Everyone gets comfortable If your party is at a playground with a slide and swing set, then take camera down slide or on swing set. Climb on jungle gym and hold your camera knee high and chase kids. You can obviously do same at indoor play areas or at home as children play with toys. As you edit your video, you can work in these point of view clips.

Entertainment Arrives A typical setup for an Entertainment scene is where children are gathered together and watch a performance. A good shot is to sit behind children and peer through crowd at performer. Then shoot a few close ups of children’s faces from behind performer. If kids stand up and dance or play a game, stand with them, hold camera knee high and mingle. You can edit these point of view clips to create a nice final scene.

Let Games Begin Playing games is one of highlights of being a kid. Try to immerse your viewer in moment and capture excitement. One of my son’s friends had a piñata at their birthday party. You can create a great scene by filming another point of view shot before party begins. Hold camera and stick together so stick is visible in shot. Wave stick around and pretend to hit piñata. Once you are at party, and children have gathered for fun, stand in center with your camera knee high and turn around a few times. Now, step back and tape actual blindfolding and stick waving from a distance. Your final edited clip will include your child being blindfolded, spun around (from their point of view), stick trying to locate piñata (from its point of view) and finally candy and toys that result from a direct hit.

The Birthday Procession Many different birthday traditions exist in world but one most followed by Americans is birthday cake with candles, a happy birthday song, a wish and blowing out candles. Birthdays were originally reserved for royalty, hence crowns kids often wear at parties. Taping this scene could have a royal feeling to it as you tape a close up of lighting of candles, act of proceeding to table with cake, singing, wish and finally attempt to blow them all out. Try and create feeling of a grand gathering, using a wide angle to capture all family and friends who attended. This makes a scene fit for a King or Queen.

Now Real Mess: Cake and Ice Cream This is a great opportunity to capture some video of some cute messy faces. Tape a few face close-ups and some wide angle shots of scene. When you edit video, try using slow motion function as a scoop of ice cream falls off a cone or as cake doesn’t quite make it into a mouth. Or, try increasing speed of scene while editing and show kids devouring their whole plate of cake and ice cream in under 10 seconds. Using various speeds can make these scenes really funny.

Finally, Presents Opening presents is a much fun for parents as it is for their children. Bring camera level with your child’s eyes and catch their reaction as they open their gifts. If you’re really ambitious, you can cut a hole in bottom of a box, push camera lens against hole and film as they open box. Place something silly in box so when they open it, you capture their smile. In addition, video you taped prior to party of your son or daughter explaining what they wanted for their birthday can be used here as a flashback. It’s magical to see a child’s wishes come true.

The Goodie Bags and Farewell The goodie bags and mess are all that is left. Try to put a fun item in goodie bags that kids can wear. A few ideas include a funny clown nose, silly glasses, candy lips, or tiaras. You can gather kids together at end for a funny shot of their new identities. Have them wave goodbye to camera for farewell scene.

Parting Words I hope that you have a better understanding of how to create a more exciting birthday video using various camera angles and editing techniques. Remember that goal is to fit just a few of these ideas into your finished video. You can accomplish your goal with just a little planning and by picking your spots at party. With a little thought, you can adapt these ideas to any party situation. Good luck and have fun!

Copyright 2005 by Colton Wright, Digz-it.com

Colton Wright is a writer for http://www.digz-it.com , a video and photo sharing website targeted to families.

Need some ideas? Just visit your local craft stores or do a search online. Check out FamilyFun.com for some super ideas for having creative fun with family. You’ll find arts and crafts, party and game ideas, parenting help, recipes, and even travel ideas.

If you're into quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting........well if you are, you know possibilities here. It's not just for "old folks"! Get kids involved. There are kits created for these activities. Kits created specifically to get children interested and having fun doing these activities.

There are so many wonderful ideas for crafting possibilities are mind blowing. One walk around your local craft store and I’ll bet you can come up with a craft idea for each week of year at least if not two or three per week! Take a pen and paper. I never trust my head to hold everything inside. Seems most of it leaks out before I get to use it if I don’t write it down. There so much to take in!

Crafts for painting, sewing, candle making, transfers and art supplies that personalize items (purses, shirts, bandanas, jewelry, tote bags ..etc.), drawing, knitting, quilting, doll making, puzzles, woodworking, scrap booking……..well I could go on and on. But, best thing for you to do is get on down to that craft store and get some ideas.

You don’t necessarily have to buy everything you see! Just get ideas. Keep a notepad of ideas and then remember to look for arts and crafts supplies in your thrift stores, consignment shops, and at yard sales.

Oh, and don’t forget to recycle items you might normally trash. Keeping a good supply of these items will help keep expenses down. Things like, scraps of fabric, ribbon, paper, egg cartons, coffee cans (all sizes), Styrofoam (packing pieces or sheets) wrapping paper scraps, buttons, toilet paper and paper towel tubes. Don’t throw away anything that you could possibly use in a craft project. Don’t get carried away though. Never keep more than you have room to store comfortably.

Seriously people, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR KIDS! They won’t be kids forever, and believe it or not….You WILL miss them when they’re all grown up and out door!