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Where To Start
By
Cathy Corcoran |
 O.K.
So you’ve decided you want to tell your family story, but
you’re not sure where to start. Don’t get overwhelmed. You
can do a little bit each day, and before you know it, you’ll
have a beautiful video, slide show or book that your family
will cherish for years to come. But before you rush over to
your grandmother’s house with camcorder in hand, remember
the first rule of storytelling: You can’t tell everything.
Here are some questions to ask yourself.
Who is the subject?
It’s tempting to say you’re going to tell the entire
story of your family, but that’s a huge task. It’s a lot
easier, and you’ll end up with a much better product if you
focus on one or two family members and their stories. You
can always do another project after the first one is
complete.
What do you already have on hand?
The easiest place to start is with family photos. If
you’re like most people, you have photos in albums, in
boxes, and since the digital age, on a computer. As you sort
through the photos, you’ll see which stories will be
featured in your project. Whatever your finished product
turns out to be, you’ll most likely use family photos, so
start sorting through them now.
What do you want the finished product to be?
Do you want to produce a video?
A photo book with captions and some text? An audio tape?
How much time to you have to devote to the project?
How much money do you have to devote to the project?
Book
If you’re a writer, or you can hire a writer, you may
want to consider producing a book or memoir. You can include
several pages of photos to be bound into the body of the
book. There are a number of “print on demand” companies that
will produce, bind, and print your book for relatively low
cost. You can print a dozen copies or a hundred copies and
give them as gifts. Google “print on demand publishers” for
information on this option.
Pros and cons:
There’s nothing like having a “real book” with your
name on it, but this option will take a LOT of time - a year
or two, or even longer.
Photo Book
There are many online sites where you can upload photos
and create a photo book with some text. These books are long
on photos and short on words. They can be bound in hard or
soft cover and customized with colored background and other
graphics.
Pros and cons: Not as much text as a
traditional book, but lots of pictures that will stimulate
stories. Think of National Geographic magazine - most people
look at the pictures and the captions and don’t even read
the actual text.
Pros and cons: Photo books are relatively
simple to do, and are fairly inexpensive. Resources:
Shutterfly.com, Snapfish.com, Picassa.com and other similar
sites.
Slide Show
You can assemble photos, scan them into a scanner, then
into your computer. Most photo programs have a “slide show”
option that will arrange the photos for you along with
graphics and special effects. Even though this option is
called a “slide show,” you can copy it onto a DVD that can
be played in a DVD player or computer. You can add a musical
background, but usually, no spoken words.
Pros and cons: Easy to do and relatively
inexpensive. These shows are popular at family birthday
parties, weddings, and even funerals, but there is usually
no audio of family members speaking.
Video
You can hire a professional video production crew, or
set up a camcorder and videotape yourself and your relatives
in your living room. The key to a successful video is
editing the raw footage into a professional-looking program.
Many video editing software programs, including IWeb from
Apple, are fairly easy to learn. You can learn how to edit
digital video with online tutorials, or take a class. Or you
can hire someone to edit for you.
Pros and cons:
More expensive than a slide show, but ultimately
more “real,” and more entertaining.
A word about technology
Even though I do not understand the workings of an
internal combustion engine, I still drive a car every day,
and you probably do too. You don’t have to be a computer
geek or an electronics expert to produce any or all of these
options to tell your family story. You can get training in
person or on line, or you can hire someone to help. Like me!
I can help! BUT this is not brain surgery. You can also do
it yourself. Whichever option you choose, remember your goal
is not to become the next Steven Spielberg. It’s to preserve
your precious family stories and share them with those you
love most.
Happy storytelling!
For examples of many of these types of family stories, visit
www.HowtoTellYourFamilyStory.com.
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About The Author
Cathy Corcoran has been a columnist and feature writer
for The Patriot Ledger, a radio host for 95.9 FM WATD, and a
communications consultant for the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health and many other clients. She helps preserve
family stories through books, slide shows, videos and how-to
workshops. Her web site is www.HowtoTellYourFamilyStory.com..
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