Helping YOU preserve your precious family stories on video.
Welcome to the
August issue!
Things are HOT here at Family Legacy Video, and not
just because it's the middle of summer.
First off, I'm excited to announce the launch of our newest product - Family
Legacy Video™ Producer's Music, Vol. 1: Generations.
It's the first royalty-free music collection created just for family video
producers like you (read more about it below).
Secondly, Family Legacy Video's summer sale is on right now! Head over to
our Web site at
www.familylegacyvideo.com to save money - lots of it!
Thirdly, planning for FLV's first two-hour workshop, to be held in September in
Tucson is underway. Teleclasses will also be coming sometime in the not too
distant future. I'll keep you informed as plans progress. Of course I'm still
getting rave reviews about our flagship product, the Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Guide. Have you ordered your copy yet?
I hope you enjoy the August e-Newsletter and that your summer has been as busy,
fun and productive as mine. Feel free to forward the e-Newsletter to your family
and friends using the forwarding feature at the bottom of the page. Please do send your questions, testimonials and
articles to
steve@familylegacyvideo.com. I promise to consider all submissions for
publication.
Feature story - Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Music helps your family video hit all the right notes
Home video enthusiasts today are in hog heaven.
Video equipment and editing software are dirt cheap, and you can do stuff with
them today that would have made professional gear cry uncle only a decade ago.
There's one area that still causes home video producers to sing the blues,
though - music.
Music adds emotional impact to a video. The right music track can make a mundane
video memorable and exciting. But up until now, home video producers have been
reduced to using popular music (a no-no both legally and ethically if you don't
purchase the rights), buying expensive music libraries or going without.
So, why hasn't somebody come up with music aimed at the home video consumer?
Someone finally has. Family
Legacy Video has teamed with award-winning veteran composer Steve Veloudos
to
create our first collection of royalty-free, buy out music for home video
producers. Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Music, Vol. 1: Generations is a CD containing eighteen songs, in the
popular MP3 format. The songs reflect themes ranging from the Civil War through
various eras in the 20th Century and up to the present day. Styles include
blues, jazz, rock, country, ragtime and more.
What does royalty-free mean? It means when you buy the disc you can use the
music on it as often as you'd like, in as many family videos as you can create,
without having to pay another penny to obtain licensing rights. You
save money and you don't have to deal with all the hassles that come with
securing music rights. And with the variety of music offered on the disc, you're
sure to find tracks that are perfect for your next family video, whether it's
about family history, that winning little league season, a birthday, an
anniversary or a family reunion.
Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Music, Vol. 1: Generations costs just $17.95. That's less than $1
per song and way under the $69, $99 or even $100+ per disc
charged by companies specializing in stock music.
Hearing is believing, so visit the
music page of the Family Legacy Video Web site to preview samples of all the
tracks. Then add the disc to your collection, put the music to work and hear
what a difference it makes in your next home video.
Feature story - Bridging the generation gap with a family history video
Most elder family members are
great sources of family stories and family history, but have little interest or
experience with video technology. Many younger family members know little family
history but are aces when it comes to computers and video. What can bring them
together? Try a family history video project.
There I was, at a local Rotary Club, in the middle of a talk about creating
family history videos, when one of the older members, a fellow in his
mid-seventies, piped up.
"This digital stuff seems like a lot of bother to me," he said. "There's tape,
there's discs - I really don't know what's what.
Technology keeps changing and I can't be bothered
transferring from one format to another. I've
locked all my family films in a cabinet, along with a projector, and when a
family historian wants to watch them, that's where they'll be."
I congratulated him for safely storing his family films and I had to admit he
had a point when it came to technology. Rapid advances in computer and video
hardware and software have been dizzying and sometimes confusing. BUT, when the
choice is between preserving a precious video record of your family stories and
history or losing them for all time, I don't think the fear of a little
technology should be allowed to get in the way.
So what do you do if you view technology as a hindrance rather than a help?
