Creating family picture slideshow

[InspiredByProp]

Hi All,

I'm planning to create a picture slideshow for our wedding ceremony next month So would like to ask for your wise suggestions on things that I need to create a very simple but enough excitement to keep our viewer awake.

I thought this will be a good highlight of the night and to let the audience get to know us better as both of us have been living overseas/away for half of our life.

Here are some of the things that I'm thinking of:
Software: Windows Movie Maker (any highly rated freeware out there ?)
Contents: Picture slidshow in this sequence... Groom's family + childhood until before dating -> Bride's family+ childhood until before dating -> Bride+Groom moments together.
Video Length: around 7-9 minutes
Background music: I need some suggestions on this one. So that you know my taste of music, here are some of my picks.... Jack Johnson "Do you remember" or "Better Together". Also bump into this trending music on youtube. I guess all of the songs above have cheerful vibe and falled into easy listening or soft pop genre ?
Animation: just the standard Pan and Zoom between individual pictures with some text description on some section.

Well, this is the first time I need to create a slideshow video and it's on a very special ocassion. Hence I would like to try my best to make this as the special highlight of the night.
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Cheers !

 

[weg]

Are there any 13yo's in the family that could assist you, or get you started(I'm being serious)?

My children just used mainly Movie Maker and some Powerpoint when they were young, and produced some pretty impressive footage. I'd say that's all that you would need.

 

[monty python]

I've used PowerPoint, it's very easy, and iMovie (Mac) - can overlay music and set the transition time between slides. I'm fairly techno-phobic so those are both easy.

 

[Dazz]

I'm planning to create a picture slideshow for our wedding ceremony next month So would like to ask for your wise suggestions on things that I need to create a very simple but enough excitement to keep our viewer awake.....Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

I'd suggest dropping the slideshow idea and revert back to the good old fashioned framed portrait.

No need to be mounted.....simply holding hands and smiling would suffice.

 

[china]

Hi All,

I'm planning to create a picture slideshow for our wedding ceremony next month So would like to ask for your wise suggestions on things that I need to create a very simple but enough excitement to keep our viewer awake.

I thought this will be a good highlight of the night and to let the audience get to know us better as both of us have been living overseas/away for half of our life.

Here are some of the things that I'm thinking of:
Software: Windows Movie Maker (any highly rated freeware out there ?)
Contents: Picture slidshow in this sequence... Groom's family + childhood until before dating -> Bride's family+ childhood until before dating -> Bride+Groom moments together.
Video Length: around 7-9 minutes
Background music: I need some suggestions on this one. So that you know my taste of music, here are some of my picks.... Jack Johnson "Do you remember" or "Better Together". Also bump into this trending music on youtube. I guess all of the songs above have cheerful vibe and falled into easy listening or soft pop genre ?
Animation: just the standard Pan and Zoom between individual pictures with some text description on some section.

Well, this is the first time I need to create a slideshow video and it's on a very special ocassion. Hence I would like to try my best to make this as the special highlight of the night.
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Cheers !

I love going to weddings even though I am single. I particularly enjoy watching the slide shows. Microsoft Live Movie maker will do the trick. I have been practising in case I ever get to play my own slideshow.

 

[Olly]

I love going to weddings even though I am single. I particularly enjoy watching the slide shows. Microsoft Live Movie maker will do the trick. I have been practising in case I ever get to play my own slideshow.

I'm the movie/DVD maker in my family and have made heaps of them for holidays, birthdays and my mothers funeral complete with background music.

Windows Movie Maker will do what you want, but it doesn't play nice with the usual DVD burning formats preferring to save to the Windows format UNLESS you have Windows DVD Maker on your PC as well and then it exports it directly to that, coding/decoding along the way to the traditional DVD burning format. There you get the chance to make a nice intro cover and burn to DVD.
NOTE: I'm still using XP which doesn't have Windows DVD Maker but my Vista laptop does. I don't know anything about more newer O/S's so if you're using Windows 7 etc it may have something 'better' to choose that does this.

Then again you could make it, leave it on your PC and play via a projector to a big screen/wall.

