Presenting on 9 Screens

Getting ready for a big pitch today at Edelman...

The Saddest Chart in Congress

I have little to add to The Washington Post's coverage of Rep. Mark Pocan's hand-drawn chart scribble about income inequality, but I will point out Pocan's priceless Twittered explanation:

Shutterstock for Presentation Design

The presentation folks over at Brightcarbon are recent converts to Shutterstock as the best stock photography solution for presentations. I've long been a fan and couldn't agree more with them. Read about their conversion here.

It's okay not to center absolutely everything...

I happened upon an Apple Store talk with Ricky Jay yesterday evening and was pleasantly surprised to see how the organizers had set up the speakers on stage, and the restraint they used in placing Jay's name on the large screen (actually maybe a little too small...). Even though the setup placed the speakers very far from the left side of the audience, it was a small auditorium, and I appreciated the dynamic spatial setup.

It's okay not to center absolutely everything...

As a sidenote, I've known of Ricky Jay since I was a kid doing magic. In fact, three of his books are on my office desk right now. (My prized copy of Cards As Weapons is at home.) And I'm really looking forward to seeing the new documentary about him for which he is currently doing press.

Visual Storytelling in Citizen Kane via Presentation Zen

Garry Reynolds has a repost of a really nice analysis of some of Orson Welles's visual storytelling techniques in Citizen Kane.

Check it out.

And if you want a fantastic read on Welles's early life and his storytelling in the theatre and on radio, pick up Simon Callow's Orson Welles: Volume 1: The Road to Xanadu. My favorite story from the book involves Welles's WPA production of Macbeth. In order to achieve deep perspective on stage for a battle sequence, he hired very short actors to stand far upstage with spears.