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 Print
Out the Order Form
Our DVD photo slideshow order form is available on the
right as a PDF. Simply print out and fill in the form. The form
begins with contact information.
We also provide
an area for you to let us know if the slideshow is a gift for
anyone who might answer your phone (we won't discuss it with
them!). You may also list your DVD player make and model so
we can check on compatibility issues ahead of time. Finally,
there is an acknowledgement of the $50 base price that begins
the project.
If you are confused by anything on the order form, just write
out your instructions in a way that makes sense to you. If we
have questions, we'll ask. And if you need extra space, just
use the back of the form or a separate paper. There is no limit
to the instructions you can give us for songs
or photos or anything else! The more information you provide,
the easier it will be to create the best slideshow for
you.
Our Picture
Slideshow FAQ pages provided extensive details on
every aspect of a slideshow, so please check there if you have
questions – it's
likely your answers can be found.
Before you start ripping apart photo
albums, it's a good idea to ask yourself a few
questions about your
slideshow:
– What is my slideshow's main idea? This
question sounds simple, but knowing the slideshow's purpose
will help you focus when selecting photos. Most importantly,
it will enable you to exclude photos that may be nice, but
which don't fit your main idea, thus creating a tighter
show. Is a person's life your main theme? Or maybe a specific
event?
– Besides photos, what other media fit my slideshow's
main idea? For example, video clips can be lively
highlights. Onscreen titles and captions can
help inform the audience about important facts. And invitations,
newspaper articles, and other memorabilia can offer unique
touches.
– What emotions do you wish to evoke? Do
you want the slideshow
to make viewers
laugh? Cry? Go "awww..." All
three and more?
Choose your photos
and music accordingly
for the emotions
you wish to project.
– How
long
should
my
slideshow
be? If
the
slideshow
will
be
shown
to
an
audience
at
a
party,
we
advise
planning
for
10
to
20
minutes.
About
10
photos
fit
with
each
minute
of
music,
so
this
works
out
to
be
about
100–200
photos.
We
have
created
many successful
slideshows
of
that
length
for
events.
However,
for
shows
such
as
personal
biographies
or
family
histories,
length
is
not
as
important
since
the
slideshow
is
mainly
for
posterity.
These
shows
can
last
a
half-hour
or longer. |
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Organize your photos!
Once you've thought about the goals for your slideshow, then
it's time to choose photos. Make sure you leave enough time for
this step
– it can take awhile!
First, decide on the sections that will
comprise your DVD photo slideshow. Most slideshows
are organized by a few different thematic chunks, which are
usually chronological or by topic. Each section should have
at least 10 photos if possible, for best results with music.
For example, chronological usually works best for a biography
video:
1. Childhood and Teenage Years
2. Marriage
3. Kids
4. Senior Years and Grandchildren
But organization by topics can work better for a wedding slideshow:
1. Couple photos over the years (i.e., the courtship)
2. Bride's childhood
3. Groom's childhood
4. The wedding party and family members
5. Recent couple photos
After deciding on the larger sections within your slideshow,
you're ready to choose photos and organize them into
each section. We can use any photo up to 8x10 in size.
Small photos, slides, and negatives are fine too. We also accept
digital photos. And don't forget memorabilia: newspaper articles,
announcements, awards, diplomas, certificates, invitations, drawings,
cards, letters, etc. Look for photos and items that best tell
the story you are trying to convey.
Got your photos chosen? Now, put the
photos in each section into the order you wish them to appear onscreen.
When all your photos are in order, go through them again and
eliminate any that seem repetitious. Then go through them a third
time and eliminate again! The more concise you can be, the better
the slideshow. Remember, your audience will
not have patience for 20 nearly-identical photos. Sometimes,
an objective friend can help with this step.
For additional tips on choosing the best photos for your
slideshow, please see our photo montage page. |
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 Number
your photos
Number
the first photo "1" and count up. Each photo
should have a unique number. If there are 50 photos, the first
photo should be "1" and the last should be "50."
There are a few different ways you can write your numbers:
1. Use a small adhesive label or sticker and
put it on the back of the photo.
2. Use a small stickie/Post-It note and put
it on the back of the photo.
3. Use a light pencil.
If you choose this option, don't press too hard with the pencil.
Please don't use a pen or a marker, which can distort the photo,
bleed through, or smear.
Do not put any labels or stickies on the front of a photo,
or write on the front of it.
What if you need to add or remove a photo after you've finished
your numbering? Just add a letter
to its number. For example, let's say you want to add a new
photo between photo #13 and photo #14. The new photo would
receive the number "13A." If you wish to remove
a specific photo, just take it out and make a note of it on
your order form: "There is no photo #36."
