DRAPER, Utah - While getting a card or gift with a stamp from across the country or overseas is always nice, actually seeing family members and loved ones on TV can make the holidays much more special. Imagine a technology that takes your treasured family photographs and sets them in motion, instantly weaving them together with cinematic effects to create a Hollywood-style photo movie production, all without hours online learning complicated software tools.
"A personalized photo DVD makes the ideal holiday greeting or gift," says Chett B. Paulsen, President and chief executive of aVinci Media Corporation, a company based in Draper, Utah, that is revolutionizing the way life events and memories are shared and preserved. "Family DVDs bring home the holiday spirit, especially when family, friends and loved ones can't physically be together."
For the 40 million U.S. photo consumers, aVinci's creative solutions are as close as one can get to actually being there. Available online at www.avincistudio.com and at photo center kiosks at some of the nation's largest retailers, aVinci's aim is to develop engaging, expansive, all-encompassing ways for everyone to tell their story using personal digital expressions, according to a news release. "Our motto is: any platform, any product," says Paulsen. "Our suite of products are available online, as desktop software and in stores, and the end product can be shared as DVDs, photo books, posters and more."
In addition to aVinci's life-event themed packages (including achievement, baby, wedding and vacation), the company is introducing The Polar Express Christmas theme just in time for the holiday season. Based on the 2004 film version of Chris Van Allsburg's award-winning children's book, aVinci's The Polar Express Christmas photo DVD allows children to hop aboard their favorite family film, incorporating their personal photos into scenes from the movie and allowing them to interact with Tom Hanks's conductor character as he makes his way to the North Pole. In addition to the DVD, customers can order a matching photo book and poster.
"Imagine the excitement and sense of magic children will feel when they pop in a DVD to watch their favorite holiday film and see themselves on the big screen!" says Mr. Paulsen. "And, with a DVD priced under $25, a 21st-century holiday greeting is within anyone's reach."
