FAQs

How does the service work
Have a look at the “how it works” page – if you’re still not sure about something give me a call or drop me an email.

I’m confused. What am I actually buying from you?
Fair point! You’re buying some creative editing and the expertise needed to create a unique, personalised and hopefully touching, short film delivered to you on DVD.

Will my pictures be safe? I’m a bit nervous I might loose them in the post?
I promise we will take great care of you pictures, but I do understand your concerns. We use the Royal Mail Special Delivery service, an option that means you can track your package. Sending duplicates or scanning them yourself is a doubly safe way of doing it.

How and when do I pay you.
Excellent!
My second favourite part of the process.
I’d like you to send me a cheque when you send the photographs please. For now, you can pay me by cheque, PayPal (which of course has a fee) Royal Mail Postal Order, or cash (if we’re local to each other that is). I don’t take credit cards just yet – although will be doing soon.

I’ve only got 54 pictures I want to use. Is there a discount?
There’s no real formula for making these little films work, you have to put a little trust in my editing skills to interpret your pictures and music into something special. I will always try and use all of your pictures if I can, but if the film feels better with one or two less then please don’t be upset if I miss one or two out. So, “yes” and then “no”. Yes you can have a film if you have less photos, but no, there is no discount

All my pictures are higgledy piggledy, different shapes and sizes. Does it matter?
It doesn’t matter at all. Well, as long as you don’t want to send me a bloomin’ massive poster or something I can’t fit on the scanner. It doesn’t matter if you supply me with pictures that are portrait or landscape, in black and white or colour, 8” by 10” or a passport portrait, digital file or an old Polaroid, we can work with pretty much any kind of image.

I want to scan my images myself and send you a disc. What settings should I use?
If you’re unfamiliar with scanning speak brace yourself. My preferred size is 1026 x 768 pixels at 72 dpi, screen resolution for a normal computer monitor. It’s understandable if that seems like gobbledy-gook. So, if your scanning software offers you some scanning options, go for something medium and see how big the file is. Send no individual file that exceeds 1 megabyte (1000kb) please. To find out the size of the file, “right mouse click” on the scanned image file and go down the list of menu items that appear until you get to “Properties”. Select properties and see what number is next to “Size”. If it’s anything up to “1000kb” or “1.0mb” that’ll do nicely.It really isn’t necessary to scan your pictures at the highest resolution you can, as most TVs, High Definition or otherwise, won’t show your picture any better than screen resolution.

Can I email my pictures to you?
Yes you can. Make sure each image file size is no bigger than 1 megabyte (1000kb). Do take into consideration though that your email server might not let you send up to 60 megabytes of email attachments. So this is an option really only for those that know they can do it.

I want to use a few particular parts of from a few different songs. Can I?
That’s absolutely fine. Just send me the list and a note telling me which bits you want to use. Maybe a picture of your better halve on their bum after having tripped inspires you to use a particular track – hmmm, Perhaps Elvis Costello, “I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down” - gimme the details and I’ll try and accommodate.

I’ve got a digital camera. Can I send digital images?
No problem.

Can I send video?
Yes you can send video. But it’s best to call me first to have a little chat about it. It may be you have half a dozen clips that you think might work well – as indeed they might – but in context sometimes they don’t work as well as you might originally think.

There’s a MASSIVE jump in cost for including video in my film. Why is that?
I know it seems like a huge jump in cost, but it’s all about the time it takes to make your film. Searching through an hour or so of home movie is a lot more work than sorting through 60 pictures. Add to that you may have your clips on all kinds of media, an old VHS, Digital 8, even a phone clip it just takes longer and more fiddling about to edit your film. If you want to discuss using moving pictures just give me a tinkle.

Can I use 8mm or Super 8mm film?
I don’t offer a “telecine” service I’m afraid, not yet anyway. I can find a service for you though. There are a number of ways of doing this, some are much better than others. Old film is lovely though and if you’ve got some it’s great to use – there’s an film of a Ruby Wedding Anniversary (click here to see example) on the examples page that has some 60s 8mm film in it. Priceless.

Where do I find the preview clip?
When you clip is complete I will upload it to Youtube.com and I’ll email you the link – it will stay there unless you ask me to take it down – so, that means you can send the link to your friends and share the love. “Share the love”? Hmmm - I may be turning into an old hippy.

What do I do if I don’t like what you’ve done?
Firstly, let me know. Maybe I’ve missed a very important picture. If you’re not happy with the finished result please please let me know. I don’t want anyone unhappy with my work.

How long before I get my DVDs?
The actual edit depends on how much work there is to do – but you should see your preview within a week – once you’ve placed an order I will email you or call to let you know when to expect the link and then the DVDs.

Why 5 copies? That seems like a peculiar number?
Aha! I’m glad you asked that because it brings up an interesting, important and for the most part, out of my control issue! It’s all to do with music copyright. Even though your movie is for personal use I must still pay royalties on your behalf to those that own the copyright to the music you use. Those pesky Rock Stars and musicians are real finicky about getting paid for us using their tunes. On your behalf I buy 2 licenses. One for PRS (Performing Rights Society) and one for the MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society)  - each license allows us to make 5 copies. (There’s also a restriction on the total length a film can be for this license – up to 25 minutes -  but seeing as I’m not offering to make you a film that long, it’s a bit of a redundant issue.) So, 5 copies are what I make. If you do want more give me a tinkle so we discuss how many duplicates you need.

Can I order more DVDs?
Of course! But give me a ring to discuss the number of duplicates you want.

I want to send one of my DVDs to Uncle Joseph who lives in Miami! Will it work over there?
Well, first of all, lucky Uncle Joe. Miami indeed! If you do want to send a copy abroad remember that some countries television systems are different form the one here in the UK. Our television system is called PAL, and in the USA and Japan, for instance, they use a system called NTSC (which I was taught stood for Never The Same Colour – which is a fib. It actually stands for something real technical I can’t remember, but if you’ve been to America and watched TV in some dodgy motel you’ll understand exactly WHY they taught me that.) So, if you’re going to want to send one abroad, just get in touch and we can discuss the best way forward.
Of course YouTube.com is global, so if Uncle Joe has a computer he’s sorted.

How long will the whole process take?
It ought to take no longer than 10 working days between me receiving your photographs and you receiving the finished DVDs. If for any reason it’s going to be longer I promise to let you know at the outset.

But I’m in a rush! Can’t you do it any faster?
Yes, I probably can. It really depends on workload. But if you are in a desperate rush give me a ring and let’s talk about it – the phone is much quicker than email ping pong,

Do you do Weddings?
Sorry, no. But I will bring your old wedding album to life!