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Putting It Together |
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Here
it is. This is your one stop resource to get all the
information and links to all things photo transfer. We have
provided this as a tool for helping you know what we look for when
we do a photo transfer and how to get the most out of your
production- most of the information here is provided as
a suggestion to help get you on your way. If you need further
explanation or have any questions after reviewing this page, please
do not hesitate to call or email us.
 Step-By-Step |
 FAQ's |
 Photo Ideas |
 Combining Pictures, Slides & Digital Images |
 Scanning Your Own Photos |
 Using Video |
 Continuous Music or 1-To-1 |
 Packaging Your Photos |
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Budget. Before starting a photo transfer project, the first step is to determine your budget. Once you know how much you would like to spend, everything else will fall into place. Use our on-line calculator to experiment with the number of photos you would like to use. |
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Length of Video. Determine if there is any time constraint on the length of the video. Does it have to run a certain time or can it not exceed a certain time. Factor this into your budget to make a final determination of how many photos your production should include. |
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Gather Your Photos. Get your photos together contacting family and friends to see if they have any to contribute (Make this a group effort). This should be fun, a time to reminisce as your going through all your old pictures. |
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Sort Your Photos. Decide how you are going to want your pictures to flow during the video. Most likely, this will be chronologically, but it does not have to be. Maybe they will be completely random or maybe you will arrange them in groups like 'Activities', 'Friends', 'Vacations' and 'Grandchildren'. If your video will be for a wedding, the normal arrangement is girl, boy, girl, boy... There is no wrong way to arrange the photos. |
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First & Last Picture. These are the two key photos. The last photo is typically the image that is used on the Titlescreen and the DVD Disk & Case labels. Usually it is the most recent and best picture of the subject - choose it carefully. The first photo is typically the chronologically youngest (or phyically oldest) picture of the subject. Keeping within this format allows us to open with a soft cross-fade from most recent to baby (it's really cool). |
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Verify. It's time to get serious. By now you should have all the photos collected and arranged in the order you would like them to appear. Go through them maticulasly ensuring the best photos with the best color and greatest clarity are there and in the order you would like them to appear. Make any final replacements or order changes needed. Once done, your photos are complete. |
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Number And Secure Your Photos - USE PENCIL! If at all possible, number each photo (this is not required). Please ensure you USE PENCIL when you do this. INK & MARKER CAN SMEAR ON THE PHOTO BEHIND IT, RUINING IT FOREVER...PLEASE USE A PENCIL. If it has not been mentioned already, please USE A PENCIL if you number you photos. Next, take a final photo count, secure them with a binder clip and put them in a zip-lock bag or something similar so they stay secure. Please visit our packaging your photos section as this is a critical step. |
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Add Music. If you have not already decided on the actual music you are going to use in your production, do it now. Check out our Music page for ideas. Remember, the rule of thumb is 10 pictures equals 1 minute of music. It is always better to go over than be under. |
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Title & Closing Screens & Captions. Now that you have your photos arranged and music picked-out, it's time for the finishing touches. You will need to choose a Titlescreen, add Closing Screen text and put any finishing touches like captions or video. |
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Place The Order. Everything is ready - just call us to set an appointment. If you have any questions or concerns during the organization process, please do not hesitate to call us. |
- What Pictures Should I Use In My
Video?
Why a 'Photo Set'?
Originally, everything was priced individually. Did you want photos, did you want music, what about titles, how about a closing comment, did you want it put on something (like a videotape), what about labeling and did you want us to do the work? The pricing nightmare began. As it turned-out, nearly all orders were identical. It made more sense to combine all elements into a simple package with up-front pricing...we hope you agree.
Another great and frequently asked question. The short answer...Remove your photos from albums or frames and your slides from trays if necessary. Organize your photos/slides in the order that you want them to appear on your video. Typically, you will organize them in chronological order. After you have organized them, NUMBER EACH PHOTO/SLIDE on the back (in the corner) with a pencil or smear-proof pen/marker (one that dries instantly). Click here for more details.
