ScatterShow is a once commercial, now free application which transforms your favourite digital images into a professional video slideshow.
As the name suggests, ScatterShow isn't about ordinary linear slideshows. Instead the program provides several collage-like templates, with the images scattered around, piled on each other, maybe just in a simple grid. Choose a template, an Overview screen shows you how the slideshow will move from one picture to another, and you're able to tweak and adjust everything to suit your needs. (There's a video tutorial to show you how this works here.)
This all begins by importing your source images. The program supports the basic formats - JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF - and in theory you can also import pictures from Instagram or Flickr, although we couldn't get this to work (no great surprise as ScatterShow hasn't been updated since 2013).
Your images are displayed on a timeline. Drag and drop as required to put them in the right order.
Click a template to select it. "Sky High" is a good place to start.
An overview screen displays all your photos, with lines showing how the slideshow camera will swoop and dive - in 3D space - from one to the next. Click "Play" in the tiny toolbar bottom right to see how this works.
If you're not happy with the results, there are various ways to change them. Click an image on the overview screen and you're able to move or rotate it. Double-clicking allows changing the time an image is displayed, setting its starting or ending opacity, optimising it with an "auto correct" feature, or applying a few not-that-special effects.
Optionally add a soundtrack, or a background, and hit "Share" to save the results. This isn't as good as it looks - "Share on Facebook" and "Share on YouTube" don't upload anything, they just save the results in a suitable video format - but you can at least save the slideshow as a movie in various formats, or an HTML version ready for hosting online.
Verdict:
ScatterShow doesn't have many templates, and its export options are basic. It crashed a few times during testing, too. But the program is also easy to use, and can quickly create eye-catching slideshows with effects you won't often see elsewhere.
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