequentially on an electronic command of a "remote" button device held by the projectionist as the circular carrier advances above the lamp and lens of the machine.
A well organized slide show allows a presenter to fit visual images to an oral presentation. The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true, in that a single image can save a presenter from speaking a paragraph of descriptive details. As with any public speaking or lecturing, a certain amount of talent, experience, and rehearsal is required to make a successful slide show presentation.
Presentation software is most commonly used for instructional purposes, usually with the intention of creating a dynamic, audiovisual presentation. The relevant points to the entire presentation are put on slides, and accompany a spoken monologue.
Slide shows have artistic uses as well, such as being used as a screensaver, or to provide dynamic imagery for a museum presentation, for example, or in installation art. David Byrne, among others, has created PowerPoint art.
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Since the late 1960s visual artists in museums and galleries have used slide shows as a device, either for presenting specific information about an action or research or as a phenomenological form in itself. According to the introduction of [Slide show] -an exhibition organized at the Baltimore Museum of Art- “Through the simple technology of the slide projector and 35 mm color transparency, artists discovered a tool that enabled the transformation of space through the magnification of projected pictures, texts, and images”. Although some have not necessarily used 35mm or color slides, and some have even exchanged images for texts (Robert Barry) the color slides are the most commonly used and they could be sometimes accompanied with written text, either on the slides or as an intertitle. Some artists have also used a voice-over on the slide presentation (James Coleman, Robert Smithson). Slideshows have since also used by artist that use other mediums as painting and sculpture to present their work publicly. During the last few years there is a growing usage of the concept by a younger generation of artists. Non-profit organization Slideluck Potshow holds slideshow events globally featuring works by amateur and professional artists, photographers, and gallerists. Participants in the event bring food, potluck-style, to have a social dinner before the slide show begins.
Some of the known artists that have used slide shows in their work are: Bas Jan Ader, Francis Alys, Robert Barry, James Coleman, Jan Dibbets, Dan Graham, Rodney Graham, Nan Goldin, Louise Lawler, Ana Mendieta, Jonathan Monk, Dennis Oppenheim, Allan Sekula, Robert Smithson, Carey Young, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Muhammed Ali.
Digital photo slide shows can be custom made for customers, using their photos, music, wedding invitations, birth announcements, or virtually any other scannable documents. Some producers call the resulting DVDs the new photo montage. Slide shows can be created not only in DVD, but also in HD video format and executable file for PC as for example, in such professional slide show software as Animoto, PicturesToExe, Photodex ProShow, Photo MovieTheater and Windows Movie Maker. Photo slideshow software has made it easier to create photo slideshows, eliminating the need for expensive color reversal film, instead requiring only a digital camera and computer.
Photo slide show software often have more features than simply showing the pictures. It is possible to add transitions, pan and zoom effects, video clips, background music, narrations, captions, etc. By using computer software one therefore has the ability to enhance pictures in a way that isn't otherwise possible. The finished slide show can then be burned to a DVD, for example as a gift or for preservation, and later viewed using a DVD player.