Up until now, I’ve talked mostly about the benefits of using video on your funeral home website to educate families and the community on the services you offer. But what about the benefits of using video to celebrate and honor the life of a loved one? By creating cinematic-quality memorial tribute videos for your families, you’re giving them a unique and personalized keepsake that serves as an integral part of their grief and healing process.

Watch the following tutorial to see just how easy it is to make a tribute video for your families using the funeralOne Life Tributes Software system. See tips below on how to take your tribute video from good, to GREAT!

If you missed the previous 3 blog posts in The Value of Video series, you can find them here:

• Increase Engagement & Visibility of Your Funeral Home Website

• 4 Ways to Establish Credibility With An Educational Video Library

• Funeral Marketing: Getting Started with Educational Videos

12 Tips for Making a Great Memorial Tribute Video:

1. Modify at will.

All general information can be changed at any time with the exception of the name field. (Unless, however, you are one of our unlimited usage customers; in that case you will be able to modify everything including the name). There are never additional charges for modifying projects.

2. This picture tells the story.

The cover photo is used twice: once on the DVD menu and again on the DVD jacket cover, so pay special attention to its content and how it looks on the screen. Because all cover photos automatically crop into a 1:1 aspect ratio to prevent them from stretching, shrinking or distorting, a cover photo may need additional adjustment, even if it looks great anywhere else.

3. Make it look professional.

Add video backgrounds exactly where you want them. The “Video Backgrounds” section allows for easy background placement, thanks to the “Select and Place Individual Video Backgrounds” feature. Choose your background and the clips will appear as photos. Just drag each background where you want it in your photo timeline. It creates a professional look for any video.

4. Limit the number of photos.

25-30 photos per video create the best presentation. Although Life Tributes can support much more than 30 pictures, an audience is less likely to remember or enjoy any more than that. In other words, a LONGER video doesn’t necessarily mean a BETTER one.

5. Scan, crop and drop.

The multiple scanning feature lets you scan as many images as your flatbed scanner can handle. As they scan into your computer, use the cropping tools to enhance each image. The edited photos will automatically drop into order, all in one step!

6. Resolve the resolution.

The Automatic Setting for scanning quality is very dependable; however, you can adjust your setting manually, too. Depending on the picture quality and your scanner, 200 or 300 dpi may give you better clarity. The setting will remember your last adjustment.

7. Adding motion adds emotion.

Motion effects create a powerful sensory impact, so be sure to use it for every photo. Just don’t use the same one every time. Every motion effect should focus on the lost loved one – an especially important tip to keep in mind when multiple people are in the photo.

8. A documentary feel is a right-click away.

Add authenticity to your video by adding smart motion to every image. Just right-click on any photo in the timeline and select “Add smart motion to all images.” The program sorts through all of your photos and searches for faces, helping keep the motion focused on people rather than the physical center of the picture. As you apply this smart feature on the photos, just double click on the first photo and you’ll be able to cycle through all of the photos. It also allows you to edit as you go through the album.

9. Caption cautions.

As tempting as it may be to place elaborate captions on every photo, try to keep text captions very minimal. Slowing the movie down to allow for reading time can interfere rather than enhance everyone’s viewing experience. Instead, try placing year references every several photos for a more realistic use of captions.

10. Take control of your copyrights.

Use the Copy-Protection feature when burning your DVDs. When families need more copies, help ensure that they’ll come to you instead of burning more themselves.

11. Dressed for success.

Use the full funeralOne presentation, including the DVD Case, label and insert with matching theme—what a great, professional look!

12. Double-check insurance.

Always preview the DVD prior to giving it to your family.

Still questioning The Value of Video? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please share your comments and questions below!

Rochelle Rietow

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