For slides, write the number in pencil on the paper border.
Make sure the number is on the same side as the correct
side of the slide. We will use the numbered side.
If you are including digital photos, either from a digital
camera or scans you made, change the name of each
file name to the correct number. For example: "025.jpg." Files
can be provided on a CD-R, memory card, or a flash drive (all
are returned). Please do not print your digital photos
yourself; sending the digital files is preferable. If doing
any scanning for your project, please see our Photo
Scan page
for important quality guidelines regarding transferring photographs
to DVD.
Digital photos, whether made by a digital camera or scanner,
are adjusted for color and contrast but NOT for scratches and
dust. When we scan prints, we utilize a special process that
removes dust and small particles while scanning, which minimizes
restoration work later. Likewise, photos from a digital camera,
naturally, do not have any particles resulting from scans.
However, we cannot control scans made by clients; we cannot
charge $1.50 per photo and still clean up dirty images. Therefore,
if you submit scanned photos, be aware that they will not be
fully restored as they would be if we scanned them in-house.
When all your print photos and slides
are in order and numbered, place them in Ziploc bags or large
envelopes, grouped by the song that goes with each section.
If you have specific instructions for any photo, you may indicate
it on page 4 of the order form. |
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 Select
your music
The right music sets the mood, holds the audience's attention,
and produces laughter and tears. So first think about the feeling
you want the slideshow to have.
A good place to start
is by including the favorite songs of the people who are spotlighted
in the slideshow. Using meaningful songs
is key to a memorable show. Another method is to choose music
that goes well with the main idea of each section of photos.
Or, for a section of photos from a specific
time period, check out music of that era. For extensive tips
on choosing music, take a look at our Slideshow
Music page.
Please
provide enough music for the number of photos you have! Allot
6 seconds of music per photo, or at least 1 minute of music
for every 10 photos. For example,
let's say you have 20 photos in the "Mom and Dad's wedding" section
of your anniversary slideshow. 20 photos x 6 seconds = 120
seconds of music (2 minutes). That means that the song for
this section needs to be AT LEAST 2 minutes. And to be safe,
it's better if this song is about 3 minutes long. It's
always better to have the song be a bit longer than the content
it accompanies than be too short, for creativity's sake.
Please assign a minimum of 10 photos to each song, which will
create a smoother slideshow. And remember to allot time in
the music if a section of photos also includes items such as
title screens and video clips.
These are only rough guidelines. Don't be too concerned
about lining everything up perfectly. Usually, giving us a
song and saying "I want these 25 photos set
to that song" works fine. In most cases, we can loop
songs to add length or edit songs to shorten them. And if you
have any instructions for a song, such as specific verses
you want to exclude, just let us know.
To provide music, you may send us the original CD or a burned
CD. If there is a song you can't find, we can use a legal download
service such as iTunes to purchase it for you. However,
we encourage you to provide your own music, since that guarantees
that each song is exactly the version you want. All CDs are
returned to you when your DVD is finished.
You are now ready to fill in the PHOTOS AND SONGS section
of the order form. The section is designed to accommodate
the sections of photos that you organized in step 2 and 3. List the
beginning and ending photos for the section, and the song that goes
with it. Add any comments you wish. An example entry in this section
would be:
Photos 1–15 "I
Only Have Eyes for You" Please
include verse 2 if possible |
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 Video
Clips for your DVD Photo Slideshow
The form next covers special items that you can add to your slide
show DVD. The video clip section of the form follows the photos/songs
at the bottom of page 1.
Video Clips can add vibrant life to your
slideshow. We recommend that videos run less than 1 minute
for best effectiveness. We can either keep the tape's audio
intact, mix it with your music, or only use the music. (If
you have a preference, let us know; otherwise we will use our
editing creativity.) We can transfer video from VHS tape,
VHS-C, Betamax, Video8, Hi8, Digital 8, Mini DV, DVCam, DVD,
Mini DVD, and digital camcorders.
To add video clips to your slideshow, indicate the start time
and stop time on the tape for each clip. (e.g., "Start:
15:05; Stop: 15:30.") Then provide the number of the last
photo that appears before the video clip in the slideshow.
To do this accurately, rewind your tape to the beginning, reset
the counter to 0:00, and finding the correctly time codes.
(For Mini DV or other digital formats, the time often resets
with each new segment, so be careful and specific in your instructions.)
If you have more than one tape, please number each tape and
indicate that as well. |
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 Title
Screens and Captions
On the top of page 2 of the order form is the area to provide
your written title screens and caption lines.
Title Screens are used for opening your
show, introducing sections of specific content, and offering
congratulations or best wishes at the end of the show. They can
also be used to provide onscreen credits. Titles appear as
easy-to-read white text on a black background. Click on
the title screen at right to see an larger example of a a title
screen that was used at the beginning of a slideshow.
