Ask each colleague for a short recording about one specific memory of the retiree, followed by why that memory matters. Give contributors a deadline, a delivery method and the intended audience before they record. Ask them to avoid confidential or embarrassing details and confirm that their contribution can be included in the planned screening.
What should a retirement-video invitation say?
A retirement-video invitation should make the task easy to understand and complete. Adapt the following example to your event and replace every bracketed detail before sending it.
We are making a retirement tribute for [name], to show at [event] to [audience]. Please record one memory that captures what it was like to work with them, then add a sentence about why it stayed with you. Aim for roughly half a minute; a little longer is fine if the story needs it. Please send your recording to [organizer and delivery method] by [date]. We plan to use the clip for [private screening or agreed public sharing]. Let us know if any part should stay private.
The suggested recording length is an organizing choice, not a required video specification. Adjust the request to the time available at the event and the number of contributors.
What recording guidance should retirement-video contributors receive?
Ask contributors to record somewhere quiet, keep the phone steady and place light in front of their face. Agree on landscape or portrait framing before recording so the final compilation is easier to arrange. A party-screen presentation may suit landscape, but choose around the actual display.
Ask each contributor to play back their recording and check that speech is audible before submitting it. Where practical, collect the original file rather than a heavily compressed copy forwarded through several chats. Keep a list of received clips and any restrictions on their use.
If someone does not want to record, invite a written memory or photograph instead. Do not create synthetic speech and present it as that colleague's real contribution.
Use the retirement-video guide to arrange the messages into a coherent story, and the photo-selection guide when you need images between contributions.