Record Family Stories During the Holiday Season

This is my annual reminder to consider capturing family members telling stories about their lives on video during upcoming holiday gatherings. It is an opportunity to capture family elders telling some of their life stories, including recollections of their elders.

You can record stories that have been told many times but never captured on video. The goal is not a complete life story, but to have a video of family members telling their important life stories in their own voice for viewing by other family members and future generations.

Be sure to give your family members advance notice about your video project. Most people are not comfortable speaking spontaneously on camera. Depending upon the storyteller, you may want to prepare the individual in advance with appropriate questions. There are many lists of life story prompts online.

Today’s cell phones with the addition of an inexpensive wireless lapel microphone and an inexpensive tripod can produce good video that can be edited in free software (iMovie) for Mac or (Microsoft Clipchamp) for Windows.

If you have soft, diffused lighting from a window or other light source on a subject, the video quality should be very good. Most cellphones will automatically focus on the subject and adjust exposure. If shooting inside at night, try adding multiple shaded lights near the subject. Low light will decrease the quality of your video. That is why when you see the setup for TV interviews there are always large lights on the participants.

Clear audio is critical for a good video interview. While viewers will tolerate lower quality video, it is hard to listen to poor audio. Using a wireless lapel microphone close to the storyteller’s mouth will be much better than using the built-in microphone that will also capture distracting background noise within the room. You can find an inexpensive wireless lapel microphone ($20 to $30 on Amazon) that works with your phone.

Lastly, you need an inexpensive lightweight tripod and a cellphone bracket ($15 to $25 on Amazon) to hold your cellphone steady.

See How to record family stories using your smartphone during the holidays for a short video on recording video interviews on your smartphone. I suggest two modifications to the recommendations in the video. Instead of a wired microphone, I recommend a wireless microphone. Also, I recommend a floor tripod instead of a desktop tripod to allow more placement flexibility.

Consider recruiting a tech-savvy family member for the video recording and video editing. The most important step is getting the video. The editing can come later. I encourage you to try the DIY approach described above. See my DIY page for more information.

There may be some initial resistance to your video project. However, when family members see the results, they will appreciate your efforts. You might be able to develop it into a tradition around family gatherings. You can also arrange for a dedicated time for longer video interview sessions with individual family members, especially your elders. Remember, we all have a story to tell. It just takes someone to ask and someone to listen.

If you are reluctant to take on this project, I am available for life story legacy projects in the Washington area. For more information, see the services page of my website.

Feel free to contact me via the contact form on my website. I will be happy to schedule a time to talk with you. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog at the bottom of the blog page for more information about life story legacy videos and photo preservation.

Many of my family members and friends are deeply troubled by the current state and direction of our country and the world. In many conversations, the last resort to avoid sinking too deep into a funk is to recall that our ancestors faced far worse challenges. It would be good to be able to listen to some of the "old words" of our elders speaking about how they persevered through more difficult times. Being able to listen to the “old words” requires intentional effort to ask our elders and being open to hearing their stories.

I wish you and your family an enjoyable holiday season filled with comfort and joy.

Bryon