How-to Instructions:
MS PowerPoint

Open PowerPoint and select a blank presentation.

Change the slide size to Widescreen by going to Design > Slide Size if it's not already set. 

Insert > New Slide will allow you to add more slides to your project.

In the Design tab you can choose a theme and/or variant for the overall look of the presentation (this automatically sets styles that will apply to your whole presentation). 

If you prefer more control you can skip this step.

Consider some design tips when you choose your colours and fonts.

From the Insert tab, import any pictures you are going to use on the slide you are working on.

If you want to add an image to the background of the slide, consider adding it from Design > Format Background instead.

Select an image you want to edit and navigate to the Format tab. 

There are lots of ways to change your images, so explore your options here.

To add text, go to Insert > Text box and type or paste in your content. 

You can change the colour of your text or text box by selecting it and clicking Format > Shape Fill or Format > Text Fill. Play around with the possibilities! 

To add animations, navigate to the Animation tab. 

Select an object and choose your desired effect under Add Animation.

If your chosen animation can be manipulated (often a change in direction or shape), Effect Options will become active (left of Add Animation).

Learn more about animating in PowerPoint on our Animations page.

Change how the animation starts - whether it plays when you click the mouse or automatically - and how long the animation should take (Start, Duration, Delay).

Open the Animation Pane using the button to the right of Add Animation. 

This pane makes it easier to see the order in which the animations play on screen, how long they take, and how they start (on mouse click, automatically, after the previous animation, etc.).

To add transitions between slides, go to the Transitions tab and select one of the style options. The transition will affect the way the slide enters the screen.

See our Animations page for more about transitions.

Go to Insert > Audio > Audio on My PC and locate your music file to add music you have already downloaded.

If you are playing music across your whole video, add the file to your first slide.

Still looking for music? Revisit our Using Images and Audio page.

Lower the volume of the music track, especially if you will be adding narration. Do that by selecting the audio icon on your slide then moving the volume slider down.

To set up your audio file for your video, with the audio file selected go to the Playback tab and check these options to make your music play throughout your project:

• Play in Background

• Hide During Show

• Start Automatically

• Play Across Slides 

• Loop until Stopped 

This step can happen at any time, as long as it is done before you record your project. 

Create a slide at the end of your project where you include all the credits for your image and audio content. Or, you can include credit just below the images themselves so you do not need a separate slide.

For information on how to credit images and audio, revisit our Using Images and Audio page.

If you are adding references for your content in MLA or APA format please refer to our Citation Guides.

Record your project by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show. This determines the timing of each slide and is where you can add narration.

You can choose to record from the beginning or from the current slide you are on. Recording from the current slide is a great option if you need to correct previously recorded audio on select slides. 

To begin recording, press the record button and navigate through your slideshow. 

Go ahead and speak during each slide if you are adding narration, but pause your speaking while slides are transitioning. Mute your microphone if you are not adding narration.

Once you are done recording you can exit this mode by pressing ESC, or by closing the preview window. This is also a good time to save your PowerPoint.

Finally, you will need to convert your slideshow as an MP4 video.

Navigate to File > Save As and choose a location on your computer. When saving your file, use the Save as Type drop down menu to select MPEG-4 Video (*.mp4).

Alternately, you can go to File > Export > Create a Video. This allows you to select file size, quality, and time spent on each slide if no timings were recorded. 

Remember to also save your PowerPoint file.
If you need to make any changes to your video, you will need to do that in the .ppt file. You will not be able to modify your .mp4 file.