Helping YOU preserve your precious family stories on video.
Family Legacy Video hits the road!
Join Steve Pender for a morning workshop on October 16, 2004
in Tucson, Arizona Click here to learn more.
Welcome to the
September issue!
It's hard to believe the summer season is over. Schools are back in session (or
soon will be) and most of us are returning to our post-vacation routines. I hope
you took advantage of the summer to videotape some of your favorite family
storytellers for posterity. If not, it's not too early to plan on doing so
during the Thanksgiving and other year-end holidays. Don't forget to consult the
Family Legacy Video™ Producer's
Guide as you plan your family video!
I want to thank all of you who were the first to purchase Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Music, Vol. 1: Generations. The initial response was great - in fact
many new customers took advantage of our "Trio," combining the
CD-ROM and e-Guides with the music.
I'm excited about the first Family Legacy Video workshop, set for October 16 in
Tucson. The session promises to be a fun learning experience - for you AND for
me. I hope to see you there.
FLV News:
First Family Legacy Video
workshop
set for October 16, 2004
Family Legacy Video is taking its show on the
road. Well, a little way down the road at least. "Lights, camera, action: How to
produce your own family videos" is the first in what the company hopes will be a
series of workshops supplementing Family Legacy Video's acclaimed how-to guide,
the Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Guide.
FLV is sticking close to home this first time around, holding the workshop in
Tucson on Saturday, October 16 (the workshop had been tentatively set for
September, but we needed more time to plan and promote the event, hence the
shift to October). FLV president Steve Pender will conduct what promises to be a
fun and interactive session. Steve will present an overview of the video
production process, offer tips for organizing and producing your own family
videos, demonstrate lighting, interview and editing techniques, and answer
questions. Says Pender, "My goal is to give everyone attending this workshop a
crystal-clear understanding of how to start and follow through on creating their
own family videos. And if they can't or don't want to do all the technical
stuff, they'll learn enough to know how to find people who can help them."
For those of you who can't make it to Tucson, don't despair. Plans are in the
works for a teleclass sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Here are the workshop details:
Date: October 16, 2004
Place: Arizona Small Business Administration office,
4811 E. Grant Road, Suite 261. The office is at the Crossroads Festival shopping
center at the northeast corner of Grant and Swan. Enter the double doors just
east of T-Mobile, under the "Offices" sign.
Time: 9AM - Noon (registration from 9 to 9:30)
Cost: $10 or FREE admission with the purchase of the
Family Legacy Video™
Producer's Guide on CD-ROM prior to the event (one admission per guide). The
deadline for ordering reservations and guides is Thursday, October 14. If you're
ordering the guide and you plan to attend the workshop,
just type "workshop" into the Additional
Information/Comments box when you order.
NOTE: If you've already purchased the guide on CD-ROM, you get in free! Simply
call or
e-mail Family Legacy Video to let us know you'd like to attend.
Click here for complete workshop details.
Feature story - YOUR family history video: Where do you start?
Question: What’s the most important step in any family
video project? Answer: The first one, of course. Unless you take that first
step, none of the other steps can follow. But what is that first step?
Think
about a decision you made recently. Maybe you decided to look for a new job, to
sell or buy a house, to take a long overdue vacation – whatever the decision,
you probably spent some time idly thinking or daydreaming about it. But then
came a moment when the time was right and you decided, for whatever reason, to
actually DO IT. Like the “big bang” that created our universe, your “big bang”
decision set in motion all the steps that ultimately led you to create a
particular reality and outcome.
The
same process applies to creating family videos. Have you been kicking around the
idea of creating a family history video? If so, that’s great. But idle thought
does not a video make. Until you commit yourself and move from daydreaming to
actually spearheading a family video project, your video will always remain a
pipe dream. You need to decide, for whatever reason (a love of family history,
the desire to preserve a loved one’s stories before he or she passes on, etc.),
that the time is now and that you are the person for the job.
Once
you make that decision, you’ll be amazed at how energized and focused you’ll
become. You’ll also find that, according to the old maxim, “When the student is
ready the teacher appears.” Once you’re truly ready, resources (like Family
Legacy Video products and services) will start to cross your path. Most likely,
your enthusiasm for the project will also inspire other family members to help
you.
So
that’s the first step. Before you think about how you’d like your video to look,
what pictures to include or the kind of music to use – decide to DO IT. Then
jump into the project with enthusiasm and energy. You’ll be amazed at what
you’ll accomplish.
It's always a pleasure to hear from Family Legacy Video
customers. I value your comments and critiques and am always interested in
hearing how Family Legacy Video's products and services are helping you preserve
your precious family stories. Customer Julie Leo included these inspiring words
along with her recent order.
I have been producing videos for my family for the past
year...learning as I go. It is so important and heartwarming, I believe,
preserving the stories and the touch of the living. And for those who wish to
reach back and connect with the past and their ancestors, there are the precious
still photos, documents and music of days gone by. Thank you....I'm really
looking forward to receiving the guides and music CD. Julie Leo
The
show never ends at the Family Legacy Video™
Theatre!
The Family Legacy Video™ Theatre is the online theatre where
you can watch all the video clips streaming from 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 and you decide when the show begins. To visit
the theatre, click here.
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.
Now you can preserve your family history, life stories and memories on video
and make your family history come alive!
Our newest product: Family Legacy Video™ Producer's Music, Vol. 1
Low cost, background music for your next video
Family
Legacy Video presents its
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.
Ask
Steve - This month: analog vs. digital video cameras
Q: Is
it okay for me to use my old VHS camera to tape my family video - or do I need
to invest in a new digital camera?
- - Joe O., Bloomfield,
New Jersey
A:
Joe, I happen to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of
thought. If
you're happy with the sound and picture on your VHS camera, I'll be the last one to try
to convince you to go out and buy something new. Be aware, though, that you
might find getting the video from your VHS camera into your computer a little more
challenging than with a digital camcorder. Digital camcorders
and most of today's desktop computers come equipped with digital video
input/outputs that allow you to connect your camera directly to the computer.
The connection lets you control the camera using your computer's video editing
software in order to transfer (or "capture") scenes directly from you camera to
the computer - staying digital all the way (which preserves video quality).
Since your VHS camera doesn't have a digital output, you'll most likely need to
buy an analog to digital converter (available at computer stores). You
basically connect the video/audio output of your camera to the converter and run
the output of the converter into the digital video input of your computer. If
your computer is an older model without a digital video input, you'll need a
video card in your computer to which you can connect the output of your camera.
Take a look at what you have now in terms of your computer and camera and
consult with your computer guru or with you local computer store to see
what it'll take to make your camera and computer compatible. Then decide for
yourself whether you'll be happy using your current camera and computer or
upgrading one, or the other, or both.
BY THE WAY - If you have a family interview that really can't
wait and you don't have the time or inclination to go shopping for a new
camcorder, use what you have and tape that interview before the opportunity
passes you by. The most important thing is to get that interview! If you do wind
up buying a new camera later, you can always transfer video from the old camera
to the new.
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.
Now you can preserve your family history, life stories and memories on video
and make your family history come alive!
