The Beginner's Corner - Birthday Parties

 

 

I usually suggest filming a birthday party with the intention of doing some pretty serious editing afterwards. No one is going to want to go back and watch a full hour long party after the fact. A 5 minute music video of the event however can be something that you'll watch again and again and is perfect to send to family members and friends who couldn't make it to the big day.

 

Before you film anything you should make sure your camcorder is set up properly. If your party is going to be held in just one location white balance your camcorder for that location. If you are going to move from several locations such as outside and inside or a bright room to a darker one be sure to remember and adjust your camcorders settings when you make the move, don't rely on your camcorder to automatically adjust if you do chances are you'll end up with video that is either too dark or too bright.

 

Set the scene for your video by recording a little bit of the party set-up. Set-up video can be a great way to start a birthday video. Record a little bit of video after the party to end your video as well. Things like torn wrapping paper and dirty cake plates can be a fun way to end you video. For things like children's birthday parties you may want to interview your child before the party about their excitement and what they expect to happen and then again afterwards showing the camera their presents and re-capping the party.

 

Try to keep the camera on particular shots for a few seconds longer than you think you'll need. Longer shots are much easier to edit than shorter ones. You can always edit out things you don't want later on but you can't make shots longer if you moved the camcorder away too soon.

 

Once the party is over it's time to edit! For birthdays songs like the Beatles version of "Happy Birthday" typically work well. You can also pick songs that remind you of the person who had the birthday party. If you have a video editor that allows two audio tracks allow one for music and the other for sound from the party. Try to pick highlights from the party that you find particularly interesting to set them to the music changing shots on the beat of the music. If you don't have enough video to fill the entire song try incorporating digital still photos from the party into your video as well.