How to make a Video Greeting Card

Ah, the holidays ! With all the craziness it is a miracle that anything gets accomplished around the workplace . The holidays are also a time that we send and receive greeting from our clients .

Usually, this is done through a card or gift, but why not make a splash this year and produce a short holiday video thanking your clients for their business! With today’s video editing software, it is very easy and affordable

STEP 1 – THE IDEA

Depending on your business, you may want to think about the style of your video holiday card . Do your clients expect you to be traditional and professional , or would your audience appreciate something a little more interesting ? You may want to come up with a few ideas of what to do for your card. It can be as simple as a static shot of all your employees saying Happy Hanukah or singing a Auld Lang Syne or it could be more complex with scenes, a script and animations. It’s really up to you, but the best advice is to plan before you execute. Develop an idea of what you want to capture in the video before you wrangle everyone together to make it happen.

STEP 2 – SHOOT YOUR VIDEO

After you plan , you are ready to execute on the idea. To start with , you will need a camera to record the action . You can go easy and simple by using a Flip Cam or you can use a more professional camcorder. Also, many digital SLR still cameras can create video now, so you may have the option to use that.

Record your footage with your camera (and use multiple takes if you need to get it right) If you are recording audio or voices, it helps to have an external microphone which is usually better than the built in mic on most camera systems. Also, if you need to be in the action as well, a good tripod will allow you to record the whole group as well as yourself.

Once you have recorded all your footage, you are ready to put it together.

STEP 3 – EDITING

There are many options when it comes to editing , iMovie or Windows Movie Maker are good options for beginners since they allow for easy editing of footage. If your project is a little more complicated , Final Cut Pro and Premiere Elements are great stepping stones that can handle more complex editing jobs and cost in the $100 range. If you have a really hard project, you can spring for Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro which cost about $500 – $1000. For most people, though, this is overkill for their holiday video projects.

If you need more complex holiday animations, there are online stock video websites that sell holiday themed animations that you can incorporate into your project. They are cheap, easy and can really add that final touch that will set your video apart. You can find christmas background videos, halloween animations, new years fireworks as well as many other themes. Also, if you have an editor that uses After Effects, they would have the ability to work a Christmas After Effects template into your video project, which would add even more uniqueness to your project.

If you are having trouble with the editing phase of your project , there are some great tutorials and information online for just about any editing software available. An additional resource is youtube where many experts have created tutorials for the major editing platforms.

Once you have finished your project, it’s time to package the video for delivery . Read on for some ideas on how to deliver your final edited holiday video card.

STEP 4 – DELIVERY

There are a number of options that you can use to get your edited holiday card to your clients and friends. Here are a few of the most popular:

dvd & Mini dvd

– If you are also sending your clients a regular greeting card , you could include your movie on dvd or mini dvd as well. iMovie can make dvd’s and there are a number of other programs available to author dvd’s as well.

Youtube & Vimeo

– Another great way to publish your video is to upload it to a video service and send the link to your clients and friends. This can also be an excellent way to promote your services online . Most of these services also allow for private videos as well , in case you don’t want the world to see your masterpiece. A number of programs also feature an auto upload feature to youtube and vimeo, which makes the process even easier

Self Hosted

– If you have a web designer on staff or regularly update your website with your web designer, you can host and insert the video right on your own website . You can either embed it using HTML 5 (which is iPhone and iPad compatible) or you can use flash video which should play on nearly all computers. This can be a great idea since it allows you to reach everyone who visits your main website

Any way you choose to create your video card, your clients and customers are sure to appreciate it. A video greeting card will make an impression and give your employees a fun time together.