Quick Tip about MM
Set the duration time you want the pic to stay on screen first, and whatever duration you choose it applies to ALL the pics - you can't have different durations for different pics. Practice with 5 pics first till you get the duration right then start your project from scratch. I learnt the hard way after making a whole project then realising the duration wasn't long enough but couldn't 'update' the duration so had to start all over again.

There are freebies out there but they're not very good.

Nero often comes free with a lot of PC's as the burning software for your DVD burner. Have you got that because that will do a nice job too.

 

[InspiredByProp]

Thanks everyone for your input.

@Olly: many thanks the tips. I've actually produce the video in .wmv format which I will play straight from my laptop (I will also test this out on the venue's projector beforehand).
I've replayed/watched the result over and over again (endless times) and quite happy with the outcome so far. At the moment, it's just a standard rotating pictures with a constant background song that I've selected.
However, I still think I could bring it to the next level perhaps by adding perhaps "quirky" animation in between slideshow or at the very end of the slideshow, I want to put a Thank You & Story Continues.... then a handwriting signature appear with the background sound just like when you sign on paper

So questions would be:
1. Although I'm quite happy with what've I got, do you guys have any good suggestion on the background song/music for slideshow video ? Something that will create a happy/non-asleep but not too energetic ambience
2. Do you reckon 7-9 minutes play time is ideal ?
Assuming 30 yrs of life, 1 picture for every 2 years. This will equate to 30 pictures from both individual groom & bride. Then for moments together another 20 pictures.
Total = 50 pictures * 5 seconds duration for each picture = 250 seconds = ~6 minutes.
PLUS some text description here and there for ~1 minute
So, I have about 7 minutes video.
3. Do you know any free website that I could use to generate some text animation ? And then how could I include it in the Windows Movie Maker project ? as it seems like there is a minimum or NO standard functionality with WMM.

Again, thanks for helping and throwing out ideas

 

[Olly]

Thanks everyone for your input.


However, I still think I could bring it to the next level perhaps by adding "quirky" animation in between slideshow or at the very end of the slideshow, I want to put a Thank You & Story Continues.... then a handwriting signature appear with the background sound just like when you sign on paper

Be careful you don't lose sight of your objective with what you produce because you're enjoying playing with the special effects - I know how tempting that can be Putting weird effects in can change the 'feel'. If you are going for a feel good trip through memory lane then just pics and nice background music is fine (I like the choices you mentioned in your original post with all being appropriate).

So questions would be:
1. Although I'm quite happy with what've I got, do you guys have any good suggestion on the background song/music for slideshow video ? Something that will create a happy/non-asleep but not too energetic ambience

As mentioned above I think you've picked some good background music already if your aim is to choose music that isn't 'in your face' and doesn't overpower the pics or overall 'feel' you're aiming for.
As an example I used Crowded House songs as background for my NZ trip with '6 Months In A Leaky Boat' playing during the boat pics of us crossing from one island to the other and with the last line of Better Be Home Soon finishing perfectly on the last page which happened to be 'the credits' (starring me and my friend)
For Mum & Dads 60th Wedding Anniversary, it was a DVD of their lives, getting together, having a family, coming to Australia etc and so it started with 'Isn't She Lovely' - Stevie Wonder (pics of Mum), something similar for Dad, through to "They've Only Just Begun" - The Carpenters (their wedding), some war songs, stuff in between through to "We Are Family" - Sister Sledge showing pics of family groupings.

Did you realise that you can overlap songs and fade out of one and into another? Just in case you wanted to use different snippets of songs to time with certain pics.

2. Do you reckon 7-9 minutes play time is ideal ?

Depends. An hour could be great too if the movie is engaging/enjoyable, so there's no right or wrong here.

3. Do you know any free website that I could use to generate some text animation ? And then how could I include it in the Windows Movie Maker project ? as it seems like there is a minimum or NO standard functionality with WMM.

Just type in 'make animated text free online' in google and there's lots of sites to look at. Don't forget you can also include movie clips into your project. Why not actually film/record yourself writing words on paper and include it at the end.

Again, thanks for helping and throwing out ideas

 

[monty python]

Or have a play with stop motion animation? Easy and effective.