So, here’s what happened. Last week, one of my Facebook
friends, who is an AWESOME speaker (yes, I heard her in Vegas last year so I’m
not just making this up), posted a speaker introduction video that was totally
rockin’. (Yes, you DO rock, Cathey Armillas!) It was pure genius so, of course,
I wanted one too. Being the nerdy girl that I am, I decided to make one.
However, having no special software and no deep male voice for the voiceover (try
as I might, I couldn’t mimic James Earl Jones), I decided to see what I could
find to help me put together an equally rockin’ speaker introduction video.
(Okay, maybe it’s not QUITE as good as Cathey’s but it’s darn good.) So, today
I’m sharing the steps I took with you so you can create your own (or hire your
favorite teenager).
Before you ask….yes, you CAN afford it! (I’m all about
saving $)
What you’ll need:
·
Pictures of you
·
PicMonkey.com (optional)
·
Videos of you in action (i.e. speaking)
·
Computer with Movie Maker (some experience with
this program or a friend or teenager)
·
Fiverr.com (sign up now)
·
Introchamp.com (awesome site)
·
Amazon.com (for Royalty Free music)
·
PowerPoint (optional)
·
Time (you’ll need a good bit of this; I'm not gonna lie)
First, go ahead and browse the video introductions on
Introchamp.com. Find what works for you. This could take some time, so get it
out of the way first.
Found one? Great. Buy it; download it; keep on reading….
But first (yes, first again), repeat after me: I will not
create a video introduction longer than 1 minute. I will not create a video
introduction longer than 1 minute…..(okay, I think you’ve got it). This is
important and your audience will love you for it. Too long and it just gets
boring. You want something to generate excitement and / or anticipation for
your speech. Think short and choppy scenes as you put it together.
So, I may have gone over by a second, but what’s a few
seconds among friends? Click here to view it.
Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program already in
progress…..
So you have your intro from Introchamp.com (currently at
less than $6 a pop). Go ahead and open Movie Maker on your computer and add the
intro. This intro will contain music which you may or may not choose to use in
your finished product.
Now, dig into your files and add in all the videos and
photos you want. You can weed them out later. Just do it. (This is where you
can add optional PowerPoint slides you’ve made; however, you’ll need to convert
them to another file format, such as jpg. in order to use them in Movie Maker.)
If you want to edit or enhance your pictures, be sure to visit PicMonkey.com.
It’s free, unless you want the whole shebang, which is so awesome you could
spend hours editing, if you’re nerdy like me, that is.
By now you have so much more than 1 minute in Movie Maker,
but that’s a good thing. For now. You need a lot to get a good speaker
introduction together. Remember, as you go through, this should be a good
representation of who you are and what you want your audience to know, think or
feel about you.
Let’s do the hard part first. Pull out 4 to 5 seconds of 2
to 3 videos that you can use. The sound will be muted so you’re looking for
what represents you and your energy best. Next, weed through the pictures but
save at least 20-30 to use in your video. (You’ll probably get rid of half of
these but let’s not get too hasty early on.)
Now, for the videos that are left in your Movie Maker file
(except for the professional intro you purchased), mute the video sound. Now,
just for kicks, play the entire Movie Maker project. You should only hear sound
with your professional intro. (If your still shots have sound, there is
something funky going on.)
Remember the promise you made to your viewing audience? The
one that said you would keep it to only one minute? Well, now is the time to
edit it down to one minute. However, you first need to set times for your
photos. For some reason mine defaults to 7 seconds which, I think, is way too
long for one picture. I prefer a half second to one second for most. (This is
simply my opinion so take it for what it’s worth; otherwise known as my 2
cents.)
Ah, you’re back. That was a lot of work, huh? If you didn’t
get your video down to 1 minute, it’s okay, but only if you went 1:15 or less. (Hey,
even I didn’t go 1:15!)
Here’s a tip. I really liked having the professional intro
to begin and end my video so I split it in Movie Maker and used pieces of it
within the video and at the beginning and then in its entirety at the end. Do what you want. This IS your
creation after all.
If you’ve purchased any Royalty-free music on Amazon.com,
now is your time to add it (or your own theme music) in. You can cut and
manipulate it as you wish. I used my music from the beginning but had it fade
out just before the end and used the professional intro complete with its sound
at the end.
When you have all this done, you’ll want to take a look at
it and see if you want to add in any captions. I would suggest keeping these to
a minimum.
Next, it’s time to think about your voiceover. What do you
want it to say? Do you even want one? If you do, create the script, then go to
Fiverr.com and find someone to create it. This will only cost you around $5.
Pretty sweet. My guy is carrknowledge (a.k.a. Rich) and he rocks. (Tell him
CheerwineChick sent you; he’ll get it.)
Once you’ve received your voiceover file, you’ll want to
add it to your project. However, let’s not get too hasty. First, save your
Movie Maker project as a high definition video. Then start a brand new
Movie Maker project, adding your high def video and the voiceover file. This
makes it easy to tweak the volume of each file before you save it as your
finished product. Once you’ve saved it as a high definition video, you’re done.
Almost.
You may want to load it to YouTube so you can send out the
link easily. Of course, you’ll want to keep the files so you can manipulate
your Movie Maker project at any time and possibly customize it per event. And
you’ll want to save your final video file to a flash drive, maybe a CD, so
you’re prepared for each venue.
So, what do you think? Did you create your own?
You’re welcome.
Rock on!
