Tribute Videos
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Timeline Guide
Your photos are a unique collection of memories you want to remember and present. The majority of us have complied and stored our photos in an unorganized pile of shoeboxes and our old VHS tapes are sitting on our bookshelves collecting dust and deteriorating more each day, our kids artwork and awards are at the bottom of some box, our star sports sons newspaper articles are starting to yellow and the collection of audio tapes of our son singing or playing hasn’t been heard in years! So what do we do to organize, preserve, restore and make the most out of these? Imagine the tears and laughter as your family enjoys the best memories you’ve compiled into 10min, 20min or an hour and reliving the moments of your babies first steps, sons winning goal and your daughter delivering her famous line at the school play, all edited and organized and creatively blended together into meaningful chapters, with music, text special effects, much like a slide show, but with more of a visually pleasing and entertaining outcome.
If your celebrating a Wedding, Anniversary, Birthday, Graduation, Bar Mitzvah, Retirement, Family Reunion or simply looking to present a tribute highlighting the special moments and people of your life, then there is no better gift than a tribute video.
All custom family video productions make heartwarming gifts for the hard to shop for person in your family. A custom DVD says you put thought into a gift that will last for generations, a gift people really want!
Each project is unique in design, and your creative input is welcomed and encouraged. Your participation will be key to the success of the production. It’s the attention to detail and personal meaning that sets Flashback Creations apart from the rest. (I take much pride in each project and dedicate much of my heart and care into each piece I do.)
Please take a moment to view the short sample DVD of my work. I will also be happy to send you a written instructional guide that explains the service more in detail.
I look forward to working with you and discussing your personalized montage.
Sincerely,
David Addario,
Flashback Creations
DECIDE ON A THEME:
It is very important to consider the event where the initial production is going to be shown.
You may elect to develop two productions, one as a “personal” video to be given to parents and friends and a shortened video to be shown in front of a large group.
As a general guideline, each chapter or one full- length song should include at least 25-30 pictures and short video clips.
CHAPTER THEME
INTRODUCTION Photos of schools attended, morphed photos, etc.
GROWING UP YEARS Photos from baby to teen years. School projects, audio tapes etc.
SPORTS CHAPTER Sports photos, videos, awards, Newspaper articles, Magazine etc.
FRIENDS Photos of her and her friends, Prom, etc.
FAMILY Photos of Cousins, Aunts and Uncles
GRANDPARENTS Photos of Grandparents.
PARENTS Photos with Mom & Dad.
FUNNY All the silly pictures that’s sure to embarrass.
End. Tribute video from Mom & Dad/New Collage, Photo of Bedroom etc.
GATHER AND ORGANIZE YOUR PHOTO’S:
The following outline are a few things to keep in mind when you are choosing pictures:
1. Make sure that the photo’s are in focus and people’s faces are not washed out.
2. TV screens are wider than tall, so horizontal pictures fit naturally to the size of a television screen. Too many vertical pictures are not visually appealing, especially if they are right after each other.
3. Choose a variety of Photographs- Instead of showing 10 pictures of your dog; perhaps choose the best 2 or 3. Using a variety of photographs can keep your audience interest.
4. Pictures need to be removed from frames or albums.
5. Slides generally have held up better than photos and mixing the two types of images is fine.
6. Cropping and red eye removal is offered for a small fee. Too many photos with red eye are not visibly appealing.
7. Small photos and oversize photos are fine. We have a large flat bed scanner.
8. Choose pictures that are candid and show character.
9. Choose a mix between close ups and group photos. Choose photos that show the most important stages in someone’s life.
10. Stay away from photos that are out of focus.
11. Feel free to include items that can be scanned on a flatbed such as newspaper articles, letters, poems, certificates, etc.
12. Know your audience and determine the length based on the purpose of the show to keep it entertaining. For example, if your showing your montage at your wedding reception, you may want to include some pictures of the guests, and not just pictures of you and your fiancé.
In summary, your photos should be separated by CHAPTER/THEME and photos within each chapter/theme should have a unique number.
