Here at Family Legacy Video, we've been busy winning awards,
planning another workshop, finishing a family video biography that spans three
DVDs and spreading the word about the importance of preserving family and
personal histories on video. You'll read all about it in
this month's e-Newsletter. You'll also find out how road trips can generate
memories. In addition, this month's "Ask Steve" turns the spotlight on video
highlights - and a Family Legacy Video customer talks about what motivated her
to start a video bio project.
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 toll-free (1.888.662.1294) with
any questions or comments you have. Visit Family Legacy Video on the Web
at:
www.familylegacyvideo.com.
"Create Your Own Video Biography" workshop moves north.
You've probably heard Horace Greeley's famous words of advice, "Go west, young
man." Well, Family Legacy Video is already out west. So we're going to follow
another compass direction - north, and move our next video biography workshop
from Tucson to the Phoenix area.
The next three-day workshop will run from September 8 to 10 (Friday to Sunday).
And this time we're holding the event in an actual television production
facility - Skyline Productions,
65 S. Sycamore in Mesa, Arizona. For those of you outside of the area, there are
nearby hotels and motels. And September in Arizona is a good time to get
off-season hotel rates.
"Create Your Own Video Biography" workshops from Family Legacy Video offer three
jam-packed days filled with inspiration, learning and fun - and leave you with
the tools you need to preserve your own precious family stories on video.
SO if you're itching to tackle your own do-it-yourself video biography
project - BUT you lack the skills and experience you need to move forward - THIS IS YOUR CHANCE to learn professional video production tips and
techniques.
Reserve your spot for the September workshop now. Early bird rates apply until
August 4. Complete details (along with testimonials from past workshop
participants) are on the workshop page of the Family Legacy Video Web site.
Family Legacy Video Producer's e-Newsletter
& Web site rake in awards.
Family Legacy Video's e-Newsletter and Web site can now be
officially described as "award-winning!" At the 5th Annual Cactus Quill Awards
on Thursday, June 1, Steve Pender accepted an Award of Excellence for
the Family Legacy Video Producer's e-Newsletter and an Award of Merit for the
Family Legacy Video Web site.
The Cactus Quill Awards are sponsored by the Tucson Chapter of
the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Winning entries
must demonstrate a high level of creativity and communications skill as well as
measurable results. Family Legacy Video has always felt our e-Newsletter and Web
site were top notch - and now we have the trophies to prove it!
Here are a couple of links to local press announcements about
the awards:
Steve Pender continues to spread the video biography gospel - face
to face, in print and over the airways.
On Mother's Day, May 14, Steve presented an forty-five minute program to
congregants of St. Philip's in the Hills Church, in Tucson. (The reviews were "boffo!")
On June 8, Steve was quoted in an article entitled, "Therapy
comforts the dying," in the Portland
newspaper, The Oregonian.
On June 10, Steve took to the radio airways as a guest on a
popular hour-long Tucson radio talk show, "Computers with Christine." In between
calls about computer-related issues, Steve talked about his passion for video
bios and gave tips to listeners who might want to create their own.
Have you ever gone back to visit the home
where you grew up? Your first school? Or any other buildings or places that
figured prominently in your childhood? A few months ago, I took a walk through
my old New Jersey neighborhood, still filled with tree-lined streets and small,
post World War II bungalows. My childhood home looked completely different, with
a second story added and lacking all of the trees that used to shade our corner
lot. Even so, just looking at the property brought back memories - of events and
feelings. I remembered what it felt like to climb those old trees, clear the
yard of leaves each autumn (and jump in the leaf piles, of course) and,
for some reason, I vividly remembered what it felt like to run from my backyard
onto the narrow stone path leading to our side door, and slam that door shut as
I charged into the house. Quite frankly, I was surprised at how spontaneous and
keenly felt that simple memory was.
You can harness the power of place to help
the subject of your next video biography recall memories and stories from his or
her life. A member of my Rotary club recently told me how he took his dad on a
tour of the homes that figured prominently in his life. Video camera in hand,
he'd stand his father in front of one of his boyhood homes and record the
stories and remembrances the place stimulated.
If you think a road trip may be in order for
your next video biography, here are some tips to consider:
Plan ahead. If you'd like to shoot on
a property, contact the current property owners, explain what you'd like to do,
and get their permission. Remember - no trespassing! At the very least, if
you're not on their property but are including the building in your shot, just
knock on the owner's door and let him/her know what you're doing. Who knows,
maybe you'll get invited inside.
