Hello Everyone:

This is an open letter to the entire CyberLink Community. Thanks to the assistance that many of you provided to me, my very first PowerDirector project was a huge success!!!

Frankly, 4 weeks ago, I had never heard of CyberLink or PowerDirector (and it's related programs). But when my wife decided to have her 50th birthday party, I decided at that very moment that I would create a surprise video montage for her. After conceptualizing it, and downloading PD, I began what would turn out to be a 70-hour adventure of fast-paced learning and great enjoyment (and some sleepless nights too!). After listening to 35 songs, I selected the two winners and dropped them onto the audio track. Then, when I realized that I would be including over 350 photos and title slides, I asked two video production companies what they would charge to create the montage. It would have cost me over $3,500...and that would not have included all of the special effects that the show eventually contained! So I continued on my own...not only to save the money, but because I wanted to do it myself.

I hired a professional staging company that provided two 60" high-definition monitors, an A/V mixer, two powered speakers on stands, and an A/V technician to wire it up and man the controls. I worked on it day and night (often till 4:00 AM, while she was sleep) until it was finally finished (just one day before her party)! And I kept it a total surprise...until she entered the party room!

Well, this past Friday night, during the party, I made a brief speech and a toast to my wife...the lights went out on my cue, and a second later the video montage rolled across all three monitors (the restaurant already had one of them mounted on the wall)!!! There were cheers of joy and whistles throughout the 14-minute montage, and there was a lot of love and energy in the room! I knew from the beginning of this project, that I did not want to create the kind of montage that I have seen at so many other parties, were one image just fades slowly into the next, and so on. Instead, I selected two very powerful, fast-paced songs and then used rapid timing sequences in perfect timing with the beat of the music.

When the last image was displayed, everyone clapped and shouting positive words...and it was a that very moment...that I felt soooooo proud of all my hard work. The end result was certainly worth all of the time and effort that went into it!!! The night was one to remember, and my wife was overjoyed at the surprise video montage that I created for her.

Thank you all for coming to my rescue when I was panicked and sought your assistance. You helped me to solve various technical matters, which kept me on track.

If I can ever help any of you...please just ask! :

Regards,
Kevin