Adding Music to a slideshow in Premiere Elements 4

Question

I am new to media software. I have some experience with editing photos in Photoshop Elements 4. Since that program was unable to make slideshows that played on a TV, I purchased the new bundle with Photoshop Elements 6 and Premiere Elements 4. I have been having great difficulty finding good instructions on how to do things in these programs. Their online manuals and Help section seem to be for people who are already familiar with these kinds of programs. So, I am here, to try to get some help.
I made a slideshow in Photoshop Elements 6 and sent it to Premiere Elements 4. I was able to burn it and it plays on our TV. Now I want to add music to it. I first looked at the slideshow in Premiere Elements 4 but could not figure out how to add the music using that program.
Therefore, I went back to the slideshow I created in Photoshop Elements 6 and have been trying to add music in that program with the idea of sending it to Premiere Elements 4 again when it is time to burn. I need to add Mulitiple Music Selections to the slideshow. I am trying to coordinate different music with the different cities we visited in Alaska. This has been a bit difficult for me to do. I am getting there, but it is not effecient. I posted on the Photoshop Elements Forum and it was suggested I try this forum. Someone thought it might be easier to do using Premiere Elements 4. If there is a link somewhere with directions on how to add the music in either program, I would be most grateful for that information. I am looking for instructions on how to add MULTIPLE music selections to ONE slideshow. I found the instructions for adding one music selection, and I understand that. I just need to take it further. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Answer 1

Mary,
I create all of my slideshows in Premiere Pro, so I am learning a lot about the interaction between PSE and PE from your thread. Were it not for Barbs instructions to Break Apart the slide show from PSE, I would never have thought of that. As you say, learn something new everyday. I also only have the full Photoshop, not PS Elements, so I do not know what PSE offers. See, Im learning things right there.
Now, lets see if I can give you an easy way to do the Fade-out of your Audio, and not confuse you. There are several ways to do this, but I like to use the Audio Mixer. Maybe its because it looks like my mixing console from my analog days and Im comfortable with the pot (potentiometer) control that is displayed.
You have now followed Barbs instructions to Break Apart the slide show. You are now in the Timeline view and have expanded it horizontally and maybe the two main Track (Audio, where your music is, and Video) vertically, so that you can see your Clips (your slides). Go to the menu at the top of the Workspace and click Window. This will give you a drop-down menu. About 7/8 of the way down, click on Audio Mixer. This would be written as Window>Audio Mixer. This will open a new Panel, Audio Mixer. At the top of this new Panel are the names of your Audio Tracks, say Audio 1, Audio 2, Narration and Music. Because you could have your music on about any of these, youll need to match up its location (left side of the Timeline will give you the exact Track name) with the names of the various Tracks in the Audio Mixer. Once you have that name match, the fun begins.
I like to place the CTI (the Current Time Indicator) a bit ahead of where I will want to make my change. This gives me some time to get ready. Lets say that your music IS on the Music Track. Looking down below that label in the Audio Mixer, you can see a round knob marked Balance. Look down below that and youll see a vertical window marked Level, with a chart just to the right of it. There are three elements to that chart: a black slot line, and small horizontal rectangle with a horizontal line in it and then numbers with +s and -s. That horizontal rectangle is the pot (potentiometer) handle and is what we will be using. It is probably set a 0, but it might reflect a sound level set previously, maybe in PSE. You might want to jot down where it is set right now, in case we need to go back.
Now its time to get creative. Position the Audio Mixer where you can see it and also the Timeline. Note that you can change the size of the Audio Mixer, so that it only shows the Audio Track that you are working on, if needed. Place your mouses cursor over the pot handle (that little horizontal bar) click and hold for a second. With your other hand, hit the Spacebar to start the play of your Timeline. The CTI will begin moving to the right and youll hear the Audio Track and see the images in the Monitor. While still clicking and holding on the pot, get ready. When you are approaching where you want your Fade-out to begin, slowly drag the pot down to the very bottom. The idea is to do this at a speed that will get you to the - ∞ point, just as you come to the end of your slide.
What this does is automatically add Keyframes to the Audio Track (the one where your music is), that go from the set level to silent. This is just how we used to do it pre-digital, except we had our finger on the pot and actually slid a mechanical/electronic device. If you look closely at your Audio Track, youll also see a bunch of little circles on the yellow line. These are the Keyframes. The beauty of doing it this way, is that you can vary the speed of the Fade-out. You can start slowly, then increase the Velocity of the Fade. [Note: in Premiere Pros Effects Panel, you can manipulate this Velocity to your hearts content. I do not believe that PE allows as much control there.]
There are two other ways to accomplish the same thing. One is to manually add a Keyframe, at the CTI (accomplished by clicking on the little diamond on the left side of the Audio Track in the Timeline), on the Audio Track, where you wish the Fade-out to start. This basically holds the Level before that point to what it was set to. Then you go to the end of that piece of music. Lets say that it ends exactly where your slide ends (on the Video Track). I find that point easily by hitting Page Down, then the <- key (left cursor key). Page Down takes you to the next cut, or Clip, and the <- takes you back to the last frame. Here youd manually add another Keyframe. Drag down on this second Keyframe to drop the Audio level to - ∞ like above.
The other way to do this is to add an Audio Transition to the end of your music. I use Constant Power from the Audio Transitions pre-sets for this. One can alter the length of these Transitions to fit the time desired for the Fade-out. When it comes to steps involved, this might be the easiest method, but I like the control of Keyframes, and like to use the Audio Mixer to achieve the effect that I am listening for.
As with most Adobe programs, there are several ways to get what you desire. These methods usually only differ by degrees for control. Some are almost one click and drag solutions, other require user input. The beauty is that the simple way will often get what you want, while the latter will allow much more control.
Personally, Id try all three, just to see which one is easier for you and which one allows you the exact effect that you want.
I hope that the forum formatting will bring in the characters that I have used, so you can see them. If you get a bunch of little solid black blocks, it did not. That is why I also added the annotations to tell you what the symbol is.
Good luck,
Hunt