Helping YOU preserve your precious family stories on video.
Join the crowd headed for the next
Family Legacy Video workshop! See the story below.
Welcome
to the
August issue!
The hot news this month is that registration for Family
Legacy Video's September video biography workshops is now open. Judging by past
sessions, these events will be lots of fun. You'll learn and practice techniques
for creating your own family history videos - and meet other wonderful people
interested in doing the same. You can also pick up useful information about
starting our own video biography business. For more details, see the lead story in this month's
issue.
This issue also introduces the latest video clip to be added to the line-up in
the Family Legacy Video Theatre, offers some DVD burning tips and suggests ideas
for creating an inspiring opening to your next video biography.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Family Legacy Video™ Producer's e-Newsletter.
Please
e-mail me at
steve@familylegacyvideo.com or phone me toll-free (1.888.662.1294) with
any questions or comments you have.
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 are available until August 22 - AND as an e-Newsletter subscriber,
you, your family and friends are entitled to an additional "early early bird"
discount.
To get the extra discount, register by Monday, August 1. Use the coupon
code: vidbio. You may register online or 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.
Imagine you're in a theatre, waiting to see the
latest hit musical. The house lights dim. Audience chatter ceases. Then, from
the orchestra pit, comes the first notes of the overture. During the next few
minutes you enjoy a sampling of the musical delights to come. Your excitement
builds, your anticipation grows, and, by the time the curtain rises, you're
totally focused on the show.
Think of the opening of your family history video
as the overture to your program. An effective opening can create a mood,
establish a visual style and set the stage for your entire program. Do the
job well and you'll rivet your audience's attention to the television screen.
You can have a lot of fun creating your opening.
Look at it as an opportunity to let your creativity soar. An opening gives you
the opportunity to pull together various elements from throughout your video
and combine them in interesting ways. It also gives you the chance to use
visuals or interview segments that might not fit in the body of the video.
Here's what I mean. At one point during an
interview with my grandmother, I asked her if she ever thought she'd be the head
of such a large family. She paused, then asked me if I knew how many family
members we had. "No," I answered. She then looked off into space and quietly
said, "We have a lot." It was an amusing exchange and offered a wonderful
glimpse into Gram's personality - but it just didn't fit anywhere in the main
part of the program. So, I put it right up front. The show opens with that brief
exchange. Then my grandmother's image freezes, music begins, and we see a series
of stills from throughout her life that culminate in the show's title. Music
ends, we fade to black, and then fade up on the first segment.
Opening sequences can be simple or complex. The route you
take depends on your creativity, editing expertise, available visual and audio resources
and, of course, the time you have to devote to it. Here are some (but certainly not
all) of the elements you can use:
Music. A great way to establish mood. Try
starting your music (just a few notes is usually fine) before showing the first
visual. It's a great way to alert your audience that the show (or segment) is
beginning.
Text. A quote from a diary or letter can be an
effective way to set the stage for what is to come. You can also create a short
preamble that sets up your story, a technique George Lucas used in his Star Wars
movies.
Interviews. A short "sound bite" from an
interview (as described above) can be used to good effect.
Photos. A brief photo montage set to music can
clue the audience in to the people and places the program will feature.
Animation. If you are advanced enough using your
editing software and a program like Photoshop, you can "cut out" people and
elements from photos and move them in and out of frame while layering them
against an interesting background like a map, a slow pan of the old family
homestead or a series of shots of the subject's country of origin.
Start thinking about your "opening overture" now.
It's the key to a truly successful video. Not only will you have a great time
creating it, but I'm sure you'll earn "boffo" reviews from your audience.
A new addition to the Family Legacy Video Theatre!
The Family
Legacy Video Theatre is the online theatre where you
can view all the video clips streaming from the Family Legacy Video Web site.
The clips you see there will surely inspire you with ideas for your family
video, plus you'll get to see Steve Pender talk about his passion for family
history video in two television appearances.
This month, a new clip joins the line-up. In an excerpt from the latest
Family Legacy Video production, a customer relives her memorable experiences at
the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. So head on over to the theatre, select
the clip titled "A Fair Experience" and take a step back in time!
You'll see a window containing a video screen with controls and a list of clips.
Decide which clip you'd like to view and click on the correct speed (High,
Low) to match your Internet connection. In the bottom right of the theatre
window is a list showing the appropriate speed for your kind of
connection.
Enjoy the clip!
Select another clip or close the theatre window.
The Family Legacy Video
Theatre is always open, and YOU decide when the show begins.
Part of Family Legacy Video's mission is to build an online
community of folks like you who are enthusiastic about preserving family
stories on video - and helping others to do the same. Family Legacy Video's new blog, the FLV
Cafe, is a step in that direction. Feel free to stop by and leave as many
comments as you'd like. To reach the cafe, just click on the picture below.
Q:
Dear Steve,
I have burned a few DVD's (drafts of the family video) but when I play them in
some DVD players...they pause...they skip...they become distorted. Is this an indication of inadequate systems resources, a low-end burner, or
maybe cheap DVD's? What do you think?
- - Matt M., Tucson, AZ
A:
Hi, Matt.
Sorry to hear you're having DVD problems. I have some ideas.
First off, it sounds like some players play the discs and others don't. This
could be an incompatibility in the players themselves, especially if they're
more than a couple of years old. As it stands, under the best conditions, I
think the current success rate for correctly playing a DVD is about 89%. This
means that, no matter what you do, you'll have problems with about 11% of
players. The only playback problem I've run into so far, though, was with an extremely
cheap "no-name" DVD player - the $39 variety that stores put on special.
HOWEVER, there are steps you can take to make sure you're as successful as
possible. (So far, I haven't had anyone tell me they couldn't play DVDs that
I've burned.)
1. Burner - you may want to upgrade. I bought a Pioneer burner last year (model
DVR-A07) that came highly recommended from some techie colleagues of mine. This
model has been discontinued, but Pioneer has a good reputation and I'm sure the current
models are reliable. Regardless of the brand, do some research and comparisons
before you buy. Make sure you have a burner that is compatible with the DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD-RW formats.
2. System resources. I don't think lack of memory would be causing you trouble,
but I would recommend upgrading your RAM if you haven't lately. I intend to go
to 1GB in the near future. If nothing else, it'll help your system run more
smoothly.
3. Format: I've had great results with DVD-R. It's the oldest of the formats and
has been quite dependable for me. DVD+R should also be okay. I haven't used that
format yet, but others swear by it.
4. Avoid the really cheap store-brand or no-name DVDs. I've had good luck with
Memorex and am currently trying some Verbatim DVDs, which so far work fine.
Stick with the name brands that you know. Perhaps buy a couple of brands in
small quantities, burn your video onto them, and compare how they play back on
the DVD players owned by your family and friends.
5. Distortion: If you're referring to audio distortion, your problem may be that
the audio levels or audio peaks in your program are too high. Hopefully your
video editing software has a meter window that allows you to see your audio
levels. If so, open the audio meter window and play your program. If at any
point you see the levels go into the red, adjust them so they stay in the green.
Anything in the red will distort when you transcode the file as you create your
DVD.
6. Finally, since I am far from the final word on the subject, I'd recommend you
check out the forums on a Web site called "creative cow." The address is:
http://forums.creativecow.net/. The
site has a forum for DVD authoring, where you can solicit additional advice.
Good luck!
Cheers, Steve
PS - I invite readers to share their DVD creation
tips. Please e-mail them. I'll include your feedback in a future issue.
Got a
question about any aspect of family history video production?
Send it to Steve at
steve@familylegacyvideo.com.
