A.  Gather your photo prints, and if desired, video clips, to arrange in the order you want them to appear.

B.  Have your photo prints scanned to digital format (JPEG files) and your video clips digitized (AVI, MPEG2, MOV, MP4, WMV files).  Whichever source you use to do this, please make sure photos are scanned at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch and video clips should be trimmed to no longer than 10 seconds in length.  Furthermore, the file size of any one photo file cannot exceed 5MB.  There are numerous Retail Stores nationwide which can provide these scanning/digitizing services, such as Target, Costco, and probably your local pharmacy.

C. The order or the photos and video clips that appear on your slideshow will be based on the order the files were uploaded to our server. Although not required, we suggest renaming your files numerically before uploading, such as “01, 02, 03, etc.”.  Now, if there are going to be several chapters such as a Wedding Slideshow depicting a bride and a groom, then the file names might be alpha-numeric: “A01, A02, A03...” for the first chapter, and “B01, B02, B03,...” for the next chapter. Save the digital files onto a file folder on your computer,  and shift-click all the files in your folder and upload them to our Design Team when Ordering.

A. If you desire to have a Menu for the opening of your DVD presentation, pick out one to four photos to be highlighted.  In most cases, just having one photo works best.  For instance, a Wedding Slideshow could use an engagement photo of the couple for the Menu.  Next, we’ll need to know the Title to appear on the Menu (e.g. the couple’s names and wedding date).

B.  For the main body of the slideshow, it is time to pick out your music.  Just go to our Music Page and start by choosing one of the two music sources and a genre which will work best for the type of slideshow you are designing and the people who are starring in it!  If you are considering a slideshow with multiple chapters, it is best to choose one song track per chapter or for each 3-3 1/2 minutes (35-45 photos).  If the photos run out before the song ends, we will just fade the music out before the end of the chapter. Jot down the name of the song track and genre for input into our Production Design Form.

C.  Keep in mind that 12 photos in your slideshow will take up about 1 minute and we typically have our images appear on screen for 3 seconds and then transition to the next image for 2 more seconds (totalling 5 seconds).  This seems to work best at keeping the audience’s attention while still entertaining them!

A. Finally, are you ordering any of our extra features such as:  1) a graphics print right onto the DVD with Title,  2) Closing Credits which scroll up at the end of the movie to present a long message, 3) A Menu Design?  If so, take time to pick out the photo(s) you want highlighted and any Titles to add for those features.

B.  You’ve done quite a bit so far, and it’s time to start the ordering process.  This can all be accomplished by going to our Order Page and following the 3 simple steps of filling out your Design Form, uploading your photos/videos to us, and proceeding to our Shopping Cart to select and pay for your package and extras.

C.  The first question usually asked of us is “How long will this take”?   Our production team prefers to have at least two (2) weeks from contract to delivery.  This allows sufficient time for a rough draft (proof) to be provided to the client, usually over the internet as a Windows Media File or Flash File.   Your approval then allows us to burn the project at higher resolution onto your DVD for delivery.  Production times under 7 days (from order date to due date) incur a Rush Charge of $100 and will include overnight Fed Ex shipping.  Please call our staff if requiring a Rushed project, as we will need to confirm with you whether our staffing can meet your deadline in such a case.