Andrea's Story: A Story All Her Own
When receiving sibling orders it is important to create the two DVDs as unique as each child's personality. Each daughter has her own story. It is my job to convey that in the most meaningful way for all the members of the family.
Objective
I had just finished "big sister's" DVD. Now it was time to work on little sister. Whenever I get sibling orders I always enjoy the challenge of creating the two DVD's as different as the children's personalities themselves.
Challenges
Technically, this was some of the best video footage I have received. The shooting was clean, no zooming everywhere-yeah! The family got so many precious moments on tape, it was a delight for me to work on this movie. But there were a few challenges…
The family shared with me that baby Andrea had difficulty bonding with Dad at first. They wanted to minimize this in the DVD. So I knew I needed to work around this to keep the video happy and full of good memories for everyone. This was compounded with the fact that the Dad shot 99% of the video, so I did not have much of him to work with.
The second challenge was that the big sister was so darn cute! There was so much good footage of HER! But I knew this was Andrea’s story and I had to find a balance and keep the story HERS, and not dominate it with the older sister.
Solutions
Here is how I worked around the issues: The little bit of video that did contain the Dad was all included. I left those pieces in longer, and gave them a soft, gentle look. Any pictures that included Dad were also included. This helped create a better balance and gave Dad equal camera time without even hinting that the bonding process may have been difficult.
What about big sister? Well, I only included the parts of her that were directly related to Andrea’s story. I showed her excitement before Andrea’s arrival and the affection she showed to her once she joined the family. I also thought it appropriate to conclude the movie with the two of them sharing a special moment together.