Adding video to PowerPoint doesn't have to be complicated

Software and system used:

Adobe Premiere 6.5, Microsoft Windows Sound Recorder, Microsoft PowerPoint 2000; Windows 2000.

Shooting video and editing it on a computer is almost commonplace these days. But many presenters are still hesitant to edit and narrate clips for use in Microsoft PowerPoint.

However, narrated video clips are an excellent and elegant way to pepper a presentation with lively quotes, demonstrations, ads and more. This column will outline how to edit a simple digital-video clip, narrate it, save it and then insert it into a PowerPoint presentation.

For this example, I will create a PowerPoint slide that will play an embedded video clip accompanied by an audio narrative explaining what is happening in the video. I use Adobe Premiere 6.5 for editing video, but feel free to adapt these editing techniques to another application such as Apple iMovie, Microsoft Movie Maker, Ulead VideoStudio, etc. You will also need a microphone, either the built-in one on your computer or an external mic plugged into the computer's sound card.

Pick a video clip

Begin by choosing a video clip you wish to narrate. You can either import a clip from a camcorder, use one already on your computer's hard drive or purchase a stock clip. I purchased a video clip of a laser-surgery procedure from the Time Image Digital Film Library (www.timeimage.com).

Open Adobe Premiere (or the video-editing software of your choice). In Premiere, create a New Project (FILE » NEW PROJECT), import the video clip, then drag the clip onto the timeline (Example 1).

EXAMPLE 1: In Adobe Premiere, imported video clips can be easily dragged from the Project Area (upper left) onto the Timeline (bottom-half of screen).

Once in the timeline, I notice that the clip is 7 seconds long, so I will have to make an audio track that won't exceed 7 seconds. Although matching the timing of both the video and the audio is not always necessary, I will record the audio at this point so I can be sure the video won't run out before the audio ends. I name and save the project, then minimize the Premiere work window to the toolbar or dock to come back to it later.

Record the audio