Frequently Asked Questions
How long is your typical video biography?
Can I send you my videotape and photos?
What do you do with my photos and tape as well
   as the video and stills you shoot?
What format do you accept?
Can we send copies?
What music is used?
My new computer came with a video editing program. Can’t I do this myself?
How long does it take to make the video?
What's required for morphing?

What software do you use?

How long is your typical video biography?
It can be as long as you like. However, it is our experience that the best length is between 8-15 minutes. Even the star of the event or their family member starts to get restless after 20 minutes or so.

Can I send you my videotape and photos?
Absolutely. We encourage you to do so. In addition, we prefer to meet with you personally to get a better sense of what you want. While the visual documents will tell the story, the scripting of the story best comes from a face to face discussion and interchange of thoughts and ideas.

What do you do with my photos and tape as well as the video and stills you shoot?
Every second of footage and photo is reviewed by us with extensive note taking. After this broad overview, we do our first edit to eliminate material that is of poor quality or does not help in telling the story. Then all the visual material is entered into the digital editing deck, and further trimmed and/or split until the story is told. Appropriate special effects or transitions are added including graphic overlays and titles where appropriate, and finally a music bed is laid out underneath the video. Narration is available although we prefer to tell our stories through the use of interviews with friends, family and acquaintances rather than a professional narrative voice.

What format do you accept?
Video: We can use vhs, svhs, 8 mm, hi-8, betamax, Bluray, standard dvd, CD, or any digital video format on any digial medium (tape or any type of card).

Photos: Any printed photo, slide, or digital format can be used. Digital photos can be accepted on any card, any hard drive, DVD, CD or via email. Email is least preferred due to size limitations by most servers.

Can we send copies?
Original material is preferred because the quality of the finished video depends on the quality of the raw visual data used. Copies of analog material (printed photos, vhs tapes) will degrade on copying. However, any digital media, video or photos, can be copied since there is no copy degradation.

What music is used?
You can choose you own music but will need to supply such music on a CD or cassette legally purchased by yourself because of copyright laws. However, we can also create royalty free music to add impact to the presentation (additional charges apply).

My new computer came with a video editing program. Can't I do this myself?
Yes. It is a lot of fun but will take time. Even the simplest programs have a learning curve. And it takes time to review all your videos and photos as well as to do the editing itself. Don't forget the additional trouble of adding music and titles. The biggest problem is the discarding, for purposes of editing, of your photos and video. They just all seem so good and so pertinent! And, in my experience, including too many of them will lead to a very boring video. But if you have the time, inclination, and can make the tough editing decisions, it is a lot of fun and very rewarding. That's how I started many years ago when the only editing available to home users was to copy from one Akai or Betamax or Vhs machine to another.

How long does it take to make the video?
This varies depending on whether we have to perform interviews, shoot events, or merely review and edit only the visual material you give us. However, once all the visual material has been generated, we usually turn around a 10 minute video in 2 weeks, a 20 minute video in 3 weeks, and a 30 minute or more video in 3-4 weeks.

What's required for morphing?
Close up photographs, preferably limited to the head and neck, although any fairly close-up photograph can be used. An example of this would be a head to abdomen shot. Long shots mixed with close-up shots do not morph well. It is best to have similar distance shots for all sequences. In case of morphing a family, or one object into another, one photo per person or object morphed is needed. In case of morphing a single individual over a period of time, photos at yearly or near yearly intervals are best. Again, roughly the same type close-up shot is best. Turnaround time for morphing sequences (assuming 8-10 pictures) is about 7-10 days. Any number of photos can be used, but morphing is an extremely labor intensive effort so the greater the number of pictures, the longer it takes.

What software do you use?

We use several different packages, but concentrate on Adobe Production Studio CS6 with expertise in Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Encore, along with several plugins for Premiere Pro and After Effects..