Please also make a note on the back of 8-10 photos that you want included on the DVD Cover.
Pictures that will not need scanning need to be sent as a JPEG or BMP format. The recommended resolution should be scanned at 300 DPI’s.
ORGANIZING YOUR VIDEO CLIPS:
Please use the video scene selection form to fill out your video clip information.
If you prefer or don’t have time to select the clips yourself, Flashback Creations offers a service in which we review and pick your best and most memorable clips for you for an additional fee.
Currently, I accept 8mm, Hi-8, digital8, mini DV, film and VHS.
MUSIC GUIDELINES / PRODUCTION LENGTH:
MUSIC SETS THE MOOD! Simply put, the music that you select for your DVD montage is going to set the tone of the presentation. Selections in music should be given serious consideration; the correct music within your video makes an enormous impact on the overall movie. By selecting faster beat, pop, fun music you can convey a light hearted and playful mood. You’ll want to match up fun music with lots of smiles and interesting pictures. By selecting ballads or slower songs you’ll get a more emotional connection with the audience. The better the song matches your photos, the better the final product will be. I recommend including a lot of silly or funny pictures to help keep the presentation light, which also mixes well with tributes and slower songs.
Please feel free to be imaginative when selecting music. If the family has memories of watching the Walton’s on a Thursday night, you could start the family chapter with the theme song from the Walton’s.
Please feel free to ask me for suggestions on music choices. Some editing can be made to songs to match the number of pictures. For example, if you only have 15 pictures during a chapter of your parents, you may elect to have only a partial section of the song. Through editing I can include the beginning and ending of the song while eliminating some of the middle. Also, I can cut out part of the introduction, or fade the song out early.
CHOOSING TITLES:
Titles and captions can be included in your montage. Include titles for each of the following:
1) As an opening introduction: “Big Blue Babe Ruth Team of 2004”
2) At the end of the Montage: “Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad, We Love You".
3) Before each new chapter: “John Smith, Born 12/24/36”
4) Short background information: “Walked at 3 months”, “Graduated from HS in 1984”.
5) Funny captions for silly pictures: “A Face Only a Mother Could Love”.
The title options are up to you and can be expressed in many ways. For example if your montage is dedicated to a soldier over-seas and you want to send him/her a love tribute, you could create a short caption for each photo.
ADDING PERSONAL TOUCHES :
Your video should include material that is most meaningful to the person(s) being profiled. For Family Production Videos, most of the information may be as basic as birthdays, favorite songs, nicknames etc. For more of a personal touch, add clips of their favorite movies, book covers, poems or letters they wrote or add pictures of a college they attended, cars they drove, hobbies etc. The idea is to highlight areas of interest that has special meaning to the recipient(s) or family. For example, your daughter wrote a heart-warming thank you letter for Mothers Day, by all means include that in the montage. It might make a nice introduction to her chapter. Also, you may want to include your own voice message or videotape messages from family members to include in the video or submit a cassette tape with their voice on it. You can find more ideas in the IDEAS TO INCLUDE FORM provided in your package.
TYPES OF PRODUCTIONS:
Below are two types of video productions with chapter samples:
A) FAMILY KEEPSAKE PRODUCTIONS:
Family productions are most appropriate when you want to present a historical montage of your entire family. Pictures and video include your immediate family, your Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Parents, Grandparents, and Grandkids etc. Usually these family productions make great Anniversary, Birthday, Mother/Fathers Day, Christmas or simply Thank You gifts. The great thing about a family production is that it can be a group gift from the entire family. Most family productions are produced in order by family with special tributes and various themes mixed in.
B) INDIVIDUAL OR TRIBUTE PRODUCTIONS:
Tribute videos are most appropriate when you want to focus on the life of one individual. Tributes differ from Family Production more so since you are profiling one individual and want to highlight their life. For example, as they graduate High School, played in their last little league game, danced in their last recital etc. Other examples include touching tributes of your parents or grandparents or as a memorial tribute to show at funerals.
