At La Penna's Envisioned Video we have learned that a little planning can add a lot to making a video most entertaining. This page contains information that should help you plan your presentation, event, wedding, or photo transfer experience. Scroll down until you see your topic of interest.
PRESENTATIONS & TESTIMONIALS
1) Still pictures are normally displayed for six seconds plus another half second
on either end as part of the transition. Keep this in mind when calculating the
desired run time the presentation.
2) We can crop, enlarge, pan across, zoom into and out from a picture.
Keep this in mind when selecting pictures.
3) Often we are supplied with client video tape containing comments from people
so that we can incorporate this video into the presentation.
Here are a few thoughts to consider
A) When recording these comments make sure that you have good lighting.
Your light source should never be in front of the camera.
B) Pay attention to the audio. Consider using an external mike and be
careful about unwanted sound that the camcorder could pick up.
C) Don't be afraid to move in tight for a nice close up. Vary the range from
which you record different subjects.
D) Be careful with the length of the comments. If five people talk for three
minutes, that's a lot of video! It is best to keep comments to under a
minute
4) Aside from pictures, consider furnishing us with newspaper clippings and
documents such as certificates, report cards, and other items.
5) Along with music, we can incorporate sound from audio tape. Before
camcorders people would record their children on audio tape cassettes.
6) Titles make a presentation come alive. Consider furnishing us with
information about the pictures, family, honeree,etc. You may want to come
up with some captions. Beware, we are not afraid to add our own!
7) Old 8mm and Super 8 home movies can be used, too. See additional
information on this subject farther down on this page.
8) For events celebrated with a party involving many activities (like dancing), a
presentation should not run over 20 minutes. For Dinner Parties where the
video is the main entertainment, 30 minutes is acceptable.
9) Here is a post production hint. Often people show these presentations at
parties at banquet halls. When bringing in a TV for this purpose do not
overlook sound quality. Usually TV sets do not have big enough speakers
to fill a hall with good sound. If you are having a deejay, one option is to
ask if he will be able to take the sound from the TV/VCR and pipe it through
his system. Another option is to hold a microphone from the PA system next
to the TV's speakers. It is best to test before the actual presentation.
10) And finally, here is a money saving option for you. We can work with physical
photographs of all sizes. If it is possible for you to furnish us with scanned
digital pictures you will save money because you will be saving us a step.
Weddings & Other Events
La Penna's Envisioned Video has lots of ideas that make a video come alive and the experience to make them work. Still, we want to keep being inventive and we love working with your ideas. We send our clients a questionaire where we look for tidbits of information about the bride and groom, family, the wedding party, etc. This information adds to our ability on both the day of the shoot and during editing.
People are different, with different personalities. We want to make sure that we capture you and your ideas. We will take time to talk with you and have some real creative fun with your thoughts. You see, we want our next video to be the best ever!
Many couples choose our basic Wedding coverage which starts at the ceremony and runs through the end of the reception. Deluxe coverage can include coming first to the bride's home and/or the rehearsal dinner. Some decide on our two camera coverage. This is especially good for large weddings. Here are a few options that you might like for your video.
STORY OF GROWING UP: Some couples like to create a video musical montage from childhood photographs. These can be very touching and while often a part of the wedding video, they can also be prepared ahead of time for viewing at rehearsal dinners or showers.
A VIDEO LOVE STORY: Prior to the wedding day we would visit locations where you first met and experienced those early dates. You could tell the story of your courtship and we could shoot some mood images. We could add some early dating photos and momentos and use it all as a change of pace in your video. This, too, would be a nice rehearsal dinner presentation.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Prior to the wedding day we would go to a nice setting and the couple would talk about their upcoming wedding. We would then incorporate some of this footage into the final wedding video at the proper times to create a "dream" effect. For example, the couple may talk about what it will be like to cut the cake. In the video we would place the words from their "expectations" chat right before the actual cake cutting. ( Another option would be to conduct a post wedding interview and incorporate some of these comments as narration into the final video.)
THE SHORT CUT: We can create an additional shorter version of your edited video for quick viewing. Our normal edit is like a scrapbook filled with lots and lots of memories. We can cut this down to a 20 or 30 minute version filled with highlights and just a glimpse at other interesting moments. This could be the version that you bring to work to show the girls at lunch, for example.
PHOTOGRAPHER'S PROOFS VIDEO: Often these days photographers give clients their proofs on CD Rom for viewing only on a computer only. We can set these photos to music and create a DVD slide show that you can view anywhere!
Of course, for events other than weddings our method is the same. We take time to know our client and to understand the video that they envision. Request our FREE "How to Plan Your Great Wedding Video" guide. In this guide we describe simple things you can do that will enhance your video.
Home Movie Transfers to Video/DVD
Single reels of 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm movie film are about fifty feet in length. These measure about three inches in diameter and usually play for just over three minutes. Twenty reels (1000 feet) equates to about an hour of video. People who took the time to spice their movies together usually did so to 400 (about 5 inches) or 600 (about 7 inches) foot reels.
When Envisioned Video performs the transfer, we will look for "unwatchable" spots. These usually occurred when there was either too much or not enough light. When we see these, we leave them off of the video.
We try to make your video better in other ways, too. For example, lots of people used to record movies out the side window of their car while doing 55 MPH! We throw moments such as these into slow motion making them much easier on the eyes.
Your VHS/8mm Tapes to DVD - DVD Authoring
The precious memories that you have on VHS tape are not permanent. Each year these fade a bit more until they become unwatchable. It is good to transfer this material to DVD and/or digital tape. A carefully cared for DVD will last well past your lifetime.
We can place approximately 2 hours on a DVD at a very high quality. If your original tapes are lacking in quality, you may want to consider placing only 1 hour onto each single DVD. This would enable us to make adjustments that would ensure no additional loss of quality.
You can keep your cost down by organizing your tapes. If we make up a 2 hour DVD using video from 1 full VHS tape that you supply, it will cost less than if we need to use video from numerous tapes to burn a single DVD. We can make periodic entry points into your DVD or we can make specific entry points. Entry points allow you to go directly to a given segment of your DVD from your DVD menu
Call us today to discuss your video ideas at 610-964-1390. 
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