Gabriel and Michal wanted to celebrate their daughter Yael’s first birthday with a present they would all enjoy for years to come. They had hundreds of photos and video clips: pregnancy, birth, naptime, story time, bath time, learning to eat, learning to crawl, learning to stand, crying, laughing, sleeping, snuggling. But all these magical moments were scattered around phones, jumbled up and rarely enjoyed. So they decided to create a video celebrating the incredible journey they had all been through in their first year as a family.

“We had thousands of video clips and photos of Yael taken with our iPhones. But we all know that if it is not organized, we will never watch it, or rarely,” explained Yael’s dad Gabriel. “An eight-minute movie that summarizes the first year of our daughter Yael is much more convenient to watch and to share with friends and family. It is also a unique gift for her, and when she’s older I am sure she will enjoy watching the video.”

The family worked with video editor Wiebke Reile via VideoTov’s online collaborative application to create a moving tribute to their little girl. Wiebke organized the hundreds of photos and video clips that Gabriel and Michal uploaded to VideoTov into a short chronological-order video to show the entire experience from Michal’s pregnancy to Yael’s first birthday.

The parents watched the video revisions and during every review cycle brought creative ideas to the video editing process. They identified the most significant video clips and photos, requested a few changes, added some additional photos and videos, chose the soundtrack music, and even included audio of Yael crying. After each review cycle, Wiebke reviewed the comments and made edits to enhance the mood of the movie.

“When I create baby videos, I tend to aim for softer, slower paces to provoke the feeling of innocence,” she explained. “During times where the child is playing or having a good time, I like to speed up the pace of the video.”

After two review cycles, Wiebke put together the eight-minute masterpiece final movie and posted it to VideoTov’s video editing application. The parents loved the movie and were soon sharing it with their family and friends.

“We are very satisfied with the final product. We don’t miss any opportunity to show the video to friends and family, and everybody loves it,” exclaimed Gabriel, adding, “It is true also that the actress was particularly good!”

They found the collaborative video editing application easy to use, and they’re thinking about making another video for Yael’s second birthday.

The experience was fun for Wiebke, too. VideoTov’s collaborative platform made it easy for her to review Gabriel and Michal’s comments, clarify any questions she had, and make the desired changes—all without having to schedule face-to-face or phone conversations.

“Baby videos are actually some of my favorite types of videos to work on because the majority of the time the parents love what you create for them—who doesn’t love viewing a video of their child?” she noted. “What I find really important is to have all the major moments of the child represented that everyone tends to want to highlight. For example, the child’s first words or first bite of food! I wish I could have had one of myself when I was a baby!”

Experience the joy of Yael’s first year in the movie above. Happy birthday, Yaeli!

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About the VideoTov Editor: Wiebke Reile

Wiebke works as a documentary film editor and social media manager in New York City. She is a graduate of Boston University’s broadcast journalism program and is currently pursuing her masters in media studies at Brooklyn College.