There is a moment in every group gift where somebody has to collect it all: the photos from the cousin, the clip from the friend overseas, the message from the person who always leaves it until the night before. This is about making that part easy — and about what you get at the end of it.
Collecting is the job, not editing
Ask ten people for memories and you will get ten different things: a screenshot, a photo of a photo, a three-minute video, an email saying “is this any good?”. The work is chasing it, storing it and working out what happened when. A link that collects originals from everyone, keeps them in one place and records who sent what removes most of an evening’s admin before any film exists.
Messages, and the life they are about
A set of recorded messages played one after another is a warm thing to receive, and for plenty of birthdays it is exactly the right present. A Videmory birthday film uses the same messages differently: a message about a wedding plays beside the wedding photographs, the speaker’s voice carrying on over the pictures that follow. The messages become the narration of a life rather than the whole of the film.
From a shared album to something they can watch
A shared album does the hard half: it gets everybody’s photographs into one place. What it leaves behind is the choosing, the ordering and the editing, and that usually lands on whoever organised the collecting. Videmory’s gallery is a checkpoint rather than the finished thing: you glance at it, fix any year that looks wrong, and the film is built from it.
What each person actually has to do
Open the link. Type a name. Choose a few photos or a clip, and record about forty-five seconds at the most saying one thing they remember. Short and sweet is the whole ask, and out that plainly in your invitation — vague requests get vague contributions.
One payment, however many people join
A group gift usually means a spreadsheet and chasing everyone for eight dollars. Here the film is a single payment by whoever organises it, whether four people contribute or forty: the price is for the film, not for each person. Making it and watching all of it are free, so you can see what you have before anyone pays anything.
Bring the collection into Videmory
Invite friends and family to add photos, real video and messages from one link. Add the years or ages you know, review the collection — from your phone or, for the tidying, a computer, since the same birthday opens on either — and let Videmory build the film in the order it happened. Making the film and watching the complete watermarked preview are free; you pay only if you want to download the finished film without the mark. Introductory launch offer: AU$49 for your first finished film, AU$15 for each additional version. Introductory pricing is available for a limited time and may increase in the future.
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Your questions, answered
What is a group video gift?
One film that several people contribute to. Instead of everybody sending a separate card or clip, each person adds their photos, video and a short recorded message to the same project, and it comes back as a single film. It is the present people give when the person already has everything.
Do people need an app or an account to contribute?
No. They open the invitation link, type their name, and add their files from their own phone or computer. No download, no sign-up, no password. That matters more than it sounds: the relatives with the oldest photographs are usually the least willing to install something.
Can we collect photos as well as video messages?
Yes, and that is the difference worth knowing about. Many group-video services collect messages only, and the result is a row of faces. Videmory takes photographs, video clips and messages, and builds them into a life story with the messages placed where they belong in it.
How many people can contribute?
There is no per-person limit and no per-person cost — the price is for the film, however many people add to it. The practical limit is the film’s length: contributions are paced so a film stays watchable, and anything that does not fit is named rather than silently dropped.
Can contributors see each other’s photos?
No. Each contributor sees only what they added. The organiser sees everything and is the only person who receives the finished film, which is what makes a surprise possible.
How do we share the invitation?
However you already talk to people: a message, an email, a printed card at the party with the link on it. Anyone with the link can join, so send it to the people you mean to invite rather than posting it publicly, and turn it off when you are done collecting.