Creating a Yearbook

An overview and step-by-step guide in how to create a successful yearbook

When you receive your yearbook from Yearbooks4Computers, you & your editor will have the facility to add text, photos & video from digital cameras & mobile phones. Your editor will have the facility to compile a profile questionnaire for you to answer and also create polls for you to vote on (Student most likely to… etc.).

The items listed below are important to the success of your yearbook:

• Your year group’s photo & video
• Your year group’s articles (events, occasions, etc.) including photos & video
• Each member’s profile photo & video
• Each member’s completed questionnaire & polls
• Each member’s additional articles including photos & video

A standard yearbook will allocate all year group members with 5mb (megabytes) of disc space on their individual page - a meter indicates how much space each member has left. Editors are allocated 50mbs of space for entering year group articles such as events & occasions that have happened during the year.

Useful tips when compiling photo & video clips:

Year group photo

This is the most difficult photo to take as you need to assemble the entire year group together on the same day. This can be difficult when exceptionally large numbers are involved - you may have to settle for an incomplete year group photo. Keep the year group informed well in advance of a specific date and time and send out reminders nearer the date.

You may want to research the likely weather conditions as a bright day is always preferable. If possible, arrange an alternative indoor venue such as a well lit gymnasium/hall. For particularly large year groups you may need to use safe staging to tier each row of students. Chairs, benches and steps can be used, or even a safe grassy bank is a good alternative.

It does take time to arrange a year group into a suitable configuration - inform members that they should be prepared to be moved about. Your year group should fill the entire camera screen without leaving large gaps either side or above and below the frame (see year group photo on the About us page). Make sure each person’s face can be seen clearly and do not have member’s heads together or in front of each other. Take many photos and make sure you have two or three good photos to choose from. For particularly large year groups, you may need special camera equipment for wide angle shots.

Year group video (optional)

It is always more fun if you have a video of the year group to accompany the year group photo (see Sample Yearbook). This could be a video of your year group assembling for the photo or perhaps a Haka for a sports team - use your imagination and have fun! Remember the video is for computer use and should not be prolonged (15 - 20 seconds tops).

Year group member’s profile photo

Each year group member will be responsible for submitting their profile photo. This is a relatively simple task and can be accomplished in a few minutes. Choose a well lit room or outside on a bright day and ask a friend to take pictures of you from different angles. Experiment by looking directly at the camera and to the side - just head and shoulder shots are best. Make sure you select a suitable background - light curtains, plain walls or open countryside are best. Once you have a selection of photos, choose your favourite photo and enter it as your profile photo.

Year group member’s profile video clip

Each year group member can enter a profile video clip into their yearbook page. This is a relatively simple task and can be accomplished in a few minutes. Remember, video clips are for computer use and should not be any longer than 15 - 20 seconds. Suggestions for video clips are:

• Sports activity - performing a skill or discipline. A footballer could be videoed playing keepy up or dribbling and scoring a goal - be inventive! It doesn’t need to be perfect - getting it wrong can often be more entertaining than getting it right!
• Music - playing a short piece of music on an instrument
• Drama - performing a short speech from a play
• Art - video your works of art whilst giving a brief documentary
• Friends - video you and your friends having fun - be inventive! Be discreet! Remember the editor has the authority to remove inappropriate material.

Additional articles

Editor - the editor can add text, photos & video on a separate Articles page in the yearbook to record occasions & events that have happened during the year.

Members - each year group member has their own Articles page where they can add text, photos & video to record anything they wish - this can include virtually anything from video clips & photos of friends to leaving messages.

Questionnaires & Polls

The editor & sub-editors have the facility to create a Questionnaire for each member to answer and Polls for them to vote on. Questionnaires completed by members will accompany their profile photo and a ‘Polls’ page will display the results of the polls.

Suggested Polls:

• Most popular pupil/student (male & female)
• Pupil/student most likely to become Prime Minister
• Pupil/student most likely to save the world
• Most popular teacher/tutor
• Most comical pupil/student
• Poser of the year
• Pupil/student most likely to win Big Brother
• Pupil/student sports awards - best football, hockey, rugby, netball player, etc.

Technical note:

To ensure that you do not use unnecessary space on your yearbook page, check that your digital camera is set correctly before taking photos and video clips. Most digital cameras have a menu that allows you to choose the picture size and quality - set your camera to take ‘Standard’ picture size and quality.

Check your photo and video file sizes before loading them into your page. Use economical picture files such as jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and video clips such as mpeg files (Moving Picture Experts Group) as they use less space - it is possible to convert larger file types into smaller ones. Photos and video from mobile phones can be used and generally use small amounts of space. Check that your uploaded videos play on your page as some formats may not be supported. Each year group member has a limited amount of file space on their individual page - a meter will indicate to each member how much space is left on their page.