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Lay out a sequence of shots on your light
table to visualize 
and
design special effects. 
The
most useful special effect for climbing shows will be masking,
which is selective cropping achieved by covering a portion of the
slide with opaque material. You can buy precise metal mask mounts (I
use Gepe.) but black plastic tape also works well. Judicious use of
masking varies the format on the screen creating variety and visual
interest. One very effective example uses two duplicate slides, the
first masked off so that only the climber shows. When you fade to the
next full-frame shot, the rock face around him gradually becomes
apparent, dramatically emphasizing his position.
Title overlays can be made with
Ektagraphic HC slide film (extreme-contrast black-and-white
negative). Copying black letters (large thick font, bold Chicago in
this example) on a white background produces clear letters on a black
background negative. To get black titles on a clear background, you
can either copy white lettering on a black background, or copy a
clear on black negative again onto HC slide film with a slide
duplicator. The title slide negative is then sandwiched over a
background slide (bright images, without black lines work best) and
glass-mounted. Dissolving from a black blank to the title slide
brings the words up, then dissolve to a full-frame copy of the
background picture.
I use a slide duplicator to reduce verticals to half a horizontal. Interesting sequences can be achieved when you project first one half, then switch to the other, finally bringing up both verticals, side by side. Good custom photo labs offer this service, even reduce-duping four shots onto one 35mm slide. A sequence of such dupes, like the one of the Matterhorn shown above, is quite expensive, but can add just the spice needed to liven up your show and give it a professional touch.
Once the sequence and special effects are done, I glass-mount each slide. Thin panes of glass sandwich the slide, protecting it from projector heat and keeping it precisely placed (important for special effects) and flat for sharp focus when using flat-field lenses. If not glass-mounted, slides tend to bow, changing the focus point as they heat. This step is expensive and time consuming, but well worth it if you intend to keep the show together and present it many times.
Once mounted the slides are placed in alternating trays (if using a dissolve), labeled A and B (for the corresponding projector). For simplicity I always hook up the A dissolve plug to the top, or left hand projector). The first slide goes in slot one of tray A, the second in slot one of tray B, the third slide into slot two of tray A, and so on. It now seems the show is done, but the hardest part is yet to come: Music Sync.
Metal circlular masks can be purchased from Gepe for a nice effect.
Article Index: [Shooting] [Storage] [Projection] [Set Up] [Editing] [Special Effects] [Music-Sync] [Conclusion]