For your next party or event, you might want to consider an alternative idea. Typically, people go ahead and set up a photo booth – great, but what about a video booth? The video booth might seem more complicated and expensive at first, but we’re here to show you that it isn’t. Consider how much fun it will be for guests and how the final product will amaze them.
If you’re like us – a little photografiics nerd – then you’ll love this tutorial on glamming up your latest vacation rental or one of your hotel photoshoots. If you’re still at a loss in where to start, don’t worry! We’ll start with some inspiration and instruction to get you started. After we’ll show you the basics of lighting, camera and editing software, we’ll continue by showing you some simple ways to add some personality to your event. Whew! That’s a lot to take in. Let’s dive in, shall we? PRINT MATERIALS First things first. What’s your point? We’ve had plenty of traveling nurses and students request handmade, organic cotton napkins with a handwritten thank you note. Power napkins? Not for us. It’s difficult (though not impossible) to create your napkin in such a way that it doesn’t get all smooshed in your flight bag. A nicer napkin (like those made by Parisian adhesives) would travel well, but if it’s not practical to pack, it wouldn’t get returned. We want to have an impact on guests. We want to make friends, show off our expertise and provide useful resources for creating and sharing videos of your event by hand. But, mile-high napkins are out of the question – tourists aren’t going to be able to read your notes, write letters to each other and find the appropriate lever to pull to dial up the meetup location on your map. Hello? No WiFi? No problem! After all, these aren’t college kids on a library retreat – our goal is to connect and be supported on our adventures. You’ll need to print off at least three photos, screenshots and perhaps some written instructions, whatever tips you have on hand to get guests having a great time. For example, there may be a little trick to finding the right space at a rickety dark coffee house in Denver, or a magical tattoo parlour in Buenos Aires. In a moment, we’ll run through some simple software tricks, such as their GIMP (Google Image Manipulation Program) to speed things along, but let’s start with hand making our notes. Light and hacking tweezers Using an old pair of tweezers, lightly paint on the desired photo in simple strokes. In this case, used Photoshop, I’m going to be going through to faintly highlight the photo and then using a clean, dry brush to put down the design. You can also try a couple of tricks with more serious implications, like scotchless hand painting and toffee paint (basic tutorial here).
Prepare for the Right Equipment In order to get the video quality you’re looking for, you’ll want to take great photos. Depending on the type of event you have, you’ll want to find something that will fit in nicely with the world of photos and videos plus it won’t cost a lot. Most webcams that you can buy for under $100 will be fine. If you want some more of a professional quality, look for something with a flash card reader. You’ll want a 24 MP camera with at least a 1.2 MP high-resolution camera which is what you’ll want for all of your photos and videos. Prepare for a Respectful Occupant Unfortunately, you’ll be conducting business at a high-end home appliance store, so you need to remind them that you won’t be there to take photos or videos. Instead, take some business cards and politely ask them to return them. Even if they don’t return them, give them these cards to keep them on record if they later come by and want to say hi. They might even have something nice to say and you won’t want to miss that opportunity. Buy a Box In addition to keeping the business card photos and the card exchange a secret, add a little flourish to the proceedings by purchasing an inexpensive 8×10 box. Everyone loves boxes and will put them out to polite for your cameras. Create a More Instructive Video Not only will your guests be impressed, but there’s really no need to spend hours on a quality production. The last thing you want to do is send your guests to a website that is not designed as a web page. If you haven’t followed the Moz guide to filming things correctly, you’re doing it wrong. Don’t over-promise, and also don’t waste time trying to pull off a multi-user, HD webinar. If you want something more actionable, try some of these simple ideas which we found extremely helpful. Get Creative With UGC Instead of hosting a big single-use graphic you might have created and given to your guests, you can give them something more usable. This can be anything from a sticker on blank card to a picture they can use as their avatars. If you want to accomplish more with the material, consider using PNG images so you can tilt, zoom in and out or add in text that your guests will be able to read. Keep the content relevant to your event and even link directly to the source if you want the emails to open in a new window/tab.
We came up with several ideas for you to consider. Whether you decide on a fiery inferno or something more subtle, you will be able to make video and photographs of your event. Don’t be afraid to improvise, too – the more creative you are, the better your product will be. We have created six creative ideas for you to get you started. Before you spend a fortune on a fancy booth, make sure you’ve got all the basics covered: laptops, audio and a projection system. A flash video camera could really help you lighten your event. 1. Cake & Infuser A cake-for-dinner dinner is a great way to test the lighting, sound and videography. The candles you use provide a visual cue that the videos capture reality. A great illustration of lighting and film is shown below. The best part of this image is the placement of the lights. Keep it simple and make it as dark as possible. If the room is bright or the guests are children, flip the lights on. Keep a strange, slow motion film playing. Make it look like you look right through the cake to the people on the tables around you. The cake and the table furnishings really work here. Sometimes, video isn’t really the whole story. Flyers with a quick message are another great get-and-hold. Position the camera at the edge of the table and make it look as if you are putting something away quickly. You could create a clever (and crimp) name for this product. You could call it: bringing “dinner party to life.” Depending on the cost and the design, I would run with something like: Creating an entertaining movie for entertaining guests. 2. Pocket-Size Projector As a group of guests will be sitting to the side in your event, it is important to get the best photo and video possible. Place your camera in the pocket piece of your Projecting Cinema shirt and make it stand up. It’s as easy as that. Put the camera on a tripod and put it on a boom lens so the camera will be 25 inches from the table. This will make sure the camera can clearly see the entire table. Position yourself at the head of the table with your head over other patrons and snap photos with quick movements. A larger camera will produce maximum engagement and you can make it look like the people on your table are staring right at you. Setup the Projecting Cinema experiments above on a tripod for higher visual quality.
