Join our September workshops!

It's nice to be back at the cafe. I admit I've been lax in posting, but I have a good excuse. I've been busy finalizing plans for two exciting video biography events in September. I hope you'll join in the fun!



So, what's been keeping you from getting a jump on that family history video project of yours? Not sure where or how to start? Maybe the technology, from cameras to computers, is too intimidating?

Or, maybe you're already a video guru and you've been wondering how to run your own video biography business?

Has Family Legacy Video got the workshops for you!

This September, in Tucson, Arizona, Family Legacy Video offers two unique workshop events:

Create Your Own Video Biography (September 23-25) -
Family Legacy Video's president, Steve Pender, and the dynamic production duo of Dan Crapsi and Ginny Temple usher you through the process of creating your own family legacy video. You'll learn what makes a successful video tick and get hands-on practice composing questions, lighting and taping interviews, shooting family photos, and getting the video onto your computer. You'll also edit that video and walk away with your own, three-minute long "mini" video biography.

The Business of Video Biographies (September 26) - If you're thinking of opening your own video biography business, this one-day workshop is just the ticket. Steve Pender (Steve was recently featured in the Arizona Daily Star and EventDV Magazine) offers tips, advice and insights into the business. You'll learn what you should expect to need and pay when it comes to equipment, insurance, and music. Marketing and promotion also take center stage as Steve shares his promotion strategies and tells you what's worked for him and what hasn't. Graphic designer and marketing expert Dan Blumenthal (Blumenthal Design Group, LLC) will discuss the importance of graphic design in creating an image and brand for your company and how they can add to your bottom line.

Early bird workshop discounts end August 22.

As a special offer to FLV Cafe visitors, Family Legacy Video is offering an early-early bird discount. Register by Wednesday, August 3 and receive an additional early-early bird discount over and above the already low early bird rate. To get the additional discount, register online and enter the coupon code: vidbio. You may also register by phone - call 1.888.662.1294 (toll free).

Whether you sign up for one workshop or for both, come prepared to learn, to have fun and to meet some great people!

Visit the workshop page of the Family Legacy Video Web site for complete details.

Leave the editing to Family Legacy Video

I've recently received a number of phone calls and e-mails from potential customers who are already taping, or planning to tape, family video biographies. They've all asked the same thing: Can you edit our video for us?

The short answer: Yes. Here's how it works.

First, we need to consult. I need to know your vision and your goals for your video. I also need to know what I have (or will have) to work with (interviews, stills, films, etc.). Knowing this allows me to give you an estimate of what the editing (or as professionals call it, postproduction) will cost. Keep in mind that the cost can rise if you decide to add or change things once the editing process begins.

Second, you need to provide your materials to Family Legacy Video in as organized a fashion as possible. Ideally, this means having selected the interview segments you'd like to use along with labeled photos or discs with scanned photos that are clearly named, along with notes as to where they go. We'll also need to discuss music and titles. Family Legacy Video uses only music from our extensive music library (which you can screen online, if you wish).

Third, I'll need to know how many copies you'd like, the format (DVD or VHS) of those copies and, if DVD, whether you'd like menus and chapters and a custom cover.

That's it in a nutshell. I highly recommend that you purchase a copy of the Family Legacy Video Producer's Guide on CD-ROM. It clearly steps you through the process of organizing and taping your project and preparing for postproduction. Remember, the more organized you are, the less time Family Legacy Video needs to spend in post - which will keep your cost as low as possible.

Family Legacy in Poetry

My local paper, the Arizona Daily Star, just picked up a column by Ted Kooser, the Poet Laureate of the United States. The first column carried by the paper featured a wonderful poem by Andrei Guruianu that relates to family history in a very personal way. The poem really resonates with me; I hope you enjoy it.

Grandfather
by Andrei Guruianu

Dead before I came into this world, grandfather,
I carry your name, yet I've never met you.
I hear my name, and know
that somehow they refer to you.
When I scribble those six letters
fast, to sign some document
or print them neatly in a box,
I feel your presence flow with the ink
stain and burn through the paper,
forever imprinted in my mind.
Late summer nights
gathered around the dinner table,
leftovers being cleared away,
faces clouded in cigarette smoke,
I hear voices pass the word
back and forth in reverence.
Somehow I know it's not me
the little one grabbing for attention.
They speak of you, Andrei,
the one I've never met,
whose name I carry.

