Are you using the PiP function? If so, you can click modify then go to the add/edit motion tab. There are several preset motions there, but you can alter them as you need them using the place markers. At each marker you can resize the object if needed etc.
Hope this helps!
Kevin R. Saving the world, one goofy video and meme at a time.

Hi Robert & Kevin R -

Robert - you would already have noticed that some of the templates have a "customise" option. Montage isn't one of them... hence your question

Kevin's suggestion of building the slideshow manually is the best I can come up with. Once you had a suitable background & set up a few different motion paths, you'd be able to get the effect you're after, without so much overlapping.

Alternatively, the Collage & Scrapbook templates bring in image separately... they're not customisable, either.

I can't see any way of customising the montage template. In fact when I checked out the Slideshow folder at C:\Program Files (x86)\CyberLink\PowerDirector\Slideshow, I found no evidence of those 3 templates at all (apart from their background images).

Cheers - Tony
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Kevin and Tony,

Thanks for your timely and helpful replies!

Will check into the PiP option. I think I could end up with basically the same effect, but I like the way the Montage effect works, and it's so easy to create it. Just disappointed that you can't "tweak" it. And... I have 170+ pics I want to use in the slideshow, so creating the motion paths for each one could be quite a task! Maybe I could "outsource" it to you guys!

Again, thanks for the great feedback!

Robert

Robert -

You don't need 170 motion paths. If you made (say) 10 & saved them, you could apply them to many photos. I've never sat and analysed what's happening in a montage SS, but I'm quite sure there'd be repeated motion paths & patterns throughout the show.

Once you make one motion path - save it - modify it - save it - modify that - save it... you have 3.

The sliding background would be easy to replicate.

Cheers - Tony
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Tony,

Thanks! I didn't realize I could save motion paths... I'm somewhere past the "novice" stage with PD, so there are a lot things I can definitely learn! Thanks for your suggestion. I will explore further.

Robert

Kevin, Tony,

I used the PiP method that Kevin suggested and it worked fine. I created 3 motion paths (enter from top, bottom and left and then exit right) and then applied them to each pic. What I discovered is that once you apply the motion you can then change then motion path in the preview window. This allowed me to tweak the picture placement. Pretty cool.

While the PiP solution wasn't as easy at click on the "slideshow" button, it worked just fine and gave me better control.

Thanks again guys!

Robert

Glad to help and welcome to the community.
Kevin R. Saving the world, one goofy video and meme at a time.

I would love to see what your output ended up looking like to stir me to try the same thing. Maybe you can post to youtube a sample through the upload. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Velocity Micro
Intel Core 2 CPU 6700 @ 2.66GHz
RAM 6GB
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS v258.96
ViewSonic VX2255wm-4 dual extended display
K-Lite 32bit & 64bit
1680x1050
Windows 7 Basic background no Aero
Hitachi 400gb system dr

Ken, I will post a snippet when I'm finished and post the link here. I am doing a video for my stepdaughter's wedding rehearsal dinner. I'm not as pleased with the results as I would like to be - not because PowerDirector is not doing what I want, but more from the fact that she wants to cram way too many pictures into too little "space" (dictated by the music track). End result is the pictures have to move faster than I would prefer. But, all in all the end result is pretty good.

Kevin and Tony were a big help in putting me on to the PiP solution. It works fine, just more effort than clicking on the slideshow button - as I mentioned before. Maybe Cyberlink will add the "customize" feature in a future version.

Will post the YouTube link in the next day or so.

Robert

Took me a bit to even find that effect. Would she permit having you repeat the music track to give you more time. Then split up the sets for each repeat including only enough photos that don't appear too crowded. Also consider making a collage of photos as a still and then transition between several collages. You also can use other software to turn your stills into video, but most won't offer the control that it sounds like you are looking for. Photodex offers some highend options.

The screen display looked pretty grainy, but output was good. Proshow Producer has a Montage effect that might be reproduceable in PD. It does a Montage by having the photo start small and grow bigger as it moves off to the left of the screen. That way no photo is on top of each other, but gives a filling of motion. They also have a Carousel Montage where they rotate around, but the one in front is large, again no overlap on the front photo. They have 1 for portraits and 1 for landscape, which makes me think that maybe by separating the two types into sets you'll get less overlay regardless how you do it.

Another montage is called Parallel tracks of images panning in opposing directions. Like two trains passing. You get 2x the pics in the same time no overlap.

You could also create multiple sets that run the same length of the song, but then put them in a PiP matrix with each video running simultaneously on the screen, but only 1 sound track playing. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Velocity Micro
Intel Core 2 CPU 6700 @ 2.66GHz
RAM 6GB
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS v258.96
ViewSonic VX2255wm-4 dual extended display
K-Lite 32bit & 64bit
1680x1050
Windows 7 Basic background no Aero
Hitachi 400gb system dr

This thread has been drawn to the attention of CyberLink.

Dafydd