Powerpoint Tip - The Magic Of False Backgrounds

Glen Millar, of Glen Millar Communications, introduced this animation/graphics technique at the PowerPoint Live conference. He called it the False Background. It isn't really a false background, but usages the technique of giving an AutoShape (shape, in 2007) the same background as the slide. You can then animate the AutoShape/shape, Oregon layer it, for some arresting results. Follow these stairway to put up this technique:

1. Start with a clean layout on an empty slide.

2. To stipulate a background image, right-click the microscope slide and take Background. (In PowerPoint 2007, take Format Background.)

3. Chink the drop-down arrow and take Fill Effect. Chink the Picture tab. (In 2007, chink the Picture or Texture Fill option.)

4. Chink Select Picture, and stipulate an mental image for the background. (In 2007, chink the File button to stipulate an image.)

5. Chink Apply. (In 2007, chink Close.)

6. On the Drawing toolbar, chink AutoShapes and insert 1 of the AutoShapes. (In 2007, chink the Insert tab, chink Shapes, and insert 1 of the shapes.)

7. Right-click the AutoShape (shape, in 2007), and take Format AutoShape (Format Shape in 2007).

8. In the Line section, chink the Color drop-down listing and take No Line, to take the outline. (In 2007, chink the Line Color point on the left, and take No Line.)

9. In the Fill section, chink the Color drop-down listing and take Background. (In 2007, chink the Fill point on the cleft and take Slide Background Fill.) This sets the fill of the AutoShape (shape) to the background of the slide. This is the very kernel of this technique.

10. Chink OK. (In 2007, chink Close.) The AutoShape all but disappears, except that it's calm selected, so that you can see the handles. Look at the lower-left side of the left microscope slide below for the handles. (In 2007, shown on the right, the form is clearer, because you also see a bounding box.)

Now, you necessitate to animate the AutoShape (shape) to make the consequence that you want. Or you can layer it without animation. Here are some ideas. You can probably come up up with others.

Technique 1: Zoom In

In this technique, you utilize the Zoom In accent life to zoom along in to a subdivision of the image.

1. In Measure 6 above, insert a circle or oval and centre it over the country of the mental image that you desire to emphasize.

2. Continue with the remainder of the stairway above.

3. After Measure 10 above, with the AutoShape/shape still selected, take Slide Show> Custom Animation. (In 2007, chink the Animations check and take Custom Animation.)

4. Choose Add Effect> Emphasis> Grow/Shrink. Leave the default of 150% Oregon take another option.

Play the animation! You'll see a subdivision zoom along in and magnify the image.

See the animation. (Note that capturing the picture do it jerky. It looks a batch smoother in PowerPoint.)

Technique 2: Crop an Object

By layering AutoShapes (shapes), you can make a cropping effect. This consequence can be unchanging or animated. This is one of the personal effects that Glen showed at PowerPoint Live.

1. Before Measure 6 above, insert a rectangle that screens the full slide. It can be opaque, or partially transparent. Remove the lineation and take an appropriate fill color.

2. In Measure 6 above, insert the form that you desire to utilize for the cropping. I used a rounded rectangle. Center it over the country of the mental image that you desire to display. By doing these stairway in this order, you'll guarantee that the littler form is on top of the bigger one.

3. If you want, you can animate an entranceway for the bigger form covering the full slide. Here, I used a Fade entranceway animation.

4. Continue the remainder of the stairway to fill up the top form with the background.

See the animation. (Again, in PowerPoint, it looks much smoother.)

Technique 3: Mix Grayscale with Color

Like the former technique, this 1 layers shapes. The outside country is grayscale, and the country inside the form is in color. Glen showed this technique, too. I've left it unanimated.

1. Before Measure 6 above, take Insert> Picture> From File and insert the same mental image you used for the background. (In 2007, chink the Insert tab, and take Picture.) If necessary, resize it to cover the full slide.

2. If the Picture toolbar isn't displayed, right-click any toolbar and take Picture. Chink the Color button and take Grayscale. (In 2007, chink the Format check that appears. In the Adjust group, chink Recolor and take Grayscale in the Color Modes section.)

3. In Measure 6 above, insert the form that you desire to utilize for the cropping. I used a rounded rectangle. Center it over the country of the mental image that you desire to display. By doing these stairway in this order, you'll guarantee that the littler form is on top of the bigger image.

4. Continue the remainder of the stairway to fill up the top form with the background.

Technique 4: Fly In the Image

Glen showed this life as well. The mental mental image is broken up into 4 pieces which wing in and construct the image, like a scroll saw puzzle. You can change the life consequence in any manner that you want. You can also add thick sketches around the 4 shapes.

1. For Measure 6 above, insert 4 rectangles that together completely cover the slide. Here you see the rectangles with thick sketches to assist you see their borders. I then removed the outlines.

2. Continue through the remainder of the stairway above for eachof the 4 rectangles.

3. Select each rectangle in bend and add the followers animation.

* Top-Left rectangle: Fly In from Bottom-Right, On Click. I used the Medium speed.

* Top-Right rectangle: Fly In from Bottom-Left, With Previous, same velocity as before

* Bottom-Left rectangle: Fly In from Top-Right, With Previous, same speed

* Bottom-Right rectangle: Fly In from Top-Left, With Previous, same speed

See the animation. Remember that it looks better in PowerPoint. You might anticipate the rectangles to always expose the portion of the mental image that they cover, but they retrieve their "final home" location, and show that.

Click here to direct me a 1-slide presentation using this technique and I'll direct you a free e-booklet, "7 Steps to Great Images," from one of my seminars.

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