Frazer Blog

7 Steps to Creating Crowd-Pleasing Tribute Videos

by | Nov 8, 2013 | Funeral Personalization

A woman looking at a planner and a laptop

Tribute Videos are great for assisting in a family’s grieving process and a way to add value to funeral packages.

But that said, not all Tribute Videos are created alike! Read on for a simple seven-step process that’ll help you create meaningful tributes for every family you work with.

Step #1 — Ask Questions

If you want to create a truly personal Tribute Video, you’ve got to know about the person you’re memorializing!

To see why this is so important, let’s say you create the same Tribute Video for all families you serve. You use the same intro clip, the same theme, and the same song because you know they’ll work well together.

Now imagine that your standard video process involves religious melodies and that you’ve inadvertently added “I Come to the Garden Alone” to the Tribute Video of an avowed atheist! Definitely a mistake you’ll want to avoid.

The only way to deliver a good Tribute Video is to get to know the person it’s for. Ask questions about the interests, hobbies, and preferences of the deceased to pick the most meaningful options.

Step #2 — Prioritize Your Pictures

Depending on the family you’re working with, you may have hundreds of pictures to choose from in your video. However, it’s important to recognize that not all pictures are suitable for Tribute Videos.

Obviously, you’ll want to eliminate anything that’s racy or inappropriate. But you’ll also want to get rid of those that aren’t flattering or that don’t focus on the deceased. Having a few shots of them in a crowd can be nice, but failing to include close-ups will leave guests wondering whose life the video is celebrating.

Step #3 — Scan in Extra Items

Of course, it’s just as likely to encounter families with no pictures as families with too many pictures. If a family can’t produce any pictures for the video, don’t panic!

Instead of focusing on personal images, scan in extra items that are meaningful to the life of the deceased. Including movie stubs, award certificates, and images of favorite locations are a few ways you can fill out your video.

Step #4 — Limit Final Picture Selections to 15-30 Images

In general, including 15-30 images per Tribute Video is something of a sweet spot. Any fewer and you’ll likely spend more time on the intro and ending than you do on the deceased.

Go in the other direction of adding more and you’ll find the attention of your service guests waning. Keeping your inclusions within this range will help you create something your families love to watch over and over again.

Step #5 — Make Sure All Close Contacts Get Equal Screen Time

Another situation that unsuspecting funeral directors can face is drama over the screen time you give to the deceased’s closest relationships.

And admittedly, this can be tricky. If you’re already working with a limited number of pictures and find that the only ones suitable for video inclusion focus on one relationship over another, it can be difficult to balance competing demands for attention.

One way to work around this issue is to use it as a way to round up more pictures. The number of additional photos this type of request can produce might surprise you!

Step #6 — Use Motion Effects

The thing that really takes a Tribute Video from ordinary to extraordinary is the use of motion effects. Think about a Hollywood movie. If all the shots were from the same camera position, “motion” pictures would be a lot less exciting!

Adding motion effects — like panning and zooming — can be easy or challenging, depending on the program you use to produce your videos.

Obviously, we’re partial to Tribute Center for Tribute Video creation. But part of the reason we’re such big advocates for the program is how easy we make it to build professional-quality videos. With Tribute Center, you can add motion effects with a few clicks, and we even offer an “Apply Auto Motion” tool that’ll create these highlights for you.

Step #7 — Copy Protect Your Final Product

Okay, to be fair, this step is less about creating crowd-pleasing videos and more about protecting your work.

No matter what Tribute Video creation software or service you decide to use, make sure that it includes a copy protection feature. This allows you to prevent customers from purchasing one copy of your video and then burning extras for friends and relatives.

Frazer Consultants offers this tool as a complementary feature within Tribute Center. We believe that the value of your time shouldn’t go unrecognized when it comes to Tribute Video creation.

Follow these seven steps, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to generate memorable, crowd-pleasing Tribute Videos! Do you have any other tips or tricks to share? Add them below in the comments section!

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