Telling an adoption story, preserving your special moments, can be done with video in varying degrees of impact. Torrie Hansen at Red Thread Stories demonstrates for us how to create an impactful "mini-movie", in her video promo. Telling a story using images and music is a skill and doing it with precision is an art. See if you agree.
"I often hear that adoptive families rarely look back at their adoption video footage. It is too long, too boring, too difficult to hook up the camera to the TV, too shaky, etc etc. And yet video is really the most accurate portrayal of your adoption journey, capturing images and sounds exactly as they occurred in that moment.
A powerful tool to use- Along your adoption journey did you take video footage and photos of your experience? Have you considered using these items to tell your child’s story? Video is powerful. Children relate to moving images, they are captivated by them. This is the premise behind Red Thread Stories. We take the video footage and photos from your adoption journey and turn it into a beautifully crafted movie, set to the music of your choice. The final DVD is no longer than 15 minutes, a perfect duration for your little one. The nature of video allows a more interactive viewing experience than flipping through photographs in a book. It allows the whole family to relive the moments and emotions that brought them together.
Promoting conversations with your child- I recently worked with a family who adopted their daughter from China four years ago. A few weeks after they received the DVD the mother contacted me to explain how the DVD was impacting her daughter, now five years old. Her daughter would watch the video intently, but when it came to the part where her family received her, she crawled into her mother’s lap and curled up in a ball like crawling into a hole. She eased up when she saw herself lighten up in the video. She repeated these actions every time she watched it, but knowing the ending she would announce "here comes Happy Baby!" She went on to ask questions about her adoption that had not come up before. And some wonderful conversations ensued because of it.
Your child has a history. A beginning. A story. One day your child will be old enough to tell her own story. But for now it is your job. As adoptive parents we do the best we can to explain to our children how they came into our family. It isn’t always easy. But it is necessary. So the question becomes “How do we best tell our child’s story?” It must be something your child can relate to. It must be an accurate representation of your family. It must be special and unique."
Torrie (email)
Torrie is an adoptive parent and a professional video producer and editor.
Thank you Torrie. For those with any questions regarding posting articles, or who are interested in discussing your thoughts on having your videos professionally edited and produced contact us at Tapestry Digital. Were big fans of the work Torrie is doing, and we are here to help you find adoption resources.
