Home Video Studio’s

Movie Nite and Lifestories

What Is It?:

Home Video Studio wants to “give back to the community” by hosting a FREE Movie Nite for senior citizens.We are proud to be sharing Home Video Studio’s collection of some nostalgic moments caught on film dating back to as early as the 1920s.

For years, Home Video Studio’s corporate headquarters has been archiving thousands of hours of home movies shot by everyday people depicting their family’s life and times. These short 30-minute DVDs capture Americana scenes from holiday celebrations to favorite vacation spots from days gone by. Home Video Studio wants to share these past recollections with elderly audiences, who would enjoy a trip down memory lane.

Sample Movie Nite DVDs

  • Looking Back – Black and white film clips dating back to the 1920s.
  • Paris – Black and white film clips dating back to the 1930s.
  • Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Black and white clips from baseball’s 1961World Series between the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds and scenes from other professional baseball games.

Movie Nite is also a way to introduce Home Video Studio’s Lifestories profit center. Lifestories is a video recording of an older person – or any person for that matter – who wants to tell their life story to the camera in a free-flowing manner. Home Video Studio will give studio owners a list of questions to ask the Lifestories subject. These are questions pertaining to the subject’s childhood, their life experiences and other words of wisdom. The interview should last about 20 to 30 minutes.

Once the Lifestories is shot, the customer can have their choice to accept the interview as it is on DVD, or Home Video Studio can edit it with titles, personal photos, videos, film or other mementos for an additional fee. Family members may also want additional copies of the Lifestories DVD.

How to Promote Movie Nite and Lifestories:

Studio owners are encouraged to contact upscale retirement centers, assisted living facilities, and senior citizen centers, etc. - anyplace where you would find an elderly audience to offer this free Movie Nite service.

  • Send a letter to the activity or social director a week to 10 days before making direct contact. (See sample letter.)
  • Follow-up to set up an appointment to meet, or just stop by.
  • Offer to schedule a Movie Nite once a month at the facility. (Make at least a 3-month commitment)
  • Times should be either a matinee or early evening on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
  • Bring your laptop and a Movie Nite and Lifestories demo to show the facility contact.
  • Bring a Lifestories brochure to show the facility contact. (Customized Lifestories brochures are available for purchase on the HVS shopping cart.)
  • Give facility the newsletter article sample to use to promote Movie Nite. (See sample article.)
  • Give facility the press release sample to send out to the media to promote Movie Nite. (See sample press release.)
  • Offer to bring popcorn and refreshments. (Make sure the food is approved by the facility.)
  • Give facility posters promoting Movie Nite and Lifestories.

How to initially promote Lifestories:

Ask facility contact to select a resident whom they would want to profile for a complimentary Lifestories video. That video would be shown at the upcoming Movie Nite.

  • Videotape that resident of choice and ask them questions about their childhood, their life experiences and other words of wisdom. (Use Lifestories questions.)
  • Edit the Lifestories video adding titles, photos and video of the subject.
  • Video should be about 20-30 minutes in length.
  • Show the featured resident’s Lifestories video at the Movie Nite.

What to do at Movie Nite:

  • Set up display table of Home Video Studio brochures and other HVS giveaway items like pens, keychains, etc.
  • Show one of the HVS Movie Nite DVDs.
  • Next show the featured resident’s Lifestories video.
  • Hand out Lifestories brochures.
  • Hand out NAP-e sheets to collect audience information for a drawing for a $100 Lifestories gift certificate.
  • Hold the drawing that night and select a winner.
  • Schedule an appointment to videotape the winner and show their Lifestories at the next Movie Nite.
  • Announce to the audience a date when you will be back at the facility to shoot Lifestories and encourage other people to schedule an appointment for that day.
  • Announce the next Movie Nite showing.

(Following Movie Nite shoot coupon winner’s Lifestories to be shown at the next Movie Nite.)

Second Movie Nite:

  • Show another one of the HVS Movie Nite DVDs.
  • Show the complimentary Lifestories DVD that you filmed from the coupon winner at the previous Movie Nite.
  • Hand out Lifestories brochures.
  • Hand out NAP-e sheets to collect audience information. Tell audience they will be receiving coupons and other discount promotions from Home Video Studio.
  • Announce to the audience a date when you will be back at the facility to shoot Lifestories and encourage people to schedule an appointment for that day.
  • Announce the next Movie Nite showing.

Subsequent Movie Nites

  • Show another one of the HVS Movie Nite DVDs.
  • Show one Lifestories DVD.
  • Hand out Lifestories brochures.
  • Hand out NAP-e sheets to collect audience information. Tell audience they will be receiving coupons and other discount promotions from Home Video Studio. (Follow up with the NAP-es asap to send promotional material.)
  • Announce to the audience a date when you will be back at the facility to shoot Lifestories and encourage people to schedule an appointment for that day.
  • Announce the next Movie Nite showing.
  • Ask the facility contact to promote the dates when you’ll be back to shoot Lifestories and to host Movie Nite.

Lifestories Video Shoot

Equipment:

  • Camera
  • Tapes
  • Tripod
  • Lavaliere microphone
  • Light kit
  • Electrical chord
  • Additional microphones
  • Backdrop, if needed

Location:

  • Inside or outside of retirement facility (preferably inside to control outside noise.)
  • Shoot should be set-up in facility library or other quiet lounge area.

Shoot set-up

  • Subject should be sitting in a chair for the interview.
  • Camera will be positioned straight across and level to the subject.
  • Studio owner will stand behind camera to operate it, and ask Lifestories questions, so that subject answers them looking directly at the camera.

Possible Additional Footage

  • Shoot subject’s photos or take them back to your studio to shoot them.
  • Shoot b-roll of subject doing an activity at facility, i.e. doing a craft, reading a book, etc.

Editing Lifestories

  • Open with Lifestories title.
  • Create other titles listing questions.
  • Edit title questions matching up with answers.
  • Add studio tag at the end of the video.

Upgraded Editing

  • Add photos, film and other video as b-roll over interview