Welcome to the Winter 2024 issue!
“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year!”
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
And how many lessons our families will lose if we don’t preserve, celebrate, and share our family storytellers and their life stories!
As we get ready to celebrate the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, let’s resolve to make sure this is the year we pass along our life stories, lessons, and values to current and future generations.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Family Legacy Video® e-Newsletter. Please e-mail me at steve@familylegacyvideo.com or phone toll-free (888.662.1294) with any questions or comments you have.
Cheers! – – Steve Pender
_________________________________________
Family Legacy Video® creates videos for the
Mining and Minerals Education Foundation.
On December 2, 2023, videos produced by Family Legacy Video, Inc. played to an audience of nearly six hundred during the American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Mining and Minerals Education Foundation.
In addition to focusing on personal and family life histories, Family Legacy Video’s president, Steve Pender, has extensive experience helping businesses and foundations tell their stories on video.
2023 marks the twelfth year working with the Mining and Minerals Education Foundation, a long-time relationship built on the quality of service and product that Family Legacy Video® provides. The videos that Steve writes, directs, produces, and edits highlight the careers of the year’s various honorees, from those still working in the industry to historical figures from mining’s past.
MMEF Executive Director, Tom Aldrich, put it succinctly, “Another top notch job, Steve. The videos this year were wonderful!”
View the videos for this year’s Merit honorees.
Check out the video for the Inductees from Mining’s Past.
_________________________________________
To app or not to app, that is the question.
There seems to be an app for everything these days, even personal histories. Some apps send you questions on a monthly basis to motivate you to write about your life or record stories using a smartphone. Other apps offer social media-type platforms where your family can upload and comment on life stories. Depending on your budget, and your level of do-it-yourselfability, one of these apps might work for you.
But, personal history apps aren’t for everybody, and they do have downsides. Case in point:
I recently received a call from a gentleman who told me, “My daughter gave me this app as a gift. It sends me texts each month with questions that are supposed to get me to write about my life. But, I’m not a writer! A friend of mine says I’m a storyteller and I need to tell someone my stories instead of writing them down. Can you help me?”
Long story short, this fellow is now a Family Legacy Video client. We’re looking forward to working together in 2024. Here are some of the benefits hiring Family Legacy Video® will bring him:
Organization
In order to proceed smoothly, a video project needs to be organized from start to finish. A professional legacy video producer brings years of organizational experience to the table. A pro will talk with you about your goals and wishes for your video and then design a production that meets your needs and your budget. A pro knows how to start a legacy video project and then proceed efficiently each step of the way. A true professional treats you, the client, like the executive producer – consulting you and ushering you and your family through the process.
Creativity
A professional is well-versed in visual storytelling techniques and can offer you a number of ways to approach and treat your family stories and storytellers. A legacy video pro will also have a realistic idea of the cost and time involved in creating each option. A professional will be able to show you samples of past work so you can make informed decisions about the creative direction and cost of your legacy video.
Video Production Experience
Your storytellers deserve to be presented in the most flattering way possible. A professional can insure that your storytellers look and sound their very best on camera. This means professional lighting, makeup, knowing how to compose a pleasing shot, and using a high-end camera to capture the image, along with top-notch microphones to ensure great sound. A pro also knows how to make a storyteller feel safe and comfortable during the interview in order to ensure an effective “performance.”
Editing Expertise
The final edit is where the magic happens. An experienced editor takes all the raw elements collected during the production process (interviews, photos, films, music, sound effects, etc.) and creatively combines them to create a personal legacy video that exceeds your wildest expectations.
Time Management
Best of all, a professional legacy video service can be working on your project steadily, not squeezing it in during a free moment here and there like most do-it-yourselfers have to do. This means your legacy video actually gets finished, instead of getting put off for yet another year.
Of course, the service costs more than an app – but in the end, the value professionals bring to your project will be well worth the price.
-Steve Pender
_________________________________________
On the Legacy Video Lounge Podcast: Talkin’ Legacy Videos.
If you ever wanted to hear a legacy video pro dish about all aspects of personal history videos, from the benefits to the production process and everything in-between, you’re in luck! You’ll find just what you’re looking for in Episodes 22-25 of the Legacy Video Lounge Podcast’s Talkin’ Legacy Videos series. Each episode features a spirited discussion, during which Family Legacy Video’s president, Steve Pender, responds to legacy video-related questions from Tucson-based writer Elena Acoba. They’ll help you to better understand what legacy videos are all about – and help you get to know the guy who is the driving force behind Family Legacy Video®. You’ll want to listen to these podcasts!