Making an Adoption video can be immensely enhanced by the music one selects and the way one adds it. Who better to ask for some pointers than the adoption music maven who produced the wonderful Cd "The Spirit of Adoption" with a feature song by Steven Chapman. I have known Chuck for a little less than a year. An adoptive dad, his enthusiasm for Christian Music and adoption themed story telling are exemplified by his passion for his family, and his desire to help others through his music. Chuck has produced, specifically for Tapestry Digital, a short demonstration of telling a story without and with music.
Chuck & Lynette Giacinto founded AdoptiveMusic.com for the purpose of producing Adoption themed music & songs specifically related to the adoptive family experience, created by artists whose lives have been touched by the miracle of adoption.
"One of the most powerful elements of any movie or television show is the music that is set behind it. The choice of a song or piece of music not only assists in setting the mood, but often single-handedly creates it, driving home the emotion on-screen. A song can have equal impact in the creation of an adoption video. The question we ask ourselves is: How can I choose a song that can do justice to these images that have changed the course of mine and my family's lives ? Here are a couple of considerations with regards to music for your adoption video.
Choice of Song - Your choice of a song determines the soundtrack of one of your most life changing experiences. My suggestion is either a song that is directly adoption-themed, or a love song that you find applicable both in lyric and emotion. When the song fully supports the imagery, it's a match made in Heaven.
Be Creative - Use segments of songs at different times in the video. Toggle back & forth between music and the sounds of the video footage itself. This will take the viewer, as well as yourself, on a ride that follows the imagery more perfectly than perhaps one song can do. The inclusion of the sounds from the video will help draw the viewer into the experience.
The Legalities of Using Music - Here's the big question I get asked often, and the legal boundaries for using music are a touchy subject. I'm going to give you MY opinion with regards to using songs for which I hold the publishing rights to. I am personally honored when a family finds that a song we wrote is their choice to help tell and remember their family story. This is what I consider a non-commercial "in-house" use of the song, I am fine with it and always appreciate a credit or link in return so that people can find our music. As a music production company that has released an adoption-related compilation CD, I am not even allowed to provide 30 second samples of some songs for our customers, as I am not licensed to do so. Will you ever have a problem with a song on a personal adoption video hosted at Google or YouTube ? I highly doubt it. So, ultimately, you have to make your own decision there. (for our complete statement regarding the use of music - http://www.adoptivemusic.com/songdisclaimer.htm )
My best advice on putting music to your adoption video ? Have fun with it. Find music that is so perfect for your video that it seems the writer wrote it just for you. I hope this has been useful to you. Happy video making ! "
Chuck Giacinto (email)
The CD can be previewed and purchased at the Tapestry Bookstore: "The Spirit of Adoption".
Thank you Chuck, and we look forward to you coming back soon.
