As you have seen in the previous pages, creating a Life Time Capsule for a Life Celebration can range from relatively simple to very complex.
The Producer (the person in charge of creating it) does not have to be overwhelmed by the type and amount of work necessary to complete the Life Time Capsule. As the Producer, when you think about the person you have chosen to honor, think about other people who might be willing to help you.
The Task Organizer
Use a Task Organizer Spreadsheet and fill in these fields:
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Event Name
If you are preparing a Life Time Capsule before an event is planned, you can leave the Event Name blank.
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Person Being Celebrated
Enter the name of the person being celebrated.
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Producer Name, Phone #, eMail Address
Enter your name, phone # and eMail Address so that when you share the spreadsheet with others who are contributing to the celebration, they will have your contact information readily available.
Get an Assistant Producer
The first person you should find to help with a Life Celebration is an Assistant Producer. They should be someone who is willing to help coordinate with other helpers to make sure everything is completed on time. If necessary, you and they could be Co-Producers. Just make certain that if you and they disagree on something, you have agreed upon who will make the final decision. If someone has entrusted you to make the Life Celebration happen, they could be the final decision maker.
Estimate Completion Times
For each task you plan, estimate how long it will take to complete. If you are planning an event, enter into The Task Organizer the planned date along with the start and end times. Remember, until you have a location for the event confirmed, the date and times may change.
Task 1: Location
This is the most urgent task when planning an event. If you and your assistant will not have the time to coordinate any of the location tasks, immediately find someone who will.
The Venue
This needs to be set as soon as possible so get someone to take on this responsibility today. If you have trouble finding a suitable one on the planned event date, change the date based upon venue availability. The more time you have in advance of the celebration, the easier it should be to find a suitable location. The last possible date to confirm a location is the day before the event. This would still give time to text or email invited guests the exact time and location where the celebration will take place.
Food and Drinks
If food and drinks will be served and family and friends will not be providing them, you can use a catering service. Find out their deadline for choosing a menu and providing the number of guests.
If you plan to use a takeout restaurant’s catering services it will usually mean ordering at least one day in advance. Set your deadline on the spreadsheet, then find someone to be in charge of food and drinks.
Audio/Visual
The chosen venue should be able to provide a public address system that includes a lectern with microphone and speakers that will provide ample volume for number of guest attending.
Also needed is a projector and an appropriate number and size of screens able to professionally show one or more videos. The sound from the projector should be amplified and be adjustable by the public address system.
If the venue cannot provide any of these, either a professional audio/visual company will need to be contracted, or friends and family with the necessary equipment and skills will need to step up.
Task 2: Guests
Guest List
As soon as you know there will be an event celebrating someone’s life, someone needs to start creating a list of guests to invite. The people closest to the person being honored will most likely have many names to place on the list. If the person being honored is aware of the celebration, they are the best source of whom to invite.
Seating Chart
If the seating at the event will be assigned, a seating chart may be prepared once the date has passed for people to indicate whether or not they plan to attend the celebration. When seats are not assigned, most often a seating section will be reserved for family members and close friends.
Task 3: Invitations
Once a date, or possible dates for the life celebration are known, a person needs to be in charge of getting invitations created and distributed.
Design
Invitations can take many forms. Print invitations are traditional and are usually the most expensive. Evites, sent via email or text, will get to potential guests much more quickly and for a lower cost. They also allow for animation and sound. Sometimes both types of invitations need to be designed to accommodate the available guest contact information. Some people may have only provided a phone number or email address, while for others you may only have a mailing address.
The person assigned to design invitations needs to have an artistic sense and be familiar with, or able to learn, the requirements of print and evite design. Each invitation will need to include the date and location of the event. If the that information has not been finalized, a “Save the Dates” invitation should be sent out that requests guests to keep several days open on their calendars to they will be available to attend once the actual date has been finalized.
Distribution
The person in charge of distribution will need to be able to send out all types of invitations required. A printed “Save the Dates” invitation may be a post card, while a printed finalized date invitation may be a folded card that includes an RSVP post card.
