Ever since YouTube came along, the younger generation want to see it instead of read it. Adding a video DVD in the back of you book could be the icing on the cake to cause your grandchildren and great-grandchildren to really enjoy your life history. Here are some helpful hints if this is something you are considering.
There are professional companies that can interview you with a camera rolling and video some special family events. Then they will take that film and edit it into a wonderful DVD to be enjoyed over and over again. If you want to have a more hands on approach or do it on a smaller budget, you can do it yourself for a simple but effective look. I few critical things to keep in mind when you are doing a video. Be sure that the lighting is good so that you don’t show up as a black blob on the screen. Also, do the taping where background noise isn’t a problem and where you are close enough to the camera to be heard clearly.
Here are some web pages that will be a great recourse for you:
http://storytelling.concordia.ca/oralhistory/resources/tips.html
http://www.genealogy.com/95_carmack.html
Interviewer tips: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/resources/rohotips.html
Make your DVD fun and interesting and it will capture future audiences for years to come.
Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com
