How Can I Use Power Point Files into FCP?

I need to drop in a Power Point Presentation in my next project. I've never used a power point presentation in FCP before so I need to know a couple of things.

1) Can I import the Power Point Presentation Files into FCP?

2) If I can't import the power point files into FCP then how can I convert the files so they can be used in FCP?

You should be able to export them from PP as QuickTime. (You certainly cna with KeyNote.)

if you find the method and access Quicktime you can choose the codec native to your timeline (DV, HDV, etc). I recall you can also time how long slides play, transitions, etc.

- Loren
Today's FCP keytip:

Fit Timeline Selection to Window with Shift-Option-Z !

Final Cut Studio 2 KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

the only problem you will run into is often times the timing, navigation and transition animations in the powerpoint may go a bit wonky on the export.

you have to let your client know that while it CAN be done. it was not MADE for that and it may not behave exactly as it would in its native environment.

After all, it's coming from Microsoft!

Yahahahahahah

- Loren
Today's FCP keytip:

Fit Timeline Selection to Window with Shift-Option-Z !

Final Cut Studio 2 KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

If you just need the slides or pictures in the slide and not the step by step progression and animation - export from Powerpoint as JPEG or PNG or TIFF slides -- then import those into FCP

We do this far too often and plead with clients not to use this as their television "graphic presentation" as it more often than not looks awful

PP presenters frequently jam a mountain of copy on their slides - way out of TV or Title Safe - non NTSC colors - pictures too small or low resolution.

They are a nightmare.

You often must re size and put over a background if you are playing back on a regular TV set so you can even read the slides - they virtually always look low quality because of their scaled size and if they are copy packed presentations -- no one will be able to legibly read them on a TV screen.

Did I mention they look awful.

Convince your clients they need to cut the copy clutter and recreate with real television graphics if there aren't that many slides.

Andy - FieldVision Productions

First thing I try is opening it in Keynote, but there usually is a problem with fonts.

If the animations and transitions are important to the client, it's best to try to recreate it.

Half the time I end up recreating the PowerPoint in FCP or Motion & sometimes just Photoshop, depending on the nature of the PPT.

The other half of the time, I use the exported stills or take the S-Video output from the client's PC and record it to tape. Sometimes a scan converter helps, but that's usually under specific circumstances.

The recommendation to tell the client PPT to TV is an iffy proposition is solid. Clients expect it to look like it does on their computer screen. Unless they purrposely built it for TV, that just doesn't happen. You should try to manage their expectations, or they may try to make it your fault when their improperly created PPT doesn't look like they expect on TV.

I had to do this very thing only last month. After much fussing around converting to quicktime (and losing the transitions), using Keynote (and changing the way things looked) and exporting as jpegs, etc... I sorted it by using Screenflow to record the presentation as I ran through it.

Screenflow is more usually used to create tutorials from recording the screen, but since it can operate in the background, even when the entire screen is used by powerpoint, it made an otherwise tricky job pretty easy. It also outputs in the usual quicktime formats so could convert to pretty much anything.

It may also be possible using Snapz Pro, but I didn't try with that - Screenflow is just a nicer app to work with, IMO. It may not be top end stuff, but for Powerpoint as a source it will work fine:

[www.telestream.net]

Whenever I've had to do this, I open it in Power Point and then do a Save As -- JPEG. It creates a separate JPEG for each slide. You then just import each one as a still.