"Missing" clips - but they're there!

[ardisius]

Hi folks

New to this group - and VERY inexperienced with PP! I'm a video
producer using Final Cut Pro actually, but don't hold that against me!

I've been handed a CD with a PP presentation on it, with all the files
on the CD. The files include a couple of .mov clips, but when I play
the slide show the .mov clips just show the first (poster?) frame and
then freeze for the duration of the clip, then go on to the next slide!

The clips open fine in Quick Time, so they ARE there, but ...

Help me, somebody! Please! I have to incorporate some QT footage from
FCP into the PP and then voice-over/narrate for the client.

Regards

Roy

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi Roy,

What version of PowerPoint are you using? Have you installed the updates?

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

 

[ardisius]

Thanks Jim

2004 Office, Auto-updated - presently 11.2.4

The presentation was given me on a CD, with the .ppt plus the
individual .mov/MPEGs on the CD. I copied the whole lot into a new
folder on my Desktop, from where all the clips opened in QT just fine
without the CD!

Roy

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi Roy,

I'm not sure whether or not you're saying the problem has been solved.

If the presentation was created using the proper method you should be
able to open the presentation and the videos should play from the CD and
from your hard drive.

PowerPoint always makes links to video content, so it remembers the file
path to the QT files.

If PowerPoint's Save As PowerPoint Package feature was used, then you
would copy the package folder and the links will always work.

A manual way to get the same behavior is to start with an empty folder,
put the QT media files into the folder, save the Presentation into the
folder, and then make the links to the media.

However, if any other method is used then the links created to the QT
media files will be hard coded, meaning that the specific path name will
be the full path name so it will only work on the machine on which the
presentation was created. I suspect that is what happened in your case.

If you can get the presentation's creator to use the Save As PowerPoint
Package feature (which is not entire bug-free) then the presentation
should work on all Macs. The bug is that sometimes all the media does
not get copied into the package folder. The solution is to manually copy
any any missing files into the folder.

-Jim