To Video or Not to Video
That is the question.
Actually it's more than one question - because videos can serve several different purposes.
You can create:
1. videos to entertain at your party
2. videos to document your party and/or
3. videos to inform classmates on your website or Facebook page
First rule of video production: ask someone else to do it, if you are the class reunion planner. Canvas your classmates and see if anyone wants to handle it. Reunion planners like us have enough to do.
Entertainment
Think about starting your party with a video.
Nothing is more exciting than launching the party with a great video with a rocking soundtrack.
Consider editing the following elements together to make a short and sweet, 2-3 minute party tape:
contemporary footage and old photos of your favorite haunts around town, pop culture and news footage from your decade, headlines from the town paper from the year you graduated, photos of classmates horsing around. Combine fast-paced cutting with favorite anthems from your time and build to a crescendo with maybe your high school as the final picture.
Professionally, I'm a corporate and documentary video producer, http://www.timesteps.com/,
but I chose to work with a video company who is a specialist in parties: (D-Vision out of Succasunna, NJ - http://www.dvisionvideo.com/ ) to put it together for us. Managing the whole reunion is enough responsibility, so I supplied all the elements to them and then let their editor work his magic.
Some people show a video in the middle of the reunion. I don't really recommend stopping your party in the middle for a video. You can do it, but keep them short. I've seen 15-20 minute documentary style videos that were good quality deflate a party. Best to leave the long format tapes for distribution after the party, if you feel compelled to make one. Maybe you'll want to give them away as party favors. Or sell them on the web afterward to classmates.
Documentation: Document your party with a video. Wouldn't it be nice to capture all the fun moments of the class reunion and share them with those who couldn't come?
You can and it will cost your reunion committee nothing. If you promote your reunion openly as a special interest group on Facebook.com, you will no doubt be contacted by companies who want you to use their service or buy their product. One who contacted me was a reunion video production company from Oregon who has shooters all around the country. They will shoot the reunion free of charge in exchange for the right to sell the tape for around $30.00 to anyone who wishes to buy it.
You have to be willing to share your database with them, including snail mail addresses, because they send out their order forms by mail. They also will advertise the tapes using the email list as well.
The good news is, they have shot thousands of class reunions and have a formula for doing so, and it costs you nothing. They do all the work on spec.
Information: Video clips on your website can build excitement about the up and coming reunion. When little mini-reunions spontaneously erupt, gather the gang of people and create a video message to encourage classmates to buy tickets. Post the video on your class website or on your special interest group page of Facebook. You can post clips of anything. Compress and post old home videos, sound bites from classmates, scenes from town. Anything you want to drum up interest in the reunon. Be creative. There's no limit to what you can do.
Please tell us your video ideas. Leave a comment for everyone.
Actually it's more than one question - because videos can serve several different purposes.
You can create:
1. videos to entertain at your party
2. videos to document your party and/or
3. videos to inform classmates on your website or Facebook page
First rule of video production: ask someone else to do it, if you are the class reunion planner. Canvas your classmates and see if anyone wants to handle it. Reunion planners like us have enough to do.
Entertainment
Think about starting your party with a video.
Nothing is more exciting than launching the party with a great video with a rocking soundtrack.
Consider editing the following elements together to make a short and sweet, 2-3 minute party tape:
contemporary footage and old photos of your favorite haunts around town, pop culture and news footage from your decade, headlines from the town paper from the year you graduated, photos of classmates horsing around. Combine fast-paced cutting with favorite anthems from your time and build to a crescendo with maybe your high school as the final picture.
Professionally, I'm a corporate and documentary video producer, http://www.timesteps.com/,
but I chose to work with a video company who is a specialist in parties: (D-Vision out of Succasunna, NJ - http://www.dvisionvideo.com/ ) to put it together for us. Managing the whole reunion is enough responsibility, so I supplied all the elements to them and then let their editor work his magic.
Some people show a video in the middle of the reunion. I don't really recommend stopping your party in the middle for a video. You can do it, but keep them short. I've seen 15-20 minute documentary style videos that were good quality deflate a party. Best to leave the long format tapes for distribution after the party, if you feel compelled to make one. Maybe you'll want to give them away as party favors. Or sell them on the web afterward to classmates.
Documentation: Document your party with a video. Wouldn't it be nice to capture all the fun moments of the class reunion and share them with those who couldn't come?
You can and it will cost your reunion committee nothing. If you promote your reunion openly as a special interest group on Facebook.com, you will no doubt be contacted by companies who want you to use their service or buy their product. One who contacted me was a reunion video production company from Oregon who has shooters all around the country. They will shoot the reunion free of charge in exchange for the right to sell the tape for around $30.00 to anyone who wishes to buy it.
You have to be willing to share your database with them, including snail mail addresses, because they send out their order forms by mail. They also will advertise the tapes using the email list as well.
The good news is, they have shot thousands of class reunions and have a formula for doing so, and it costs you nothing. They do all the work on spec.
Information: Video clips on your website can build excitement about the up and coming reunion. When little mini-reunions spontaneously erupt, gather the gang of people and create a video message to encourage classmates to buy tickets. Post the video on your class website or on your special interest group page of Facebook. You can post clips of anything. Compress and post old home videos, sound bites from classmates, scenes from town. Anything you want to drum up interest in the reunon. Be creative. There's no limit to what you can do.
Please tell us your video ideas. Leave a comment for everyone.
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