How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
By: Cindy Richard�
Project Description: A ten-step process guides amateur video editors who wish to create an impactful memory video from collected photos and clips. A memory video artfully displays slides and montages of original media, underscored by a selected soundtrack. A polished memory video will run approximately 5-10 minutes and will be perfect to show at a special occasion such as a graduation, wedding reception, anniversary, or memorial service.
Duration: 6:10
Script:
Video editing programs can automate a lot of functions for us these days, but the most meaningful videos still rely on a human touch. Special occasions – like graduations, weddings, anniversaries, or memorial services – are just too important to leave the editing of your memory video to AI or automated features. Give your loved ones the gift of your time and effort. Create a memory video that will rivet your viewers and have them laughing and tearing up at the memories.
Here are ten steps on how to do just that:
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �37 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�0:37
Pg. 1
Design Notes: Open with title slide and small animation. → Briefly show an automated function in a video editor. → Pile up gifs matching the narration – graduation, wedding, anniversary, memorial service. Pop one gif into each corner so all four are displayed for “... are just too important” through “at the memories.” → Freeze the gifs and overlay the text “10 Steps.”�
Script:
This will likely be a mix of photos and videos. Maybe there’s way too much material to include it all in your memory video. That’s okay – you can cut some later. If you’re overwhelmed, try sorting photos and videos into different folders by event, by year, or whatever topics make sense. Remember to also select favorite or thematic songs for the soundtrack. As you’re considering music, avoid copyrighted pieces if you plan to upload your memory video to YouTube.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �33 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�1:10
Pg. 2
Design Notes:�Display the first step (“1. Collect all of the media you might use.”) and leave it displayed until the transition to step 2.
Screencast segment showing organization of folders and files.
Flash the message YouTube displays if you try to post a video with copyrighted music.
Script:
2. Plan your structure and sequence.
Think about the structure of your memory video. In what sequence will you show your media? Chronological? Flashbacks? Thematically? Do you want a slideshow of photos during one song and a montage of clips during another song? You may want to further organize your media files by grouping, numbering, or renaming things. This will make it much easier to find the media you want as you’re editing your memory video. Also make a decision about the length of your video. The length of your selected music pieces may inform that decision. If you are going to use mostly still photos without much movement, try to keep your total length under five minutes. If you’re planning a montage of clips with plenty of movement and energy, and you have a willing audience, you could go up to ten or twelve minutes. Any longer and you risk your audience getting antsy.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �52 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�2:02
Pg. 3
Design Notes:�Display the second step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use screencast and demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
3. Select, clip, and organize your media.
Now get picky and curate the best material out of the media you’ve amassed. You might have hundreds of photos, but no one wants a photo dump. Which photos are the best quality and most representative of your theme? Close-ups of faces and action shots in the middle distance work well for slideshows. Avoid photos that are blurry, poorly lit, washed out, or too busy. Now select short clips out of longer videos. For example, if you have a four-minute video of kids playing in the park, you’re obviously not going to use the whole thing. Where are the best visual moments in that four-minute video? What movement or vibes could you pull from the video that would be fun to set to music? Maybe a kid with a big grin swings towards the person holding the camera, so you get a quick and adorable zoom in, happening naturally. Make a copy of the file so you can chop it up and save the short segments you’ll use in your memory video.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �60 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�3:02
Pg. 4
Design Notes:�Display the third step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use screencast and demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
4. Create your soundtrack.
Now you’re ready to begin the project in your video editing program. I recommend starting with your music. Line up your pieces in the sequence you want. Clip off any silent seconds and decide when to fade in or fade out. Do you want one song cross-fading into the next, or do you want a brief pause in between songs? Experiment with the transitions between songs until they’re smooth, with no dead space or jarring changes. Check the volume between songs and keep it consistent. Check how long your video is going to be. If your soundtrack is too long, make changes to achieve your desired timing.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �38 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�3:40
Pg. 5
Design Notes:�Display the fourth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use screencast and demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
5. Design your opening.
Design opening visuals that will grab your audience’s attention as the music begins. Do you want a stand alone title slide, or a less intrusive title that overlays a photo or clip? Do you want a little intro sequence of visuals leading up to a title slide as the music builds? What kind of opening will best fit your theme and appeal to your audience?
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �25 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�4:05
Pg. 6
Design Notes:�Display the fifth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
6. Let the soundtrack guide your visuals.
Now be strategic about where you place your photos and clips. Think about how to time your visuals to the music. Try shortening the duration of still photos to avoid audience burnout. A fullscreen close-up of one to three faces only needs to be displayed for about three seconds. A more complex shot showing many faces or figures might need to display for four or five seconds for the viewer to process it. You could add interest to still photos by framing or grouping them or adding slide transitions such a zoom, stomp, or other effect. Clips with movement – such as the example of the kid swinging towards you – are fun to time to the music.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �43 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�4:48
Pg. 7
Design Notes:�Display the sixth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use screenshot and demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
7. Create smooth transitions.
Transitions are important. They should feel seamless and not jarring. Don’t take your viewer out of the moment because a photo is randomly bouncing away into the next one. Crossfading is a nice trick for smooth transitions.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �16 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�5:04
Pg. 8
Design Notes:�Display the seventh step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
8. Add complementary – not distracting – FX.
In the same vein as transitions, any special effects or graphics you include should add meaning and avoid disrupting the flow. Experiment with building emotional impact through well-timed effects like slow mo or a lens flare. Just don’t be too heavy-handed; keep the focus on the memories.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �21 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�5:25
Pg. 9
Design Notes:�Display the eighth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use demo segments to match the narration.
Script:
9. Design closure.
Now go for the strong finish. Did you save the best, most relevant, or most bittersweet clip for last? Do you want to overlay any text at the end as a parting thought? Did you time your visuals to fade out perfectly with the music? Is your audience reaching for the tissues? (Good – mission accomplished!)
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �21 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�5:46
Pg. 10
Design Notes:�Display the ninth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use demo segments and stock footage to match the narration.
Script:
10. Fine tune for impact.
Check your final product to make sure your memory video is well-paced and polished. Don’t let your viewers get bored for a second; you want them totally enraptured as they relive the memories you’ve stitched into art and set to music. When you put time, effort, and heart into creating a memory video, you craft a keepsake that your viewers can enjoy again – years after their special event.
PROJECT TITLE: How to Create a Memory Video with Heart
Duration: �24 sec
Total Elapsed Time:�6:10
Pg. 11
Design Notes:�Display the tenth step and leave it displayed until the transition.
Use stock footage.
Echo the small animation from the title slide at the end.