Things to consider as you assemble your photos and other memorabilia:

• Order.  Arrange the photos, documents, clippings, etc, in the order you want them to appear.  This can be accomplished by arranging the photos in the order you want them to appear.  If you are working with multi media (a combinations of slides, snapshots or already digitized images) and aren’t sure what you’ve got, you can have all the images scanned compiled onto contact sheets and determine which images to include and the order to include them after reviewing them.

• Music.  Photos usually display for four to five seconds if still or a few seconds longer when panning or zooming is utilized.  The display time can be adjusted to fit music, or the music can be edited to fit the photos.  Display times of less than 3 seconds, or more than 10 seconds is not recommended.  Copyright laws require that you provide the music. 

• If you want your DVD divided into chapters, separate the photos into chapters and consider if you want different music for different chapters.  Chapters are not a requirement.  They are a convenience.  If you don’t want chapters, that is fine.  If you do, consider titles.

• Your DVD should have a title.  Credits can be included at the end of the show indicating who contributed photos, who compiled the collection, “in honor of”, “dedicated to”, etc. 

• You may also choose an image for the DVD label and the case insert.  When selecting an image for the DVD label, remember that there is a big hole in the center of the DVD, and some of the image will be cut out. 

The following options are available as add ons:

• Captions and titles.  If you want an image captioned, it is recommended that you write out the caption or title on a post-it type note and attach it to the back of the photograph. 

• Zooming.  Some images, such as group photos or scrapbook pages, benefit from zooming.  Zooming is to move in for a close-up.  Focal points in images can be zoomed in on.  Make a note of photos and the like that need zooming.

• Panning.  Panning is to move from one part of an image to another, while showing all the stuff in between.  Group photos, scrapbook pages, busy landscapes, newspaper clippings and documents may benefit from panning.  Make a note of photos and the like that require panning. 

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Things to consider as you assemble videos:

• Start time.  Reset your counter to zero when you start viewing your video and make a note of the number where you want to start recording and end recording.

• Audio.  If video is inserted between stills, the music will cancel the audio, play under the audio, or the music will be interrupted.  You decide. 

• Still photos can be extracted from video.  Make a note of the counter and describe the scene to capture.  The resulting image will not be high resolution.  Snapshots printed from the resulting image may not be satisfactory.