Here are some ideas that we've seen over the past few years. Perhaps they'll spark your imagination. School video tapes are great for fund raising, as well as making memorable gifts and commemorations.

Sports Videos:

Edit a "highlights" tape from the coach's game tapes. You may be able to use these if you ask. Log your tapes, then make an Edit Decision List of the really great plays of the season, and VideOccasions will help you assemble these clips into an exciting tape for the team. If your coach says "no," or your child's sport doesn't do game tapes, borrow tapes and photograph from parents who video tape and take stills of the games. After Logging your tapes and making an Edit Decision List, bring these to VideOccasions and combine them into a team year book or retrospective of the year.

With a little planning, you and others involved with the team can amass a solid record of the team's play for next year if it's too late to do it this season.

As you can imagine, taping open-field sports such as football, soccer, hockey and lacrosse are perhaps the most difficult. Baseball, track and field events, swimming and diving, even basketball, are somewhat easier.

Be creative -- Be a leader! Encourage several parents to help tape an event. Assign specific responsibilities for each. Mary can tape the outfielders, Bob is responsible for the infielders, Elaine tapes the pitcher and you do the catcher and plate umpire. You'll be able to do "cut-away" shots of the dugouts and spectators, too. This works! We have several clients who put tapes of this kind together, either editing by themselves after we have taught them the fundamentals, or editing with Judy or another staff editor. Several have done it all through high school!

And don't forget those "off-beat" activities, too. Horse shows offer great opportunities for video taping, too. In addition to the equestrian events themselves, there's all the color of the activities away from the ring -- the grooming, picnicking and camaraderie of the preparation for the competition. Surfing, wind sailing, camping, rock climbing -- anywhere you can go with your kids and pack along a video camera provides material for your video memoirs.

Let your imagination soar! Once you have the tape in hand -- and still pictures too -- you're only a little bit of effort away from preserving memories that you and your children will revisit for years to come.

School Activities

School proms, parties, trips and projects offer great opportunities for creating video memory pieces, too. Like sport shoots, careful planning and the cooperation of several parents will produce great tapes.

Try to get pictures of every single person involved. This might include school administrators and staff, teachers, custodians and bus drivers, as well as the participating children and their parents. Several cameras are better than one. Plan on using both video and stills; ask everyone at the event who is shooting pictures and video to let you see what they have shot. Then build your video tape around what you have on hand. We suggest you take a look at our tips on editing before you begin any project. You'll also find lots of other good information in our Video Tips section to help you in putting together your project.

Last modified 02/01/05