EndZone Productions is for everyone. Ages 2 to 102. Boys, girls, moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, sons, aunts, brothers, daughters, sisters, friends...We specialize in creating the most touching gifts you will ever give. Videos, CD's, Floppy Disks, Music, Pictures and Titles are combined to make a unique creation for anyone...personal or professional! Please see our Uses For Photos Alive page.
Photographs and music, we do the rest. The standard is 5 to 8 pictures per minute of music.
Yes.
YES! The scanning process is the first and quickest of building your video. The work really begins after all your photos have been scanned, and once they are in the computer, we're done with them. As a matter of fact, not only do we allow you to get your photos early...we encourage it!
All images are scanned. The scanned images are are processed with digital red-eye removal, image restoration, color balance, repair and cropping. This ensures all productions are of the highest quality.
Any image 11” x 17” or smaller., black and white, or color.
Typically between 2-5 seconds each with 2-3 second transition.
We an use your digital images and mix them with standard photos and/or slides. You can provide them on a memory stick, jump drive, cd-rom or email them directly to us. Please see our combining media section for further explanation.
Certainly...please visit our additional copy page for information.
Running time is determined by the music you use. If you provide 8 minutes and 30 seconds of music, that will be the running time of your video.
We offer opening and closing title screens. Please visit our Title Screen and Closing Screen pages for further details and background information:
Due to United States copyright laws, you are required to provide your own music. EndZone Productions can process the following formats: CD (Compact Disc), Records (vinyl), or cassette tape. If multiple songs are used in your production, a cross-fade (like what you hear on the radio) can be used.
Ensure they are secure in a zip-lock bag or envelope(s) with any ordering information, music or special instructions enclosed. If possible, mark each image on the back (use pencil) in the order you would like them to appear (i.e. 1...2...3...4...etc.). Don't forget to include your address, daytime and evening phone numbers.
Once your order is received, the production process should take no more than 5 days. However, it could be longer during the holidays and for larger productions. We encourage you to schedule your production as early as possible.
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Which Pictures Should I Use
Many people ask, "Is this a good picture to use in my production"?
Truthfully, there's no such thing as a 'bad' or 'wrong' picture, all pictures are wonderful in their own special and unique way. However, when designing a themed production, some pictures and images are undoubtedly better than others. This page was designed to help you pick the best photos to use in your production.
Portrait or Landscape
Ultimately, your photos will be seen on a television.
A television is rectangular in shape and EndZone Productions will
attempt to crop all photos to fit full-screen on your television.
Landscape photos lend themselves to be shown full-screen much easier
than portrait photos. But because of our pan-n-scan and zoom
effects, it is nice to have portrait photos..so, if it is at all
within your control, try to mix photos that are rectangular in shape
side-to-side (landscape) with photos that are rectangular in shape
top-to-bottom (portrait).
Pick A Theme
Decide on what your theme is and stick to it. If this
is a Mother's Day gift highlighting the life of mom, don't throw in
a picture of dad fixing the car. The best way to accomplish
this is by playing that Sesame Street game 'Which One Doesn't
Belong'. Remove and replace the photos do not stay with your
theme.
Background
Look beyond the picture...no really, look beyond it into the
pile of all the other pictures, do you notice that wallpaper again
and again and...again? How about that ocean, as beautiful as
it is, must it be in every third picture? Depending on your
theme, backgrounds might be similar, especially if you're doing
things like Summer Vacation 2000, Christmas 1980 - 2000, etc.
For the most part, try to make your backgrounds, locations and
clothing as different as possible to help make each picture
stand-out as unique.
Picture Size & Quality
Bigger is always better! If you have a picture that
you have to squint to see now, chances are it's not going to look
very good magnified 800 percent on the big screen. Please
understand, wallet-sized and larger pictures work fantastic, but
when you go smaller than a wallet, you're entering a gray area.
Along with size, photo quality makes a huge impact on whether an
image is 'usable'. Lets face it, a crisp and clear smaller
than wallet photo is better than an 'I accidentally washed and dried
this blurry, twenty-year-old, over exposed, I've been carrying it
with me since it was developed, three by five picture of my wife."