An evite invitation should be previewed before it is sent to the entire guest list. This may mean using the distribution service to send it to the invitation coordinator’s email address. Once errors, if any, have been corrected, the invitation may be sent to the entire list. The evite design may have to be modified depending upon how it will be sent: some guests have only provided phone numbers, and others have only provided email addresses.
Task 4: Event Program
What will take place at the celebration and when needs to be planned and managed by someone with very good people skills.
The Agenda
An outline of the life celebration events needs to be finalized. Whether the event is a memorial service, a wedding, a birthday, or another type of party, presenting a biography of the person (or persons) being celebrated should be included. The event planners will need a more detailed agenda than one that is shared with all guests attending. Estimated starting times for each agenda item include who will be presenting or otherwise participating and the specific location at the venue.
Participants
For each agenda item, the people presenting or participating need to be contacted and kept in touch about what is expected of them and how they need to prepare. Key people are those who will be speaking about the person being celebrated. Others may be doing a reading or performing a song.
Task 5: Displays
The person in charge of displays should be able to work well with others to acquire items. They also need basic art skills to present them, including the creation of labels identifying their significance.
Photos
Since a typical photo display will be on one or two large boards, the limited number of images should represent a variety of life events and relationships. Photos that only exist in digital form will have to be printed.
Memorabilia
Personal items that have special meaning to the person whose life is being celebrated may be placed on a table or in a display case. A case can provide some security to prevent items from being damaged or taken. Items too large to display may be represented by photos.
Task 6: Printed Handout
The person in charge of a printed handout needs the following skills:
Text
The ability to write a biography of the person whose life is being shared that is limited to the amount of words that will fit on the chosen type of handout.
Design
The ability to layout the text and any graphics/photos in an artistic and functional manner using digital tools.
Printing
The ability to output the final design in a format that can be duplicated by either a personal computer printer, or a commercial duplication service.
Task 7: Video
The person responsible for creating a video needs at least basic skills and access to a computer system that can create and export the project.
Photos
If there is only a few days to prepare for a celebration of life event, a photo slide show may be prepared using video software that makes it easy to create a slide show set to music.
However, all photos need to be in digital form and those that are not need to be scanned. Photos also need to be checked and adjusted, if necessary, using image editing software. The photos are best presented in chronological order.
Recordings
If more time is available, short clips from existing video recordings may be integrated. If even more time is available, new recordings may be produced of interviews about the life of person being honored.
Editing
Depending upon how much content will be included, and the skills of the person creating the video, the editing process may take several days to several months.
Task 8: Online Resources
A variety of resources can be made available online through social media, but a website dedicated to the person being honored is the best way to share the resources no matter what social channels a person uses.
Depending upon the skills of the person assigned to create a website, the time to build a simple one may only take a few hours. However, as the site gets more complex, the time to create it can take from several weeks to several months.
Text
The most basic written content for a website may be the biography written for the printed handout mentioned in Task #6 above. But since website space is easily expanded, and more detailed biography may be published. In addition to a basic biography, a more elaborate website may have individual pages that focus on different parts of the Star’s life, with each page featuring more detailed text.
Images
A website may also use the digitized photos used for the video mentioned in Task #7, but they may have to be modified.
Design
Many website creation tools include templates that make it easy to layout text and images. If the person designing the site has limited skills, a template is the fastest way to create a pleasing and practical set of pages. Someone with advanced website skills will be able to add more customization. They are also able to add video clips and downloadable items, such as an eBook.
Task 9: Book
A lengthy biography of the person being honored can be written and illustrated to be shared as a book, either in printed or digital form. But as with an elaborate video or website, the time to produce a book can take many months, and the person in charge needs a special set of skills. In addition to writing the text, images need to be prepared, the layout needs designing, and the final project needs to be corrected of any errors before publication. A shorter photo book may take less time to produce, but it still needs to be started far in advance.
Need More Help?
This and the other pages in Get Started Now! present an overview of what it takes to honor someone special by creating a Life Time Capsule.
If you want to learn more details about the process,
consider getting a copy of the soon to be published
Great Life Celebrations: How to Create Meaningful Memorials and Tributes.
To find out when the book becomes available please click here.