Locked down or hand held? You may opt
to set your camera on a tripod, and videotape with your subject between the
camera and the building, the way you always see TV reporters shot when they're
reporting from the White House. Another option is to follow your subject as
he/she walks the property and relates their memories. You can do this by taking
your tripod with you, setting up a shot to establish an area, and then having
your subject walk into the shot and speak. Or, if you're steady enough, you can
ditch the tripod and shoot hand held.
Audio. You're going to want to mic
your subject as closely as possible. This means a lapel (also called a
lavaliere) mic. If you're going to simply have your subject stand and talk, you
may be able to get away with an extension cable so you can attach the microphone
directly to your camera. However, if you plan on doing any walking and talking,
think about renting or purchasing a wireless microphone. A wireless mic has a
small transmitter your subject wears on a belt or sticks in a pocket. The audio
is sent to a receiver that connects to the audio input of your camera.
Places figure prominently in our lives. And,
with a little planning and creativity, you can use them to generate some
interesting visuals and some fascinating memories.
Why create a family history video? A Family
Legacy Video customer tells her story.
At Family Legacy Video, helping folks like you preserve their
personal stories and personal histories on video is a passion and a mission.
It's very fulfilling to hear from people who have been inspired by Family Legacy
Video's products and services. One such person, and a real friend of Family
Legacy Video, is Barbara Kiernan. Barbara and her husband Tom have attended
several workshops and presentations and have also made use of the Family Legacy
Video Producer's Guide.
At the May video biography workshop, Barbara talked about her
family history video project. To view Barbara's comments, click one of the links
below (you'll need Windows Media Player to view the clip):
Come see a new clip at the Family Legacy Video Theatre!
There's a new feature playing in the Family Legacy Video Theatre. It's called "Uncle
Mike" and it's an excerpt from a recently completed three-DVD series of video
biographies. The clip features four family elders reminiscing about a favorite
uncle, and it begins with the custom opening that was created for each of the
DVDs. Enjoy!
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.
Ask
Steve - This month: Putting the spotlight on video highlights.
Q:
Dear Steve,
During your last workshop, you showed us a video clip that had a great effect.
You highlighted a family photo so that one person was brighter than the rest. It
looked almost like you had a spotlight on the person. Would you tell me how you
did that?
- - Nick H., Tempe, AZ
A: Hi, Nick.
There are two ways you can achieve this effect. The first way is by creating a
special key effect in your editing timeline. The second is by creating two
stills (one with a highlight and one without) in a graphics program like
Photoshop, and then importing those stills into your timeline. The procedures
are a bit involved, but here are the basics:
Adobe
Premiere Elements (which I know you have) has a keying effect called a "track
matte." Basically what you do if you want to spotlight someone in a photo is to
create a white shape (circle, oval, square) without a background. The white
shape needs to cover the person you'll be highlighting. You can make a shape in
the titling portion of Elements. This is easy and convenient, since you can
preview the photo in the background as you create the shape and you'll know when
the shape is exactly the correct size. You can also create the shape in a
graphics program, like Photoshop, and import it into your edit. Once the shape
is created, you place the photo file on two lower video tracks, say tracks 1 and
2 and put the file with the shape on the next highest video track (in this
example, track 3). You apply the track matte effect to the photo in track 2 and
use the editing software to tell the computer that the track 3 contains the
matte. The software then eliminates everything on the photo on track 2 that
isn't covered by the white shape and superimposes that portion of the photo over
the photo on track 1. The magic happens when you lower the video level on the
track 1 photo, but leave the superimposed bit from track 2 alone. Since this
superimposed portion retains its original brightness, it looks lighter than the
rest of the photo and gives you the spotlight effect. Be aware that the
procedure for setting up the track matte effect varies slightly depending on
which version of Premiere
Elements you have. If you can't get the effect to work, go to Adobe's
online help or consult Adobe's Premiere forum.
A second
technique that eliminates all this keying stuff is to simply import the photo
into a graphics program. Darken the area of the photo you don't want highlighted
and save it as a second file. Import both versions of the photo into your
editing software and onto your timeline. Transition from the untreated photo to
the darkened version, and your spotlight effect is complete.
Cheers, Steve
Got a
question about any aspect of family history video production?
Send it to Steve at
steve@familylegacyvideo.com.
