Intro to Prezi

Today we’re going to learn some basics of Prezi. It is an online presentation software that allows you to visualize your presentation in a non-linear fashion.

Why Use Prezi?

Prezi is merely a different option for giving a presentation and telling a visual story. For some projects, it might be better suited than PowerPoint or Keynote, which are better at telling a linear story.

PowerPoint/Keynote are based on the antiquated technology of slideshows, which is how presentations and lectures were delivered before personal computers and presentation software were ubiquitous. It forces you to tell a linear story, that moves from slide 1 to 2 to 3, etc. Animations can add creativity and help tell the story, but it is still essentially linear.

Prezi’s main advantage is its ability to present your information like a map with endless possible shapes, structures, and pathways. You can build relationships directly into the visual presentation of your work. For example, if you have a small detail, you can place that small detail within a larger concept and then zoom in and out of that detail. Or you can show how multiple ideas are all related to a single larger idea by constantly moving back and forth from the parent idea. You can also allow your audience to see the entire presentation all at once at the beginning, or you can begin on a small detail and then move outward.

You can also do a voiceover very easily with Prezi and embed it on your website (like this one or your personal ePortfolios page). This allows you to make a “video” version of your Prezi that can present your work. Plus, Prezi looks cool. For people used to seeing bad PowerPoint presentations, a well-made Prezi is highly memorable.

One major downside is that unless you pay for a Pro version, Prezi is only an online tool and requires internet access. This can be problematic if you are presenting somewhere with spotty Wi-Fi.

Is Prezi better?

Not necessarily! It all depends on what kind of presentation you’re giving and how your information is organized. However, having some Prezi literacy is an invaluable tool in both school and the professional world. This is why we’re learning it.

Getting Started

Go to prezi.com, and click “Get Started” in the upper right. If you already have an account, log in. If not, select “Public” on the top right of the frame by clicking “Continue Free.” Then sign up for an account. Use a .edu address because 1) you get a big discount if you decide to go Pro later, and 2) your free Pro trial is a month rather than 2 weeks. If you want to upgrade to a Pro account or get a Pro free trial, here is the link.

Prezi has excellent support pages that detail many of the advanced features that we won’t necessarily be going over today.

The Basics

Prezi uses what they call a canvas, which looks like a blank grid. The canvas is completely zoomable and you can move all around it and place whatever you like on it. Choose either a template or select “Start blank prezi.”

To zoom, either use the + and – icons on the right, pinch the track pad (like on a phone), or scroll using a two-finger swipe on the trackpad.

Content

You can add content to your canvas like text, images, PDFs, or videos. You can even create a slide in PowerPoint and import it. To add free-floating text, click anywhere and type. For other types of content, click the insert button on the top of the screen.

Frames

Frames are the main tool that Prezi uses to move from area to area on your canvas, to zoom out and in, and to create the “path” that your presentation will go on. There are four kinds of frames: rectangle, circle, brackets, and invisible. Invisible frames will not show up in presentation mode. Prezi will automatically start a blank  project with a large blue circle frame in the middle. The easiest way for content to become part of the path is to put a frame around it.

Customize

Click customize to change the color scheme of your prezi. You can choose from a preset or make your own by scrolling down to advanced at the bottom of the customize sidebar.

You can also use an image as the background instead.

Click anywhere to add text, or click the frame’s large text to give your prezi a title. In this case, I’m going to put all of my content inside this giant circle, and zoom in and then around to navigate. You can choose to do that or you can choose to get rid of the circle altogether and arrange your content however you like. It’s up to you and your storytelling.

Now I’m going to fill that circle with all the elements of “my story” that I want to tell.

I’m going to start with some images and text. When using images they MUST be either

• yours (you own the image, i.e. you took it yourself or have explicit permission from the image owner), or
• from Creative Commons (creativecommons.org)

This will protect you from copyright infringement and potential accusations of plagiarism.

I’m adding an image of the city I was born in (from Creative Commons) and some text…

I want to group the text and image together so that I edit them together. To do that, I shift+click the two items. An option to group them will appear.

Next, I’m going to add some text about where I grew up. I’m going to include a link to my town’s webpage, too.

In order to incorporate this text into our path, we need to frame it. Select a frame from the left sidebar and either click the frame or drag it onto the area you want to frame. I’m using a bracket frame.

