The Moving Scrapbook ? The Tribute Family Video

9 Sep, 2011

The Moving Scrapbook ? The Tribute Family Video

Written by admin

Scrapbooks are wonderful ways to preserve family memories. But so much of our memories these days have been saved on 8mm film, old color slides, photos, clippings and videotape.

Why not combine all of these elements into a Video Scrapbook? This is what we like to call a Tribute style video. It is not just a collection of pictures; rather, it is a compelling life story, family story, or couple?s story. It is the gift of a lifetime.

How do you tell such a story?

A good video tribute scrapbook will be presented on DVD and will have a complete standalone video that is presented to assembled members of the family in your home theater or on your large screen TV. A good sound system definitely helps. For lingering later, the photos and elements you use to make the video can be preserved as a DVD photo gallery to click through at one?s leisure.

You can make the video using any of the easy to use software programs that turn your computer and camcorder into a video editing studio. By bringing old pictures to life through movement and animation. By creating a soundtrack that moves the story along and evokes various periods of time. in short, by telling a story.

The story of one?s life, or of two lives coming together, or even of a family history is best told in documentary form. Pictures are worth a thousand worlds and moving pictures are worth that much more. Today?s video editing software allows you to zoom and pan on photos.

The best way to tell the story is chronologically ? with a beginning, middle, end, and sometimes, a reprise of what the audience has seen.

• You begin by gathering materials. These could be slides, photos, press clippings, old birthday cards, movie and videos. Pre-select the photos and scenes you want to use. Select appropriate music for time, place, and emotion.
• Now, using your video editing program, you begin the editing dance. I call it this because the sound and the pictures bounce off one another? one piece of music will tell you the photos to use, the pace with which to use them, and whether or not you need transitional effects. A finished sequence will help you select the next piece of music, and so on.
• Make sure your editing program has respect for the audio portion of the edit? that it allows you to mix music fades, sound effects, sound from video tapes etc.
• A compelling narrative technique is to interview a family member on video about the person featured, or interview the subject directly (Of course if this is going to be a surprise present, then maybe you?ll have to forget this, or come up with an excuse as to why you want to conduct the interview).
• Let the music breathe once in a while? words only when necessary. you can use superimposed type to identify places or people if necessary. Your audience will probably not need these to know what?s going on, by people outside your immediate circle might.
• Don?t be afraid to throw in some public domain library footage to set a place and time? new York City in the 1940?s for example, or old public domain TV show clips for the 50?s or 60?s.
• When you?ve told your story, set your audience up for the finale. Reprise the best piece of music, and show once again only the best of the best pictures in chronological order, and end on the best portrait shot you have of the person or couple.

There will be tears, applause, and everyone will want a copy.

Remember to take all the pictures you have scanned and all the film you?ve digitized and place it into a gallery on the DVD. This is the scrapbook part of the project. you can set this up by person, decade, or subject. Many DVD programs have excellent backgrounds and templates you can use, or perhaps a photo, an old wallpaper pattern, or some other object that has family meaning can be used as a background.

Congratulations. You?ve created the gift that truly keeps on giving

The Moving Scrapbook ? The Tribute Family Video

Source: http://thebreakingstory.com/parenting/the-moving-scrapbook-the-tribute-family-video-2/5848.html

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