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Family
Legacy Video is featured in Tucson's weekly paper, the Explorer. |
Shortly after Labor Day, a reporter and photographer from the Explorer, Tucson's
weekly newspaper, visited with Family Legacy Video's president, Steve Pender.
The announcement of Pender's planned workshops at the annual conference of the
Association of Personal Historians kindled the interest of reporter Ty Bowers,
who spent a couple of hours exploring the subject of video biographies with
Steve. The article appeared in the September 12 issue of the paper. The online
version is available at:
http://www.explorernews.com/article/show/19790.
Note: The article contained a couple of factual errors. Steve grew up in Rahway,
N.J., not Clifton (he did live in Clifton before moving to Tucson). Also, his
grandmother's bio was long ago viewed by and distributed to Steve's family.
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True stories of the
unexpected benefits generated by video biographies. |
Video biographies are certainly wonderful ways to capture and preserve your
precious personal stories and family history. They also tend to generate
surprise benefits as well. Here are a few examples from Family Legacy Video's
files:
Uncovering an Olympic moment.
Mary-Lou and Dick are a wonderful couple here in Tucson, Arizona. Mary-Lou's dad
was a track star for Cornell around 1910. He also ran in the 1912 Olympic Games
in Stockholm. During the course of producing their video biography, the couple
asked me if I thought there might be film of the 1912 race. I checked with the
International Olympic Committee - and sure enough, they uncovered a film clip
from that long-ago event. Long story short: A copy of that race, on DVD, now
occupies a place of honor in Mary-Lou and Dick's family archives. By the way,
when Mary-Lou, who is in her eighties, watched the clip of the race, it was the
first time she saw her dad run. Her reaction: "You can't imagine what a thrill
it was to see Dad running. That was an amazing thing you did for us but it meant
the most to me. Thank you again and again."
Reconnecting with family.
Doug hired Family Legacy Video to create a video bio featuring his mom, Marion.
She detailed events that her kid sister never knew occurred. After
watching the video, her sister and other relatives rekindled their
relationships with Marion. Here's how Doug described what happened: "Mother's only surviving
sister, who is seventeen years younger, was not aware of the Washington
adventures and many other items that the three older children had experienced.
Mother and her sister are now much closer because of the video. Many nieces and
nephews with whom she'd had little contact are now in touch with her again.
Thank you for providing us with a Family Legacy Video that will be passed down
and enjoyed by our family throughout the coming generations."
Inspiring a new interest in family history.
Family Legacy Video recently taped a conversation between two brothers, Will and
Pren. They had a great time recounting their family history and adventures. The
project inspired Pren to do even more to preserve his family history. According
to his daughter: "One of the hidden benefits of this project was the search for
family photos to include in the video. I really enjoyed looking through them all
with my parents, and labeling them for future generations. What a treasure! I am
so glad we did this now. My father has been so inspired that he has taken on a
new project – he found boxes and boxes of slides in the basement of his Illinois
home and has been scanning them. He's really enjoying it and it’s been great to
see those old photos too."
Finally telling the full story.
Len made his fortune in Peru, arriving there early in 1940. He had many
fascinating adventures, both business and personal, to relate. He was most
interested in detailing his business success. At the end of his interview (which
stretched over three days) he had this to say: "I am very appreciative. I look
forward to giving my children my background. I've always told them a little bit
here and a little bit there, but never the complete story."
Every video biography project Family Legacy Video undertakes results in benefits
like those above. So don't wait - get started on your family video biography
project today. The benefits, both apparent and unexpected, will thrill you.
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The show's on at 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.
Here's how you reach the theatre:
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First,
click here.
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This opens the FLV Theatre welcome screen.-
Click on the "Click Here to Enter" link.
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You'll see a window containing a video screen with controls and a list of clips.
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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. NOTE:
Please be patient - you may need to wait a few seconds before a clip plays.
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Enjoy the clip!
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Select another clip or close the theatre window.
The Family Legacy Video™
Theatre is always open, and YOU decide when the show begins.
PS - If you have any difficulties playing the clips, please let us know.
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Ask Steve - This month:
Questions about gear & coaching. |
Q: Dear Steve,
I see that you are presenting at the APH conference in Franklin. I also see that
you do not have any workshops currently scheduled. I was signed up for one of
your workshops about two years ago and then was unable to attend. Do you think
you will have one sometime this year?
I am beginning to investigate video cameras. I used a small
Panasonic to do a documentary of the history of our region 2-3 years ago. The
videotaping of the interviews was done by a small video company here. I did all
of the other scenic videotaping. The Panasonic was purchased by our local
library and I do not have access to that for my own personal projects. I can get
the actual model number for you if that would help. It was a 3-CCD and had very
good quality.
I would like to have your opinion on what type of video
camera to purchase. I will usually be taping one person in his or her home or
mine and a few times 2 - 3 people. Of special concern is the audio capabilities
of the camera. Also any input on the basic lighting I would need would be
appreciated. We had to use very little extra lighting when we conducted the 23
interviews for the historical documentary.
At this point I just need some guidance from an experienced
person. If a workshop is not coming up very soon, would it be possible to
arrange some kind of tutorial on an individual basis either via email or phone
or both?
Thanking you in advance for your assistance.
- - Sandy L., Arnolds Park, Iowa
A: Hi, Sandy.
Good to hear from you!
Regarding the workshop – I’m looking at spring of 2008. No
firm dates yet. When I have a date or selection of dates I’ll e-mail everyone
who has expressed an interest and also include the info in the e-Newsletter.
As for cameras – there's a lot to choose from in a variety of
price ranges. I don't want to push a specific camera, but I'd suggest you
stick with Canon, Sony or Panasonic. Then, consider how much money you want to
spend and whether you plan to shoot (either now or sometime in the future)
widescreen or high def, and start comparing cameras. I would certainly recommend
a 3-CCD camera. I will say I've had some good results with Sony's HVR-Z1U. This DV camera
makes great pictures in SD (both 4:3 and 16:9) and in HDV.
You also want professional audio gear. This means microphones
and cables with XLR connectors (and a camera that has XLR inputs). If you’re planning on
shooting three subjects at once, you should probably invest in a small field mixer.
Professional cameras usually have two audio inputs – so if you have three
microphones you’ll need to mix
at least two of them onto one channel and send the mixed feed to one of your
camera's audio inputs. I
recommend lapel microphones.
Lighting is also important – you should have at least a basic
lighting kit or at least a couple of softlights. Check into the offerings by
Lowel and Arri. Lowel lights tend to be less expensive but also may be less sturdy over
the long run. But you may want to use them to start with and then upgrade later
if you find the need to do so. Arri offers a nice lighting handbook through its
Web site.
One other thought: Instead of buying all this gear, you might
want to check around for videographers in your area that you can hire on a per
job basis to provide the gear and lighting/shooting expertise (like the company
you worked with previously).
And yes - I do offer personal coaching. Just drop me an
e-mail or give me a call and we discuss how best to meet your needs. Thanks for
asking!
Cheers, SteveGot a question about any aspect of family history
video production?
Send it to Steve at
steve@familylegacyvideo.com.
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