That Beautiful, Wonderful,
Magnificent Face...Again
Mix-it-up! Use different profiles, angles and
expressions. Super-wide, wide, full-body, upper body,
close-ups, and extreme close-ups. Alone, with friends, family,
at the zoo, posing, slice of life, on vacation, sad, happy, angry,
surprised, summer, winter, Halloween...
Tell A Story
Similar to a theme, but not exactly the same. If it's
Mothers Day and the theme is mom, what about her? Tell a
story...is it birth to now, just her younger years (black & whites
with brothers, sisters, mom and dad are awesome), just her later
years (meeting dad and having you). Will your story go
chronologically? How will it flow? Will there be even
distribution of the timeline (10 - 60's pictures, 10 - 70's
pictures, 10 -80's pictures and 10 - 90's pictures), or will you put
a focus on a specific part of her life?
Now That's Entertainment
When selecting pictures for your presentation, keep in mind
that it is for entertainment! Seriously, even if you're Joe
Gotrich making a documentary for the Board of Trustees, the ultimate
goal is to entertain. Entertain your wife, mother, brother or
friend. When they're watching the final production, the last
thing you want them to think about is when it's going to end.
To keep this from happening, use pictures that involve action, other
people, or meaningful events.
Those Darn 70's
The 1970's are notorious for using photo paper that has not
stood well over time. The pictures lose most color and have a
green hue. Try to avoid any picture that does
not have a good color balance keeping in mind that black and white
photos do not fall into this category and work well in any
presentation.
Combining Photos, Slides & Digital Images
Organization is critical to this being successful. First, you need to separate each media. Suppose you have 10 photographs, 5 slides and 5 digital images. Make a photo pile, a slide pile (numbering slide 01, 02, 03, 04 and 05) and for the digital images, name each image 01, 02, 03, 04 and 05.
If you wanted the order of the final production to be: slide, 3 photos, 3 slides, 3 digital images, 4 photos, 2 digital images, slide and three photos...
Start with the photos, and have either post-it notes, index cards or just some scrap sheets of paper on-hand. Since you want to start with a slide, you would write "Slide 1" and lay it face down. Next you would put the three photos, in-order, face down on the slide card. Then you would write, "Slide 2-4" and place that face down on the pictures. Then you would write "Image 1-3" and place that face down on the slide card, followed by the 4 photos. Write "Image 4-5" and place face down on the photos, write "Slide 5" and place face down on the image card, and finally place the last 3 photos, in order, face down on the slide card.
OK, that was a lot to read (and type) and makes everything seem much more complicated than it is. From top to bottom, all we need to know is what you want and where you want it. If you have questions about this, please feel free to call.
If you choose to scan your own photos, please scan them at 300dpi or better. Also, you are going to want to name each scanned image 01, 02, 03... in the order you would like them to appear. Having a randomly selected name could effect the order in which each picture is displayed when we receive them. We will handle the cropping of all images so do not worry if there is a white border along each photo. After each photo has been scanned and named correctly, you can save them on a memory stick, jump drive, cd-rom or email them directly to us.
When using video clips, there are many decision to be made, and much organization goes into it. As meticulous of a job as it is, the resulting production is well worth the effort. When dealing with the marriage of video clips and your still photos, start off by treating them as completely separate projects. Have an idea what you want the finished production to look like, but because the organization and structure of the two medias are so vastly different work with photos, then the video and finally bring them together. This section assumes you have already completed everything needed for the photo transfer.
Setup
- Do you want the audio from the video clip - If so, the clip must be placed between songs - keep this in mind when designing your photo sets. If not, the clips can be placed anywhere, but again, ensure there is enough music (even if it is podded down) to support the clip and your photos.
- Cueing the clip - Getting to the beginning of the clip and pressing stop so when we put the tape in our machine and press play it will be playing the clip you want from the beginning.
