Using Singular Software Presto™ for OS X

Presto uses your videos of the presenter and their projection screen, along with the original slides, to automatically create an engaging presentation video that combines the crisp bright slide images with a closely tracked inset of your presenter.  To learn more about the benefits of using Presto, refer to the Presto product description.

Presto for OS X works with OS X 10.6 or newer, Intel processors only, Final Cut Pro 6 or 7, and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 or newer (PluralEyes is required for use with CS4, and recommended for CS5 or CS5.5).

Video tutorials

Using Presto with Adobe Premiere Pro (~2 minutes)

 

Using Presto with Final Cut Pro (~2 minutes)

 

Getting started: the Presto workflow

This section provides an overview of the Presto for OS X workflow.

1. Record a video of your presenter with one camera and a video of the projection screen with another camera, preferably with presenter audio on both cameras (so that you can use PluralEyes to synchronize them). Important: See Guidelines for recording your presentation. You can download the sample project to experiment with Presto right away.  It includes everything you need to get started.
   
   
   
   
2. Convert your PowerPoint® or Keynote presentation into image files. (See How to convert a PPT or Keynote file to images.). 
   
   
3. Start your project in Final Cut Pro (see here for details) or Adobe Premiere Pro (see here for details). Place your presenter video on the lowest video track, and your screen video on the second track.  Make sure they are in sync.  You can sync the clips quickly and accurately with PluralEyes.  Trim off any unwanted video.
   
   
4. Start the Presto application and import your project.
   • FCP users: Select the Final Cut Pro import tab. Select your Final Cut project and sequence from the pop-up menus, and press the Get Sequence button. 
   • Premiere Pro users: Select the Premiere Pro tab. Press the Import FCP XML... button and select the FCP XML file you exported from Premiere Pro or the FCP XML file that was generated by PluralEyes after synchronizing.
     
     
5. The Presto wizard will then lead you through the steps of adding your slide images, applying Presto's automatic processing, and fine-tuning the appearance of the presentation.
   
   
6. Render your video as a Quicktime Movie
   - or -
   (FCP users only) Send your Presto project back to Final Cut Pro (using the Send to FCP button on the Edit tab).

Using the Presto application

This section links you to pages detailing each element of the Presto user interface:

• Presto user interface overview
  • Start window
  • Project window
  
  
• Using the Presto wizard panel:
• Step 1: Assign Roles
• Step 2: Add Slides
• Step 3: Process
• Step 4: Edit


• Using the timeline
  
  
• Using the view panel:
• Output Preview - shows how your final output will appear
• Screen & Slides view - makes it easy to check that the slides are synchronized with the screen video
• Presenter view - allows you to easily view the presenter, and to make manual adjustments to tracking

For further help with creating great videos and getting the most out of Presto see our Presto tips and tricks.

Sample project

The sample project includes the first two minutes of a presentation and contains everything you need to try out Presto for OS X: presenter video, projection screen video, microphone audio, slide images, and project files for FCP v6 and v7, and for Premiere Pro CS5.

Download the sample project ZIP file from here.

There is a detailed explanation of the equipment, setup, recording procedure, and post-production workflow used for creating this presentation here.

 

Support

For further assistance, please visit our support page.

PluralEyes, DualEyes and Singular Software Presto are trademarks or registered trademarks of Singular Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and other countries.