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Planning
Guide
At MemoryMovie.com,
we have the technology, skills, and creativity to make a great video,
but only you have the power to make your video meaningful. By following
six simple steps, you can make your video as powerful as possible:
 1.
Establish your purpose.
Before you can search through
your photo albums, you
must have a clear vision of your video's purpose.
Do you want your video to be a tribute that includes photos from a person's
entire life or to focus on a specific aspect, such as vacations or family? About how long do you
want the video to be? Would you like your video to be funny, sentimental,
or both? By having a general idea of where you are going with your video
before you begin, the rest of the planning process will be much easier.
2.
Prepare your photos. 
Try to look for photos that are high quality and evoke emotion. If you
are creating a composite video of a person's life, keep in mind that that
you will only be able to include a limited number of pictures from each
time period. If two photos are similar, you may have to eliminate one
of them. While you are looking through your photos, try to put them
into categories in your mind. Grouping your photos chronologically often
works nicely; however, photos can also be grouped thematically. (For example,
you could put all the photos of Dad playing with the kids in one segment
with a song such as "You've Got a Friend in Me" and photos of
him with his friends in another with a song such as "Lean on Me.")
When creating your video, you might want to use a combination of thematic
and chronological groupings.
You have two options
for submitting your photos. You can either send your physical photos to
us to be scanned or scan them yourself and send us the digital files.
If
you are sending us your photos...
($0.50 scanning
fee/photo or slide)
- Number each
photo based on its order within the video by placing a numbered
Post-it note on the back of each picture. We advise that you do
not write directly on your photos.
- You are also able to include slides. Number slides in the same way as you would photos.
- Don't worry
about mistakes in numbering. If you would like to add another
photo later between two photos that you have already numbered
(e.g. between photos 14 and 15), you could label it with the number
of the previous photo followed by a letter (e.g. 14A).
- Place your
photos into ziplock bags labeled by the song that will be included
with them.
- Pack your
photos safely in a box with bubble wrap and send via Priority
Mail, UPS, Federal Express, or Airborne.
- Your photos
will be returned to you when your video is shipped.
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If
you are sending us digital files...
- Scan each
photo and save it in JPG format. Save it with a three digit number
indicating the order that you would like it to appear in the video
(e.g. 001.jpg, 002.jpg).
- Don't worry
about mistakes in numbering. If you would like to add another
photo later between two photos that you have already numbered
(e.g. between photos 14 and 15), you could label it with the number
of the previous photo followed by a letter (e.g. 014a.jpg).
- Set the resolution
of the images according to the following guide. It is important
to scan at the correct resolution because low resolution files
may appear blurry on your TV screen.
- For photos
3 to 5 inches wide, scan at 300 dpi
- For images
1.5 to 3 inches wide, scan at 600 dpi
- For images
larger than 5 inches wide, scan at 150 dpi
- Put your
photos for each song in a separate folder, labeled by the song
that will be playing with it.
- You can either send
us a CD-R of your images or submit them via e-mail. (You
will be given further instructions after your order has been placed.)
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3.
Add video clips (optional).
 In
addition to photographs, you can also include video clips. You can either
play the clips between songs or have music playing beneath them. Each
video clip costs $5 to include and should be under 1 minute in length.
Clips can be submitted on VHS, VHS-C, or 8mm tape. Please rewind the tape
to the correct spot and clearly indicate the portion that you would like
to use, when you would like the video to play, and whether or not you
would like the audio muted. If you would like to use multiple clips on the same tape, it would
be helpful for us if you could write down the counter times for each clip,
measured from the beginning of the tape.
4.
Select songs.
The music that you select will set the mood of your video.
Try to use both sentimental and upbeat songs so that your video can evoke
the entire emotional spectrum from laughter to tears. Make your video
unique by including favorite songs of the person that you are creating
it for. To determine how many photos that you can include with each song,
refer to the following helpful guide:
| Song
Length |
Slow
Song (5-7
seconds per picture)
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Fast
Song (4-6 seconds per picture)
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| 1
Minute |
9-12
Photos
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10-15
Photos
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| 2
Minutes |
18-24
Photos
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20-30
Photos
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| 3
Minutes |
27-36
Photos
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30-45
Photos
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| 4
Minutes |
36-48Photos
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40-60
Photos
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| 5
Minutes |
45-55
Photos
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50-75
Photos
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Provided that your
video is for non-commercial use, you can use any song from a compact disc
that you have purchased. Because you are simply using songs that you already
own for another purpose solely for your personal enjoyment ( "format
shifting"), this can be considered "fair use" of the music
and does not violate copyright law.
When you place your
order, you should mail us your CDs. They will be returned along with your
photos. If you prefer, MemoryMovie.com can purchase songs for your
video on your behalf for a fee of $3.00 per song.
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Song
Suggestions
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Need
ideas for songs to use on your video? Click
here to view a list of of suggested songs.
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5. Decide
on titles.
Each package includes an on-screen title at the beginning and end
of your video. Generally, the title that appears at the begging is general
while the concluding title is a message. For example, you could begin
the video with a title reading "A Tribute To Our Father" and
end by it stating "Happy Father's Day! We Love You."
If you wish, you can
also add additional titles such as to divide each segment. Additional
title screens cost $3 each and can appear either on their own or on top
of one of your photos or video clips.
6. Place
your order by clicking here.
At MemoryMovie.com,
we have worked to make the ordering process for you as easy as possible!
When you fill out your online order, you will
be asked to fill in your contact information and will have the price of
your project automatically calculated. You will also be able to fill in
details such as songs and titles. After your order has been placed, we
will contact you to confirm your order and to answer any questions that
you might have.
Not ready to order
yet? Fill out an inquiry form to let us know
of your interest so that we can contact you to answer your questions.
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