Here are some suggestions for putting together a Photo-to-Video show:

Gather together all your pictures. Make sure you check with friends and relatives for pictures you may want to include. You can include slides, but the picture quality may not be as good.

Pick out the best ones. We can do a certain amount of colour correction, and digitally crop a picture that isn’t centered, but we cannot refocus an out-of-focus shot.

Decide in which order you wish to have them shown. Typically, the pictures will be in chronological order, but you may choose to group them into subjects or themes.

Number them. Write on the back of the picture in pen or pencil. (Do not use post-it notes as they tend to fall off.) Sometimes, after you have finished numbering, you will find another picture you want to include. Place it where you want it, (i.e. between #21 and #22), and put a letter after the number (i.e. #21A). This will save you the trouble of renumbering. If you remove a picture let us know that it is missing.

Write special instructions on a separate piece of paper, referring to the picture number. These would include a close-up of an individual, cropping out a portion of the picture, or ensuring a specific item in the background is included.

Choose the last picture. This may be the last picture chronologically, but it can also be a portrait of the individual at an earlier age or a group photo of family or friends together. The closing caption will go over this picture, so you should also pick the picture to go with your caption.

Choose text for the opening screen. We have a number of stock backgrounds available and your opening title is included in the basic package. Your opening caption, introducing the video, will go over one of these backgrounds.

Choose the music. Choose a song meaningful to the subject of the video, or one with meaning to yourself. CD will give higher quality to the finished product than audiotape, so use a CD if you can. Try to choose music that will allow for around six seconds per image. For a basic package of thirty pictures, this would be three minutes.

Pack everything up in a manila envelope or a shoebox. Do not place them in albums or individual envelopes. Make sure your name is on the outside, and also on your CD(s). Turnaround time is generally one week. Memorial tributes will normally be done within two working days.

We also offer more complex services such as matching narration or specific song lyrics to certain pictures at an additional charge. Special effects like zooming in or out on photos and fancy transitions are also possible on our advanced computer programs.