Captions are useful for identifying people
in a photo, providing a photo's date, or commenting on a
photo's content ("What
a beautiful baby!"). Keep your captions short and
use them sparingly or your audience may get tired of reading.
Captions appear as a line of white text at the bottom of a photo. Click
on the photo at right to see a larger example of a caption.
To add a title screen or caption to your show, write the text
you want in the space provided. Then, on the right, check if this
text is to be set as an separate title screen or a caption over
a photo. If checking "title," write in the number of the photo that
appears after the title screen. If checking "caption,"
write in the number of the photo on which the caption is to appear. |
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 Special
Options: Main Menu Song & Scenes Menu
The following special options are available for your photo
video slideshow, and involve the main menu and optional scenes menu.
Song During Main Menu: You may specify that
one of your slideshow's songs be used for the Main Menu. This
is absolutely free! Simply write in the name of the song you
wish to use. (If you prefer to use a song for the Main Menu
that is not in your slideshow, a $5 fee applies.
A Scene Selections menu features
full-motion video buttons showing chapters that you select. Eight
chapter stops of your choice are included. Brief captions of
your choice appear next to the buttons. Additional chapters can
be added for $2 each. (Your slideshow has automatic chapter stops
every 5 minutes during the video if this option is not included.)
Indicate your preferred chapter stops on
your form by marking the photo number at which they should
occur. You may also write brief captions for your chapters,
which will appear next to the buttons. A Scene
Selections menu is beneficial for lengthy slideshow production
(20+ minutes).
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 DVD
Design for Slideshow Presentation
Finally, we ask for your preferences for how your DVD(s)
should look. Available Theme designs and cases are available
on our DVD Design page.
DVD Theme: First, every Timeless DVD includes
one of our Themes,
which is a design for the Main Menu, DVD cover, and disc. If
you're unsure about selecting a Theme, you may check the box
asking us to select the Theme that best complements your project
and/or photo.
Themes include a photo of your choice from your slideshow. Mark
the number of the photo you wish to use for the theme next. Our
Themes are sorted by general photo shape. Choose a photo that
is clear and best represents your slideshow. (When we begin constructing
your DVD, we may contact you if your photo shape does not work
with the Theme you have selected.)
DVD Case Preference: Next, you may indicate
which of our 16 case colors and styles you wish to order.
Most customers prefer a black case, which looks great with most
projects, and if this is what you prefer, you may leave this
line blank.
Color Preferences: Please let us know any color
preferences you have. We adjust most Themes to match the colors
in your photo, and can even change our Text-Only designs to meet
your preferences. This option is helpful for certain projects,
such as a DVD for a team that has specific colors or for a video
transfer of a wedding with a certain palette.
Disc Preference: We offer both a glossy WaterShield
disc and a matte disc (both top-quality discs by Taiyo Yuden).
Title of DVD: A title of your choice appears
on the Main Menu, DVD cover, and disc. Your title can be two
lines of text. Most customers prefer to have a main headline
title and a smaller subhead. A sample title would be:
Marie Smith – 50 Great
Years!
May 15, 2009
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 TOTALS
page
Enter totals on page 3 of the order form. This is
the last step. You will see a few additional options
in the totals area that you may also add.
Restored Photo CD: This is a CD that contains
all of your optimized photos. Your photos are saved as high-resolution
JPEGs on the CD, and they can be printed out on your home printer.
The Restored Photo CD is an easy way to obtain copies of photos
that we have optimized to look their best. If interested in this
option, just include it on the TOTALS page of the order form.
DVD and VHS Copies: Copies are available for
only $12 ($15 for VHS), and ordering more than 9 DVD copies entails
further discounts. All DVD copies are 100% identical to
the original. DVDs make easy yet heartfelt gifts, as well as
useful backups in case your original copy becomes damaged.
Add up all the items and totals in your slideshow, and write
in the subtotal. Add this subtotal to any rush fees, credits
(coupons), 6% PA state tax for PA residents, and the $10.00 shipping
cost. If additional shipping is required, we will let you know
after we receive your project.
Please include full payment with your order. Due to
the time and labor involved in creating our DVD slideshows,
payment in full is required before DVD production can
begin. We accept
personal checks, major credit cards, and PayPal. Make checks
payable to "Timeless DVD." (Checks are not cashed and
cards are not charged until project is finished.)
If choosing PayPal, write in the e-mail address that PayPal
has on file for your account. We will e-mail a PayPal request
to you for the total amount. You must complete your PayPal payment
before we can begin work on your DVD.
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Order a slideshow presentation for your party! |
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