Once we're gone, no one will know why we kept all the film, prints, slides and videos they found in our attic, and no one will remember what we sounded like. Saddest of all, our survivors won't recognize many of the people who are imortalized in our films and photos.
Transferring those pictures to DVD with a narration assures that the images you treasured will be shared with your descendents, and that their significance to the family will be understood. Moreover, they'll hear you telling your story. A call to VideOccasions at 425-641-4811 or an email will set the process in motion.
Here's an example of how creating a family history works.
A couple in their 80's came to VideOccasions with film from their life together -- about 8,500 feet of 8mm film, nearly 5.5 hours, plus dozens of photographs and some slides. VideOccasions transferred the film, photos and slides to a digital format on the computer. The couple was given a work tape to watch at home; the tape included time code -- hours, minutes and seconds at the bottom of the tape -- so that as they watched they could make notes about specific moments in the material.
We worked with them to organize the material sequentially. Once they were happy with the sequence they began making dialogue notes so they could talk about the images. Once a week for the next several weeks they arrived at VideOccasions with coffee and lunch. We set up a microphone for them and they narrated a portion of their material, usually working for an hour or so. VideOccasions staff were on hand to help if needed.
For Christmas that year the couple's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren each received a wonderful three DVD set which celebrated the history of their family as it traversed the 20th Century.
There are three steps to making a family history DVD.
Go through them all and lightly number them (on the back, in pencil) for identification. You'll probably want to arrange them chronologically, although you might group them by trips, family activities, birthdays and anniversaries, etc. Remember: you goal is to share the story of your family with future generations, so arrange your materials in a way that best tells that story.
Once the digital files of films, photos and slides have been put onto the computer we're ready to work with you to assemble your project. We'll work with you to arrange all this material into the sequences you've chosen. Along the way, we can edit out any "bloopers" that you'd like to get rid of, add a title and captions if they're necessary.
And the Bottom Line: How Much Does it Cost?
Editing at VideOccasions is billed at $75 an hour.
Actual costs will be governed by:
Many who use our services do much of the preparatory work themselves, however, before actually sitting down with a VideOccasions editor. If you're technically inclined you can capture your pictures and slides to a digital format at home using a scanner, then bring in the picture files on a CD for us to transfer to our video editing program.
If we do the capturing for you, about 35-40 pictures and/or slides can be captured in a hour. 12 pictures makes about a finished minute of tape, so a presentation 10 minutes long, for example would require about 120 pictures and/or slides and require about three and a half hours of capture time.
Keep in mind The Golden Rule of Editing: No matter how well prepared your are, editing almost always takes longer than you thought it would!
Call VideOccasions today (425-641-4811) to discuss your project and to reserve editing time. Become a family whose memories will last forever.
Last updated: 2/28/13