Wedding gift craft idea

Two months before Matt Wright's mother, Jo Ellen, died of cancer, she held his 6-month-old daughter in her arms and said, "Catherine will never know me."

During the drive home that night, Matt wondered how he could secure his mother's legacy for his daughter and 4-year-old son, Spencer. A neighbor, who had lost a grandmother to breast cancer, suggested he create a family history video.

Matt contacted his brother and three sisters, and combed the Internet for ideas on prompting his mom to tell stories about her life. "She didn't like to talk about herself, and I didn't want her to feel like I was putting her on the spot," he says.

When the day of the shoot arrived, Matt sat Jo Ellen on a comfortable couch at her home in Provo, Utah, surrounded her with family, and encouraged her to pick questions at random from a hat. Soon, "everyone was involved. My dad said, 'If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them.' My sister and nephew tossed in a few. A lot was covered. My mom did a really good job of answering in detail," Matt says.

Although Jo Ellen Wright died in March, Matt finds solace in the multimedia family album he painstakingly created to keep her memory alive. In addition to the videotaped interview, the Jo Ellen Wright Family History DVD features a slide show of old photographs that tell her story while Benny Goodman tunes play softly in the background. An audiotape he created on a previous Mother's Day captures the voices of 12 of Jo Ellen's grandchildren fondly talking to Grandma, playing the piano, or singing their favorite songs. The two-disc set will be Matt's gift to his siblings this holiday season.

MAKING HISTORY

Documenting a family history serves as more than a memorial; it brings families together and retains memories that otherwise might be lost.

"It's a bonding tool," says Loretto Szucs, a genealogist and vice president of publishing at www.ancestry.com, a resource for family history information. "This gives kids a new channel to reach grandparents, who can talk about family; answer questions about what it was like when they were a kid. It creates a link you might not have any other way. Video has the power to bring it all to life."

Once, such a task might have required a professional videographer, but today's technology makes it almost as easy to create a family history video on your own. With most any handheld video camera, families can reconstruct personal history through interviews or capture a moment in time as elders go about their everyday tasks--cooking a signature recipe, woodworking, or tending a garden. If kids are old enough, they can run the camcorder or even serve as interviewer. A beloved grandchild is more likely to make Grandma open up than an adult asking the same questions.

PLANNING THE PRODUCTION

If you have a home computer, you may be able to take that video history one step further. Many computers on the market today come with the hardware and software needed to hook up your camera and edit the footage on-screen, then output it all to a tape or disk. Even older mode/computers equipped with affordable add-ons can help families develop a professional quality history and create an impressive collection that includes scanned-in images of birth, baptism, and marriage certificates; still photographs; and extensive family trees. More advanced features of today's editing programs let you mix in old-time movies, titles, and songs, as well as narration.

A video history can spotlight one person or many. It can record a family reunion or include footage from a year's worth of gatherings. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the options. To help, create a schedule with an end date in mind before you begin. It's realistic to expect a video family history to take three to six months to complete, says Anita Hecht, a personal historian in Madison, Wisconsin, whose company, Life History Services (www.lifehistoryservices.com), helps people write and record their histories. "You want it to be well-planned so everybody becomes excited about the end product."

Here's what you need to know to make it happen.

Use the right equipment. While your older video camera may work fine, most experts recommend using digital camcorders because the footage is easy to download, edit, and copy without losing quality. They're not as expensive as you think (see "Visual Aids," page 142). A tripod is also essential to keep the camera steady.

Most cameras have bulk-in microphones that pick up all the sounds in a room. You'll have more luck with an external microphone that plugs into your camera and clips to the interviewee's clothing.

Make sure the rooms where you film are well-lit so your subjects don't appear sallow and shadowy. And watch out for patterned wallpaper--busy backgrounds of any kind can he a distraction.

Begin at the beginning. Do you want to capture your family's entire history starting with your ancestors, or focus on a specific event? If it's the former, you might want your video to include maps that track your ancestors' immigration; voice-overs detailing the origins of family heirlooms; or a videotaped journey to old homes, schools, churches, or cemetery plots.

If the event is a milestone, such as an anniversary, you may want to focus on the couple's relationship, where they met, their courtship, their first home, and footage of children growing up.

It's best to decide what you're going to shoot before you start, and keep track by creating a shot list so you know what you have to choose from in the final stages of production.

Prepare for the shoot. A preinterview will put your subjects at ease and give them a sense of the topics that will be covered, says Hecht.

Use photographs and artifacts, such as a policeman's badge or a wedding ring, to trigger memories. Encourage storytelling each time you introduce a memento, whether it's reading an old family letter or displaying a grandmother's pendant.

"Ask questions that evoke a story rather than close-ended questions which provide short answers," says Rob Huberman, author of How to Create a Video Family History. "The answers themselves are not the treasures you are going to get. It's in capturing the individual at that time and place, and seeing their personality, hearing their voice, the inflections, the expressions, the gestures."

Roll tape. After you've positioned your subject in familiar surroundings, turned off the phone, set the lighting, and checked the sound, start the tape by documenting who you are, the date, the place, and the name of the person you're interviewing.

Then, if desired, get the kids involved by having them ask questions too. As the audience, children give the person someone to speak to. "The camera falls into the background," says Huberman. "It becomes more interactive. As somebody watching, you also feel that you're a part of the audience. It gives it a nice dynamic feel."

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Use a notebook to organize photographs, certificates, and other documents, determining the order you want each to appear, says Mary Lou Peterson, producer of Gift of Heritage, a how-to video on creating family history videos. Refer to your shot list to see where and how you want to put the story together. Craft a script for your video to link pictures and video together. Older children often can fill the role of narrator if their voices are energetic, says Peterson.

Consider introducing the video with a short explanation about why you created it. One of Hecht's friends started his tape with "Dad" I did this to honor and thank you for all you have given us in your life." If there are deceased relatives you'd like to remember in a special way, add a section called "In Memory Of." Finally, end your video by giving thanks to people who helped.

All that remains is deciding how to save this production. Computer-edited options allow you to save it on a CD, which will play on most computers and some DVD players. Or, if your computer is equipped with a DVD recorder or "burner," put it on a DVD, which will play on all DVD players. Your computer may also allow you to output the video to a VCR so you can save it to tape for those family members who haven't gone digital yet.

Send copies as a gift to family members and be sure to watch it with your family. You'll be amazed at how quickly a new idea like this will become a tradition.

And that, as directors say, is a wrap.

VISUAL AIDS

To do a video project, you need two basic pieces of equipment: a video camera and a home computer. Some PCs and most newer Macintosh computers come with editing software, such as iMovie, which allows you to do professional-grade videos.

If you have a digital-compatible video camera, you'll be able to plug the camera directly into your computer through something called a FireWire port, which allows you to transfer large amounts of data, such as video.