Create a video greeting cardPublished: December 20, 2005 We've all sent and received paper greeting cards, but if you want to stand out from the crowd, why not send your holiday or birthday greetings in a video instead? How do you start? Well, if you're using Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Windows Movie Maker 2.1 , and you have a video camera, you're ready to go. It also doesn't hurt to have some digital pictures handy, or photographs you can scan. Browse our list of suggestions, view the sample cards, and then follow the instructions below to make your own!  BrainstormBefore you get started creating anything, spend a little time brainstorming. Do you want to record a simple greeting for your friends and family? Maybe you'd like to include some pictures or videos from things you did the previous year, showing the highlights. Perhaps some background music would be nice. Let the sky be the limit. And don't worry about making anything perfect. You'll have plenty of opportunities to refine as you go. Here are a few ideas you can use to get started. Winter greeting card| • | Make a short video of you and your family sending season's greetings. If you have children, or friends who like to sing, have them sing a song. Or heck, sing one yourself! And don't be afraid of holiday hats or tinsel.  View a sample video greeting card of this type.
| | • | Gather pictures and short videos and edit them together for a moving snapshot of your year. Choose a few important events to highlight, such as vacations, new additions to the family (pets count, too!), or any funny moments you caught on film. View a sample video greeting card of this type. 
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Birthday card| • | Make short videos of five or six different friends or family of the person each singing the Happy Birthday song, and then cut them and re-edit them together so that each word is sung by a different person. | | • | Gather pictures and videos of the person from the previous year (or longer!) and edit them together with the person's favorite song. For a child, record or photograph some things you'd like the child to remember when he or she is older, such as the child's favorite toys, friends, songs, and hobbies. You can also include special moments like dance recitals, the first day of school, or learning to crawl or walk. |
Filming tipsBrowse these tips to make filming your videos easier. Find the right locationFind a nice place in your home that will make an attractive backdrop. You might pick the fireplace or the living room or in front of a favorite painting. Or you might want to try filming outside somewhere with greenery behind you. If there's not enough light in the location you've chosen, place a few floor lamps nearby, but not in the shot. Lamps can sometimes make people look too washed out if they're in the frame. Learn your linesIf you're going to narrate your video but won't be in the picture, you can make it easy on yourself and write a script, and then record it as many times as you'd like until you're happy. If you're filming something just for the card, you'll want to make sure everyone knows what they want to say before you start to record. For example, in a Christmas Card video, you might want to simply wish friends and family a "Happy Holiday Season," sing a holiday song, or tell a humorous family story from the year past. Whatever it is, make sure everyone is ready with their lines! You might want to rehearse once or twice before you start the camera rolling. Set up your cameraSituate your camera close enough so that everyone will be in the picture with a little bit of room to move. Place your camera on a tripod or a desk or table so that it will remain steady. Bring everyone together. While you're preparing the setup of the shot, stand behind the camera and test different positions to make sure everyone is in the frame and you're close enough so that you can see facial expressions. Again, make sure the lighting is bright enough that you can see everyone, but not so bright that it creates glare. Once you have the group set up and ready to go, start the camera and get into place. Make your movie in Windows Movie MakerOnce you've shot all the video you want to use and taken all the pictures you want to include, you're ready to make your video card. |
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