Look for the nearest teenager or preteen. Grandkids, grandnieces and
grandnephews grew up with this computer stuff. To them it's second nature. Why
not enlist their help in creating a family history video they'll treasure in
years to come (kids being kids, they might not see the value in it now - but
when they get older, they will). So butter them up a bit. Play to their pride in
their computer and video expertise. And if that doesn't work, have their parents
make them help you. Once you get some momentum going, a family history video
project is sure to spark their interest and creativity. You may find them
getting just as excited about it as you.
Of course, collaborating with a younger family member on a family history video
is much more than just a means to an end. It provides a great bonding
experience, a chance to share quality time, to laugh and learn together and to
create something of which you'll both be proud. You'll end up with a living
legacy your family will love and with wonderful new memories that will
last a lifetime.
Don't
forget to visit the Family Legacy Video Theatre!
The Family Legacy Video Theatre is the online screening room where
you'll find all the video clips posted on the Family Legacy Video Web site.
Decide which clip you'd like to view, choose High, Mid or Low quality to
match the speed of your connection (High or Mid for broadband), (Mid or Low for
dial up), then settle back and enjoy the show. The Family Legacy Video
Theatre is always open, you decide when the show starts and you won't have to
worry about telling the loudmouths in the row behind you to pipe down. To visit
the theatre, click here.
Enjoy!
Our flagship product: the Family Legacy
Video Producer's Guide on CD-ROM
The
Family Legacy Video™ Producer's Guide
shows you how to do it yourself!
The
Family Legacy Video™ Producer's
Guide on CD-ROM takes the mystery out of video production and puts you
in the producer's chair. Steve Pender took 25+ years of experience in video and
condensed it into easy-to-follow, step-by-step professional techniques that
show you how to organize and produce your own family history video. Written
instructions, forms, diagrams, video clips and photos help you do it yourself!
Q:
How do I get the best possible sound when I record my family interviews?
- - Nancy M., Chicago,
Illinois
A:
The quality of the sound, or audio, is going to depend on three things: how
close your interview subject is to the microphone, the quality of that
microphone and the amount of background noise. Let's look at each of these
factors:
Distance -
You want your subject to be as close to the microphone as possible. If the
microphone you plan to use is the one built into your camera, that means you'll
need to compromise a bit - the camera can't be so close that all you see is your subject's nose or mouth
(unless, of course, that's the effect you're going for). If your camera
has in input for another microphone, you might want to consider a lavaliere, or
lapel microphone. You can buy these pretty inexpensively at your local consumer
electronics store. They mount right on your subject's shirt, blouse or jacket -
you can't get much closer than that.
Microphone
Quality - Test out the microphone you plan to use well in advance of the
interview. Make sure to do it in an environment that's similar to the one where
the interview will take place. If you don't like the sound quality, buy another
mic. If that's not possible, experiment with camera and microphone placement to
get the best sound you can.
Background
Noise - Background noise is the sound that naturally exists in the area where
you do your interview. If you're indoors, this noise can include the buzz of a
fluorescent light or the rumble of an air conditioner. The quietest of rooms has
some kind of background noise, even if it's just the movement of air through the
space. Outdoors, you have a lot more to contend with: traffic, barking dogs,
airplanes, wind, etc. The thing to remember about background noise is this: you need
to have it as low in relation to your subject's voice as possible. Let's say you
want to interview someone at the beach. The crashing waves in the background may
make a great shot, but just keep in mind that if you wind up having to raise the
level of your audio to better hear the interview you'll increase the volume of
the waves, too.
In conclusion:
Use the best microphone available to you.
Get that microphone as close to the subject as
possible.
Shoot in as quiet a location as you can.
Got a
question about any aspect of family history video production?
Send it to Steve at
steve@familylegacyvideo.com.
The
Family Legacy Video™ Producer's
Guide on CD-ROM takes the mystery out of video production and puts you
in the producer's chair. Steve Pender took 25+ years of experience in video and
condensed it into easy-to-follow, step-by-step professional techniques that
show you how to organize and produce your own family history video. Written
instructions, forms, diagrams, video clips and photos help you do it yourself! 