Sharing my experience in creating a video in 24 hrs, the technique was easy, quick-&-dirty, something a lay-man can easily use.
Five years back when we were just married, some of our friends announced they were pregnant and that triggered this thought how can I make this communication more fun, exciting when it was our turn. One of the ideas was to make a video.
When we were pregnant, I felt like it was the most exciting time of our life. We were lucky to wish for a baby and the wish be granted so quickly.
I always knew I wanted to do something really exciting, personalized, and put some effort to announce that we were pregnant. Five years back when we were just married, some of our friends announced they were pregnant and that triggered this thought how can I make this communication more fun, exciting when it was our turn. One of the ideas was to make a video. I have studied film and my student film has won International Award of Excellence at ASIFA and my partner has helped as an Assnt. Director on prominent Bollywood movies like Black Friday, 1961 (movie won National Award). So it just fit our background and our personalities. I had made several birthday, thank you, anniversary videos with Cool Edit pro, Adobe Aftereffects and even Microsoft PPT. They were highly enjoyed by friends and family. So our audience had shown past interest in video announcements and wishes too. This time I didn't have the time or patience to make a full fledged project so this is quick and dirty, something a lay-man can easily use.
Equipments
Just your cell phone + tripod is more than enough for this entire project. If you have a DSLR camera + tripod, that will give more professional results. If you are considering renting/borrowing, borrow one with a remote control-app on phone. This helps as it gives you a preview on the phone app showing what you are clicking and looking like, helps you to have swell poses, if you are shy or awkward in front of the camera.
Theme
Have a overall theme for your photoshoot. Our's was fun childhood symbols, like bubbles, balloons, candy, etc. So the video would be a collection of photos with these props and at the end we would say we are practicing to be fun parents.
Definitely coordinate your outfits to your partners. Pick a color that suits both your skin tone than picking a color that is auspicious, lucky, etc. It will really get the best in you. We didn't buy anything new we worked with what we had in our closet. As my partner is more shy than me on camera, we went with his most comfortable color of dressing; so the choice was white and black. Black really does not suit my skin color so we stuck with white shirts and denim pants. Classic!
For props chose artifacts that compliment your dress color. Stand in front of the mirror wearing your dress and pose with the props to see if it's looking visually appealing/soothing or not.
Lighting and location
Light is the key to get good looking pics. 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset are the best to shoot if outdoors. Overcast sky also gives a lovely light in pics. If you have to shoot at noon shaded canopy of trees or a man-made shade with sunlight hitting the floor acts like a reflector..
We actually travelled to the wine county of the Bay area to get our photoshoot done. Beautiful backgrounds are important to make things look pretty. It is a good enough reason to have a weekend getaway, which you need to pack some before the baby gets you busy anyways.
We spent a total of 4-5 hours taking pics at different locations and time.
Editing
Oh this is the simplest. If you follow the lighting and location tip you will not even need any filters to add a pop to your pics. I didn't use any, as I loved how they looked as is. To create a video I used iMovie on my Apple. It's got a few presets and you can tweak it to make it your own so you literally need zero skills to add just bunch of pics and titles. Took me around 2 hrs of tweaking and meddling to get the best out in our video. And you are done.
Announcement day
If it is possible wait for a cool date to announce. Like we announced 3 months + 1 week when it was Children's Day. As our theme was childhood related props, a lot of people thought we were just wishing Happy Children's Day and the last bit was a good surprise. It just added more detail to our announcement.
It's definitely a rewarding feeling at the end when everyone appreciates your effort. Looking back at the video, gets back so many memories, feelings and a smile. I am glad we did this. I always encourage anyone thinking of doing some photoshoot/video to go ahead it does take a lot of planning, travel, timing, coordination, some money spent and being in good mood but its all worth it.
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