Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION: Creating Slide Shows for Video.
  2. DOWNLOADS : EWP PowerPoint Templates.
  3. MARGINS: Stay within video margins.
  4. FONTS: Use large, bold, sans-serif fonts.
  5. SIMPLICITY, LEGIBILITY, and HARMONY: Keep the slides as simple as possible.
  6. BACKGROUNDS: Stay consistent in color and form.
  7. GRAPHICS: Limit the number of colors used on a given slide. Two or three is often enough.
  8. LINES: Do not use thin lines.
  9. COLOR: Avoid the use of bright red, particularly for text.
  10. VIDEO: Where possible, leave space for the producer to insert the faculty member or presenter.
  11. PAPER OVERHEADS: Print slides in landscape mode.
  12. VIDEO PRESENTATIONS: A VHS or SVHS tape must be recorded in SP (standard play) mode.




9. COLOR: Avoid the use of bright red, particularly for text.
   Colors are a special case, and must be carefully considered. Bright colors, particularly bright reds, may look too bright on video and will bleed on VHS tapes (unfortunately, Rensselaer's school color does this). If a tape needs to be dubbed, the loss of generation from tape to tape will exacerbate color bleeding. Television and VHS work well with dark, subdued colors - especially dark blues and blacks. Use the following chart as a general reference when selecting colors for presentations, but feel free to experiment with different colors (make sure you test them!)

Good Acceptable
Slide show backgrounds Dark Blue, Dark Green, Dark Grey, Black White, Light Grey
General text Light Blue, Light Grey, Yellow, Black White
Highlighted text Yellow, White, Light Blue, Medium Purple Dark Red (for large text)