Clicking on the frame now will reveal the transformation tool, which allows you to change the shape and color of the frame, and allows you to zoom in to the frame to see what it will look like in the path. If you delete the frame, it will also delete the text, because the text is now inside the frame. To avoid this, “right-click” (control+click or two-finger click) and select “Remove Frame without Deleting Content.”

Now if we look at our left sidebar, we’ll see that we have two path elements so far: the entire overview and the bracketed text. If we click on each of these, we’ll see what each step of the path will look like in the presentation. We want to also add the first image, so we can right-click on the image and choose “Add to Path.” Alternately, we could surround it with a frame, invisible or otherwise. Then drag the frame into the correct spot on the path sidebar.

Let’s say we want the text to show up after the image, we can do that with animations. First we need to ungroup the text from the image, and then surround it with a frame. Then go to “Edit Path” at the bottom of the left sidebar.

Any element of the path with objects that can be animated will have a star next to its number. Select that star and the animation pane will appear. Any element that can be animated will have a faded green star next to it. Click the elements in the order you want them to appear (a number in the star will indicate the order). To remove or change animations, just click again and then re-assign a new order. To preview the animation, hit the play button.

If, at any point, you want to just add the current screen view to the path, you can do that in the Edit Path sidebar.

This video gives a brief overview of all the basic editing tools:

Transitions

We can play around with the transitions by varying the relative size, distance, and orientation of adjacent elements. Moving elements closer will make for a slower transition, further apart will be faster. Similarly, a very small element next to a big one will make for an intense zoom. We can also tilt an element to create a spinning transition. Be judicious in your use of zoom, tilt, and distance — you don’t want your viewers getting dizzy!

I’m going to take advantage of the circular shape of my prezi to move in that direction with a spin, so I tilt my framed text.

If you want to add an arrow from one path step to another, do that with Insert.

The prezi below gives an overview of transitions:

 

Video and Audio

If I want to add video, I can either upload a video on my computer or a YouTube video. To do this, use the insert feature.

To add background audio to an entire presentation, select Add Background Audio from the Insert menu. To add music to a specific path step, select that path step and choose “Add Voice-Over.” You’ll need to have recorded a voice over track. To do this, use either your phone’s voice recorder and then share your file with your computer (via email or AirDrop). Or, just use QuickTime Player and record audio. To find QuickTime on your computer, click Command+space and type in QuickTime.

Layouts

Prezi also offers a number of handy layouts with either single frames or multiple frames that you can insert. Many of these already have arrows, multiple frames, or photos embedded within frames. This can save you a few steps from the longer process we’ve just been using.

To access layouts, go to “Insert” and choose “Layouts.” On the right sidebar, any layout with an image placeholder means you can put an image there. Just drag onto your canvas.

You will immediately be able to replace the stock photo with your own content. Choose “Replace Image.” If you want to re-tilt the image, go ahead. You can move the image around, or add text in the suggested areas (the “Click to add text” prompts don’t show up in the presentation so you don’t have to delete them).

When using a multi-frame layout, one of the advantages is that you can move between ideas and then re-visit earlier points. Just add each element to the path list in whatever order you like.

Extreme Zoom

If you want to nest a piece of content deep in another content area, you can do that with zoom. For example, you can write on a photo but make it so small that it’s only visible when you zoom in. Then you can animate that transition and incorporate it into your path.

 

Templates

Prezi has a number of built-in templates available when you begin a new project. Also check out prezibase for free templates that you can import and modify however you like.

To insert a Prezi into a post on our website:

Look at your Prezi’s URL in the browser address bar, and copy the unique presentation ID which is a random combination of numbers and letters after prezi.com/. Then in your post, type the shortcode [prezi id='ID number here'], being sure to use single quotation marks. For example: [prezi id='hgjm18z36h75']  will display the following:

Practice!

Create a new Prezi right now. Start by brainstorming for a few minutes about what kind of story you want to tell. It can be about something personal, or just something you’re interested in. When you’re done editing a prezi, click “Exit” and you’ll see what almost looks like a YouTube viewer version of your prezi. From there, you can change the title, and also set the privacy settings.

Start with a blank Prezi and create something that has at least the following:

• at least 3 frames, at least 1 of which should be just text
• at least 2 transitions
• at least 1 zoom in emphasis
• at least 1 spinning transition
• at least 1 picture
• at least 1 YouTube (or other) video

Think especially about what kind of story you want to tell and what shapes do that best. Do you want to use an image for a background? Do you want to start micro and then move to a macro view? Or start with a full overview and then zoom in?

Here is one more helpful video that covers the process from start to finish: