Commemorative DVD Planning Guide
Creating a memorable multimedia DVD slideshow is definitely a collaboration. We provide the technology and creativity to make a professional DVD, and you provide the story, the passion and raw materials to make it memorable.
This guide is to help you organize your thoughts about the production and understand the sequence of tasks to submit your project.
What is the Purpose of the DVD? Before you begin to gather your photographs, consider your personal vision for the project. Are you planning a life tribute or telling a specific story? Do you want the mood to be humorous or solemn, or both?
Preparing Your Photographs Photos that evoke emotional responses are ideal. Choose images that are in focus and well preserved if at all possible. Look for interesting composition and action shots to balance with the posed shots.
There are two ways to group photos:
It is interesting to use a combination of approaches in creating a dynamic dvd slideshow.
If you are scanning your photographs, follow these guidelines:
Depending upon the condition and size of your older photos, we like to have them scanned in a few different resolutions to allow us greater range in editing them for the movie screen. If your photos are printed on textured paper, from a book, such as a yearbook, photocopy or newspaper, scan them at 72 and 96 dpi. These will not reproduce with great clarity, but we understand that it's important to include them in your show.
Naming your Photographs If you are sending digital images, you must rename your images so that the name of each image begins with the number according to the sequence within the show, such as "003-childhood," "010-teendance," "080-grandchildren," etc. As we begin to build the show, some of the sequence may shift, but this will enable us to more efficiently organize your material from the beginning. Your first photograph should be named 001. If your show has chapters, bundle each chapter separately. For example: childhood, early adult years, professional accomplishments, marriage and family, travels, personal legacy, etc. Each chapter should be numbered sequentially from the previous chapter.
If we are Scanning your Photographs If you want us to scan your images, place a light pencil number on the back of each photograph, or secure a post-it to the back with the number and title of the image. Carefully pack your photos in sequence for each song in separate bundles. Label the song that will be used. If you are also including a CD of digital photos or video clips, make certain that they are numbered with a three-digit name so that they will fall sequentially where you wish them to appear.
Enhancement Services
Slides If you have slides that you would like to include, have them converted to photographs or put on a disk. Make sure that the slides are professionally cleaned before printing.
Video Clips If you are including video clips, they may not be longer than 1 min. in length each. They must be submitted either on mini dv tape or as avi files on a disk. If submitting a mini dv tape, have the tape rewound to the precise location of footage. Indicate where you would like the video to play in your production and whether you would like the audio portion of the video to be muted or not. If you want to use multiple clips on the same tape, please write down the counter times for each clip measured from the beginning of the tape.
If your videos are in a different format, (VHS, 8mm or other), have them converted before you send them to us. Your local camera store should be able to help you with this.
Music The music that you choose will set the mood for your production. If you are doing a tribute, you'll want to include music that is meaningful to the featured person. Use both sentimental and upbeat songs so that your video will evoke a range of emotions. We can easily edit audio files, so don't be concerned if you have a longer piece of music that you only want to use part of. Some clients prefer to leave the musical selections up to our discretion. We are happy to customize a soundtrack that will fit the mood of each segment .
To determine how many photos you can include with each song, here is a helpful guide:
Burn a CD with the songs you have selected or send us the original CDs of the music you wish to use in your production. All materials will be returned to you when we send you your commemorative DVD.
Narration If you would like to include a narration, write out your script and indicate the sequence of images or video clips that you would like it to run within. You can also send us a pre-recorded narration in .wma, .mpg, .ogg, or .wav file formats. If you woud prefer the narration to be written as blocks of text on various frames, create five lines per frame (approx. 30 word total) and include them in your image count for the package of your choice.
Captions If you want captions to appear with any photos, indicate caption on post-it note on the back of each image. These are included as part of your package. If you would like a longer written tribute to be included within your film that needs copy editing and/or custom design, an additional charge will be incurred.
Master Document Create a Word document that lays out all the materials that you are sending. Detail the following:
Love Story Productions
Payment Payment in full for Bronze and Silver Packages is due prior to production. A 50% deposit is due at the beginning of production for Gold and Platinum packages. The balance must be received before your DVD and materials will be shipped to you.
Learn about our Commemorative DVD Packages.
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