- Counter Reset - Find out how to reset your counter to all zeroes. Your counter must also be in the format of hours:minutes:seconds (some older machines have an arbitrary number system that is model specific and has no meaning unless played on that specific machine)
- Multiple clips on one tape - You need to locate the first clip to be used. Cue the clip, then press the counter reset button so your display shows zeros (this only works if your player has a real-time counter...hours:minutes:seconds). Note the length of the first clip (suppose 2 minutes 22 seconds) find the beginning of the next clip and note the time (suppose 34 minutes 10 seconds) and how long the clip lasts (suppose 1 minute, 14 seconds). Continue this procedure until all clips have been identified by start time and length. In addition to the clip start time and length, you will also want to note a short description of the clip so we can precisely locate it (time code just gets us to the area, but is not specific).
- Several tapes - Multiple tapes, whether containing several clips or just one must be labeled video 1, video 2, video 3, etc. That way you will be able to reference the clip in relation to the photo placement.
What We Need
After you
have organized each clip on each tape by start time, clip length and
short clip description then labeled each tape 1, 2, 3, etc,
you're ready to bring it together with your photos.
- Clip placement - It should be relative to the photos. Having a clip of a baby during the senior section of photos for a graduation video does not make sense.
- Clips and music - This is 'Clip Placement' continued - what do you expect to happen with the music when the video clip was shown (between songs or podded down) and which audio takes precedence (music or video audio)?
- Labeling Clips - Have a separate index card for each video clip. The index card shoul include the tape number, the clip number (if more than one clip on a tape), the clip start time (the first clip on every tape should always be cued and start time should always be 0:00:00) the clip length and a short clip description.
- Inserting the cards - once each clip has been identified on an index card, all you have to do is insert the card BEFORE the photo when you would like it to appear. In other words, treat the video clip as an individual picture, placing with among the other photos where you would like it to appear.
Video clips, while detailed in handling are an awesome addition to your production. If there is any point that is unclear to you, please contact us for assistance.
OK, we do not want to make this any more complicated than it has to be...too late! Here's the situation, you have 80 pictures and 2 songs (this would be 2 Photo Sets). Now, one song runs 3 minutes, the other runs 5 minutes. According to our standard of for every 10 pictures there should be 1 minute of music, you are right on target (80 pictures, 8 minutes of music).
Here's the problem, you want the first song to play during your first 40 photos, and the second to play with your second group of 40 pictures. One group of 40 pictures has a 5 minute song, the other only has a 3 minute song.
Now let me say that we can do this without problem, however, understand that one group is going to go nearly double the speed as the other as one group of 40 has to fit in 3 minutes while the other group of 40 gets 5 minutes.
Continuous
We recommend, if at all possible,
that we combine each song, take the total time and distribute the
photos evenly with the total time of the music. An example of
this would be a Mother's Day video where both songs were about love
and respect, but neither outweighed the other in regards to
significance to the photos being shown.
1-To-1
By contrast, you might be doing a family
video where one section is Christmas photos and another section is
family vacations. Each song was chosen specifically for the
group of photos (one Christmas song and one 'vacation' song).
This is not a problem, but you need to be aware of the time to photo
ratio and ensure you stay as close to the '10 pictures equals 1
minute of music' rule as possible.
Remember, you can combine continuous sections with 1-to-1 sections in the same video and, as always, it is better to have more music than not enough.
Everything's ready, photos, slides, video clips and music. All that's left is packing everything for us to process. You want to use binder clips and Ziploc bags if at all possible.
- Take each group of 40 pictures and use a binder clip to secure them. If there's more than one group of 40 pictures, use an index card and write a big 1, 2, 3, etc. and the grouping title of photos (i.e. 1. The Early Years, 2. Our Wedding, 3. The Kids, 4. The Grand Kids, 5. Our Family) and place the index card at the front of each photo set.
- If there is no specific title for each group of 40 pictures, it is only necessary to number the group.
- If you would prefer, each photo set can go in a separate Ziploc and you can title the bags individually
- Really, do whatever feels organized and right for you, just ensure the photos are in order and will stay that way, all information regarding titles, music, etc. is easily understandable.