A Wonderful Testimonial

Just yesterday I received a most wonderful letter from a Family Legacy Video customer. I really want to share it with you, because it shows what Family Legacy Video is all about - and it reinforces the value of preserving your precious family stories on video.

Here's the text of the letter I received. I've removed the client's last name for privacy reasons:

Dear Steve,

As Tom and I prepare for our second video shoot, I cannot help but reflect on the gift you have given our family. One year ago, my mother passed away. It was a devastating experience. Unknown to me, the funeral home had prepared a short photo montage set to music made up of 40 family pictures taken over the course of my mother’s life. The copy each of us received made all the difference. It helped us begin the process of celebrating her life – even in the midst of loss. I just wished we had captured her story while she was alive. She would have loved to be part of making her family legacy for future generations.

I think you know the next step. That very fall, I heard you speak of your Family Legacy Video program and of workshops you were developing to teach people how to capture their family stories for their children and future generations. Immediately I knew that this was what I had wanted for my family. Your inclusion of real family members telling their own stories combined with still photos (often hidden away in boxes) – and even super 8 motion picture clips – made family stories into a living treasure for everyone concerned. I knew I needed to know how to share this with my family.

Your workshops were wonderful. You not only gave us the hands-on knowledge of how to create a Family Legacy Video, but shared with us your years of experience using film, music, and user-friendly computer programs that make editing possible for even normal people like us. You turned what could have been a daunting technical task into a fun-filled family project. Tom and I now have been collecting archival data and family photos from his family in Boston and mine in Michigan and California. We plan to make two family videos right now, one for each family. I think we might just be ready to give them as gifts for Christmas!

But the real gift has been the focus you have given to both of us. We are so enjoying the experience of planning the videos, gathering the old pictures, talking to people about them, and visiting places we want to include. As I told you, we have even planned a trip to Ireland and France next year to document the places where our families came from. We can’t wait! In the meantime, all of our extended family has gotten involved, sending us photos and sharing memories. It has become a family memory all on its own. And we owe all of these gifts to you. Thank you for helping us make this happen!

With fond memories and gratitude,

Barbara and Tom
Tucson, Arizona

Bring new life to those old family films

At my Rotary meeting the other day, a fellow member turned to me and said, "Steve, I've got lots of home movies from the 40s and 50s. What I can do with them?" The answer: Lots!

If all you want to do is free your old 16mm, 8mm and Super 8mm films from the back closet and make it possible for you to view them again (without having to set up a screen and projector), have them transferred to DVD. You probably have a local company that'll do this for you (check with photo developers or with companies advertising video production services). The great thing about this is you'll be able to pop a DVD into your player and watch your long-ago relatives once again. The downside is that your movies might be transferred in no particular order. You may find yourself jumping decades forward and backward as the reels change. But if all you want to do is preserve your films, this option may be the one for you.

Another option: Use your films to tell stories. Instead of having your footage transferred directly to DVD, get it put on miniDV or Digital 8. These are formats that you'll be able to use in conjunction with a computer that has digital video editing software. Once your films are on tape, review them. Think about the events they chronicle, the stories they bring to mind and the people they feature. Then transfer your films-on-video into your computer. Once you've done this, you're ready to use your films to tell some stories.

There are a number of techniques you can use. You and/or other family members can narrate the films, describing the events and the people as you see them on screen. You can interview family members on videotape and ask them questions about the events and people in the films. Then you can combine the interviews with the films, and with family photos, to create a family documentary. You can also incorporate titles, sound effects and music. Once you're done, you can output the finished program to tape or burn your own DVD.

Be as creative as time and your ambition allow. Whatever you do, please realize that there's no reason to let those old family films continue to collect dust. And if you're not technically or creatively inclined, remember that Family Legacy Video is here to help.