Recently I finished my first full PowerPoint presentation using an interesting add-on for PowerPoint, VoxProxy. VoxProxy is a utility that adds animated characters to your presentation which can speak, move, gesture, and add interest.
It took me a while to get the hang of using the plain-English scripting that runs the animations and the speech synthesis, but once I mastered the scripting, it became very easy to add the information to the PowerPoint slides.
After installing the VoxProxy software from its CD (Windows version only), I used it without referring to the 20 page manual that came with it. There is a computing support clich ?RTFM, which means Read The Flippen Manual, and that is often a good idea, but I try all new software without referring to the manual, immediately after installing, so I can determine how intuitive the software is to use. VoxProxy was no disappointment, in that I was up and running, adding animated characters and speech to some existing PowerPoint presentations. After the handful of inevitable mistakes, I found that there was a short learning curve with VoxProxy.
The CD comes with about two dozen characters, each with its own range of voices, and dozens of animated actions. The characters include a demographically diverse group of humanoid men and women, as well as animals, robots, objects (such as books), genies, and other creatures. Checking the links on the VoxProxy website, there are hundreds of other animations available for download, many of which are free. In my brief learning curve I did make an error, which I would not have made, if I had read the manual first. I took my practice PowerPoint presentation to my office to show it off. I downloaded the free VoxProxy player, installed it on my office computer, and found that some of my animations did not appear. The reason, clearly stated in the manual, was that the free player only includes six animated characters, and if any others are used in the presentation, they must be manually added to the playing computer. Once resolved I was up and running, demonstrating the glorified slides to those in my hallway.
My first full presentation, a one-hour show on Identity Theft, created from scratch, was for my Cybercrime class, and consisted of using all six of the characters included with the free player. There was an explicit reason for using only those six characters, rather than the dozens of others on my home computer. This limited choice would allow me to send copies of my presentation to any groups or organizations that wanted to do a self-contained, fully narrated and animated showing. The full version of VoxProxy is not necessary to show the presentation, only the player, available for download from www.voxproxy.com/vpplayer.html (36 megs). While the presentation was done in PowerPoint, an installed copy of PowerPoint is not required, as it will also run with the free PowerPoint player, available for download from Microsoft.
The fun was in utilizing the VoxProxy to create the PowerPoint. The software, when installed, adds a VoxProxy button on the PowerPoint toolbar. Clicking on the button allows for the animations and scripting to be used in PowerPoint, and the scripts created are embedded on the file. The presentation is produced as any other PowerPoint, but there is an ability to easily add characters and speech, with the included voice synthesis. VoxProxy also enables the user to create embedded speech using the voice of the creator, in addition to the prepackaged voices. Using the animations and scripting is not much more difficult than creating a standard presentation, and is actually more fun. Pull-down menus, and an integral help function, make it easy to create the scripts. On the top of the script window is a Test button, which will play the animation and speech entered, before saving the slide. Slides can be saved in native PowerPoint (.ppt) format, or using the File menu on the script window, the entire presentation can be saved in the native VoxProxy format (.ppv), recommended for use with the free player. If saved with the .ppv extension, the file can still be opened, edited, and played with the standard PowerPoint software, but VoxProxy is required to edit the scripts or play the animated slides.
Information, animated samples and tutorials, and a fully functional 30-day free trial version, are available on the VoxProxy website at www.voxproxy.com. The full version of the software retails for $199, and discounts are available to educational institutions. Site licenses and quantity discounts are also available. Any minor problems I had in writing or playing were answered on the support sections of the website. The minimum recommended system requirements are Windows 95 to XP, PowerPoint versions 2000 or 2002 (Office XP), or later, 128 megs of RAM, and a 300mhz or faster processor, which means that this will run on almost all Windows based machines.
If you would like to see my one hour Identity Theft presentation, my first attempt at a full VoxProxy show, with full animation and narration, you can download a copy (including detailed instructions please follow them!) from www.ih2000.net/ira/IdentityTheft.zip (1.1 megs). My presentation requires a 1024x768 screen resolution, and is ready to run, once VoxProxy, or its free player, are installed.
To quote the famous Mikey, of cereal fame "Try it you'll like it"; I did, and I really like it!
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