The end of the year is just around the corner! Here at Animoto, we’re all about saying goodbye to one year and hello to the next with video. An end-of-year video is a great way to revisit everything that’s happened over the past year and get excited about what’s in store for the coming year.
We’ve put together a few examples of recap videos to inspire your own! Check them out and then try documenting the year for yourself using our free recap video templates.
TLDR: To document the year and get excited for the next, create one of three video types:
- Business end-of-year video: Celebrates team successes and customer loyalty by featuring product launches and key statistics.
- Family moments montage: Creates a precious keepsake of personal milestones, vacations, and monthly highlights to share with loved ones.
- Personal brand recap: Builds a human connection by combining a personal thank-you address with a montage of professional and personal highlights.
Animoto's simple video maker and free templates can help you create, customize, and share your recap video in minutes.
Idea 1: A business end-of-year video
This video focuses on celebrating your team's successes and sharing company milestones. It builds trust and loyalty by showing customers how their support contributed to your growth.
Key Content Points:
- Major product or feature launches.
- Team photos and fun company events.
- Customer testimonials or key statistics (e.g., "Served 10,000 clients").
Recommended Templates:
Use a professional, polished template like the Company Year In Review or Our Company’s Year to guide the visual structure.
This template was designed to help you celebrate your team's accomplishments with your team! Use the Our Year in Review template to thank your team and shine a light on all they've achieved.
You can also share milestones month by month with the Our Company's Year template. Check out how we recapped 2020 using this simple template.
Find out more about how to use these templates in our article on how to make a year in review video.
Idea 2: A family moments montage
This idea is perfect for creating a precious keepsake video to share memories with friends and family. It moves beyond business to capture personal moments.
Key Content Points:
- Vacation photos and clips.
- Milestones like graduations, new homes, or birthdays.
- A selection of monthly highlights to show the passage of time.
Recommended Templates:
The This Year's Moments template is designed to easily compile chronological memories with music.
If you have even more photos to share, try out the This Year's Highlights template.
Idea 3: The personal brand recap and holiday greeting
Carrie Green, founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association, created her own "look back" video! She added a personal touch to her video by combining footage of herself talking to her audience, paired with photos and video clips from throughout the year.
This format is ideal for entrepreneurs, consultants, or anyone building a personal brand. It adds a direct, human touch by combining professional clips with a personal address.
- Structure: Start with a short video clip of you speaking directly to your audience, thanking them.
- Middle: Transition to a montage of photos and video clips showing highlights from your year, both professional and personal.
- End: Finish with a final slide wishing the audience a happy holiday or New Year.
Recommended template:
How to Create Your End-of-Year Video in 5 Simple Steps
Ready to document your year? Here is the simple process for quickly creating a recap video using a free online video maker.
- Select a Recap Template: Choose a template that matches your goal (Business Review or Family Montage). Templates provide professional animations and music tracks to get you started immediately.
- Upload Your Media: Gather and upload the best photos and video clips. Aim for high-quality, high-impact visuals that represent your key moments. Need media from others? Send them a custom link to let clients, colleagues, or family directly upload their photos and videos to your project.
- Customize the Text: Add concise, punchy text to introduce the video, highlight specific achievements, and thank your audience.
- Choose Music and Style: Select a music track that matches the mood—upbeat and celebratory for business, or warm and reflective for family. Adjust fonts and colors to align with your brand or personal style.
- Export and Share: Export your video file. Share it directly to your website, email newsletter, and all social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.).
