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More
workshop reviews - plus interest in another workshop grows. |
The reviews of Family Legacy Video's April workshops are still coming in. Here
are a couple we've received since the May e-Newsletter:
As an educator I have been to many staff development and continuing education
classes that have fallen short of my expectations - not so, the Family Legacy
Video Workshop! Steve and his team earned an A+ for delivering a professional
forum that was a great balance of information, practical demonstration, hands on
activities, hospitality, and fun. The added bonus was attending the workshop
with a dynamic group of men and women with whom I will remain connected as we
grow in our common interest of video biography. I highly recommend this
experience to anyone who wants to preserve stories through video.
Margaret Krows, Kenmore, Washington
The 4 days that we spent in Tucson for your workshops couldn’t have been
better!! I certainly can’t ever recall feeling better about having invested my
time (and money) wisely. I learned so much about so many aspects of making video
biographies. Dan, Ginny, and Dan were also VERY informative, but when all the
dust settled, it was your experience, knowledge, patience, and easy-going
personality that made these 4 days so special. I can’t imagine that it’s easy to
keep 17 attendees - from all over North America, all with such different
backgrounds and personalities - enthralled for 4 days....but you did it!! I wish
you all the best, and continued success with Family Legacy Video.
Mike Norman, Newton, Massachusetts
As for news, we haven't scheduled another workshop yet. But a number of you have
written to ask when the next one will be. Here are a couple of options:
1. If you'd like to come to Tucson, it's possible we may be able to schedule a
workshop in either August, or September. If you're willing to commit to a
workshop this year, please e-mail Family Legacy Video and let us know by June 8.
If there's a month that's best for you, please tell us. If we get a minimum of
10 who would like a workshop this year, we'll look into scheduling another. If
not, we'll most probably wait until next spring.
2. We can bring the workshop to you. If you can generate enough interest in your
locale and can raise the money needed, of course. How to raise the cash? Think
about grants from either your community or state - or perhaps from a local
business or corporation. We already have one community here in Arizona that is
exploring this option. Contact Family Legacy Video if you think this idea would
work for you.
To learn more about Family Legacy Video's workshops, visit the
workshop page of the Family Legacy Video Web site.
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Video
biographies - a walk on the funny side. |
If you were listening to "Marketplace" on May 28 over your local public radio
station, you might have heard something a little strange. A correspondent named
Cash Peters hosted a segment on the subject of video biographies (in particular
the videos produced by a California company) - only he gave it the full-blown,
satirical, "Daily Show" treatment. I'm not used to having a subject about which
I'm so passionate treated so irreverently, but after listening to the piece
again at the "Marketplace" Web page, I decided it was funny enough, although a
bit heavy-handed.
There were two points Cash made with which I wholeheartedly disagree, however.
One, he emphasized that video biographies were only for the wealthy. Two, he
strongly suggested that some people have life stories that don't deserve to be
preserved.
My take on point one: Yes - high-end video biographies like our Deluxe Family
Legacy Videos are not inexpensive. A lot of time and expertise goes into
creating a video biography that's comparable in quality to anything produced by,
say, Ken Burns. These videos require budgets that can be afforded only by folks
with fairly deep pockets. There are ways to trim production costs, however, in
order to create less complex videos that are not as expensive. Family Legacy
Video also offers do-it-yourself options, like the Producer's Guide and our
"Create Your Own Video Biography" workshop. So money doesn't have to be a
barrier.
As for point two: Cash is flat-out wrong here. Each one of us has life stories
worth telling and preserving for generations of our families to come. Life
stories, especially when captured on video by the people who experienced them,
can be informative, inspiring and entertaining. They can tell us where we came
from and help us chart our own paths in life. And that's nothing to laugh about.
Listen to the "Marketplace" story yourself. Then, leave a comment at the site -
or send me an e-mail and let me know what you think.
- - Steve Pender
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