New! Discover Our Easy Video Tribute Maker
And Collect Memories From Near and Far!

Imagine being able to have a memorial video that consists of memories from family members, friends and colleagues, providing a treasured keepsake that can be viewed over and over.  Often wonderful stories and recollections are revealed by friends, distant family members and coworkers, that are unknown by the immediate family!

Invite friends and family from anywhere in the  world to contribute their own audio memories, as well as photos and video clips.  All pieced together to create a polished, profession beautiful tribute, simply and easily with no video editing skills required.

Nothing matches the emotion expressed by the human voice or the written word of someone close to your loved one.  Usually contributors don’t feel daunted at the prospect of sending a memory, and are delighted to be ‘a part of the service’.  They want to express their thoughts and memories and can overcome any shyness in aid of the collective good.

They are able to include photos, short videos, a quote, and music.  The main focus, however, is the heartfelt words of the contributors.  A ‘Title Card’ can be added to show the name of each contributor, along with their relationship.  An example  “John Smith - nephew”.  

It is the perfect tool to create a video tribute for the one you love, and a wonderful keepsake long after the service.

 Voice Enhancing Technology

Our voice enhancing technology cleverly removes background noise and adjusts the tones and levels of your spoken memories to sound wonderful.

With Covid19 affecting funeral service attendance, this is a helpful way to include those from near and far to participate in the service. 

The Memorial Tribute Video is part of the service - not necessarily replacing the main Eulogy but as a reflective moment that includes memories from family, friends and colleagues, enabling people who are not able to attend, to be a part of the service.  It also enables people who might not be comfortable speaking in front of people to express their feelings of the deceased.

The video can also be uploaded to Facebook or online memorial sites, for families and friends to view it.  

It also provides you a long term comforting keepsake that you are able to watch, long after the service, of how much your loved one was appreciated and admired by those who knew them.   It can be a tremendous help in your grieving process.

Here's How It Works:

1. Send Invites To Contributors

Send our personalized invitation by SMS, email or social media to friends and family.  Invitees click on the invite and record a memory at their own pace and can add photos or a video clip, or a quote.

Our advice is to be inclusive and send an invite to a wide range of friends, family, and colleagues, near and far who have a special memory of your loved one.

Often survivors may not know or be aware of  everyone who has a special memory or story they would love to share and express how much the deceased meant to them. Our customers often tell us they are amazed at how much their loved one meant to so many people.

 You may choose not to use every memory, but it is advantageous to have many memories to select from.

2. How Long Should The Video Be?

This may depend on how you plan to use the video.  As part of a ceremony, we recommend the same length as a piece of reflective music, approximately 5 minutes to 10 minutes, however if you have a lot of memories, it can certainly run longer.

To gage the time length; 6 concise memories of 30 second each equals 3 minutes. Six memories of 1 minute equals 6 minutes, etc.  

You may also want to leave some time for reflective music pauses, creating a balance of music and messages.  If you are using the video for an online place to visit or as a long-term keepsake, it can easily be 10 minutes or longer.

3.How Do I Ask Contributors?

Family and friends will want to help but you will need to give them a little direction to prevent a 20 minute rambling of thoughts or a long essay, which you may find difficult to exclude.  We provide an example of a concise message.  It includes the following;

• Explains to potential contributors you are making a memorial video and asks them to consider sending a memory or message.
• Allows them to decline if they wish to
• Sets a date by when you need their contribution
• Length of time of their message; 30 seconds, or 1 minute, or longer
• Invite to upload photos and a video clip . 
• Thanks them for their contribution, but also lets them know you may not be able to include every message/memory.

What If A Contributor Doesn't Use A Computer?

An elderly relative may find using a computer or smartphone to send a memory daunting.  Younger family members can help; scanning and sending a photo or help with the writing or  recording their favorite memory.  

 4. How To Chose What To Use

By following our guide you will have a number of contributions (memories, quotes, photos, videos) received in a timely manner.  You may have the small problem of having too much material.  Here is our advice to help you in your selection process;

• Get Help From Family Members.  Collective help will deliver the best decisions.
• Exclude Ceremony Eulogists, if time is a consideraton.  If you are using the video at a service, it is acceptable to set aside contributions from those who will be speaking at the ceremony.  (You could include their contributions later for an online video.)
• Include ‘Must Haves’.  There may be one or two you must involve due to their closeness.  If their contribution is too long or not appropriate, it is better to ask them to resend another more concise memory.  It is much better to give them an opportunity to resend rather than they discover they have been excluded.
• Select A Mix of Sentiments.  People will want to see a variation.  Often a funny story can lighten the event, and people remember the most.  Simply choose the best mix that reflects your loved one’s personality and spirit.
• Notify Those Contributors You Are Not Using In The Service.  It is always best to let contributors know if you will not use their content.  This avoids any surprises at a ceremony and manages expectations.  (You could later add their contribution to an online video).

5. Choosing and Using Music

Choosing accompanying music is key.  Often a favorite piece of music that was special to the deceased can deliver the sentiment desired.  There is one important point when using commercial music and that is Copyright & Performing Rights.

Technically, if you use a piece of commercial music (example Candle In the Wind, by Elton John) in your video, you may be in breach of the artist’s rights.  The artist who wrote and performed the song didn’t give you permission to add it in a video.   

It is highly unlikely though that any artist or record company would exert their rights if you use their music at a private ceremony or on a private video to be viewed by family and friends only.  Many ceremony venues have ‘Performing Rights Licences’ which allow the playing of commercial music to a limited audience as well.

The problem occurs if you plan to post your video on the internet (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc) for the whole world to see.  Many internet sites automatically detect the use of commercial music and will stop the publishing immediately.  This is certainly possible, as artist could take action because it is open to the world and may go viral.

The solution is to use ‘Royalty Paid’ music where the rights to use the music and play it publicly, or on the internet, has already been paid for.  We offer a selection of royalty free music, which you will find as you begin to put together the Gathering Memories video for the service.  Our advice when selecting music is:

• For strictly private ceremonies and private personal use it is safe to use commercial music
• It is best to check that any ceremony venue has a licence (if required in your country) to play commercial music to an audience
• If you plan to post your video on the Internet use our Royalty Paid music 
• You can use a selection of music to best match the memories, photos, and words received.  It does not have to be somber.

4. A Beautiful Final Product - A Full HD Video Tribute

We  compile all your memories together to make a beautiful Full HD Video.It’s the perfect personal and unique memorial to your loved one. You can download the video to use at your service or share it as a long term treasured keepsake for your family & friends

So what are you waiting for?  We offer a risk-free offer, with no cost to you until your video is completed.  Then it is only a one time fee of $79.99.  

See for yourself and start now https://gatheringmemories.com/get-started-for-free