Children ask a lot of questions.
"Is the Tooth Fairy related to Santa Claus?"
"Is your hair really white under the black, like Mom says it is?"
"Can we return the baby in exchange for a puppy?"
"Can we have Thanksgiving everyday?"
And questions are paramount for a Video Biography interview.
So... put two and two together and this holiday season, try a fun experiment. Gather all the children in the family and have them 'interview' the Grandparents on video! It will be entertaining... and educational. Not only will the children gain a sense of accomplishment being in charge of the whole project, but they will also learn more about the elders in the family. And not just the 'boring' stuff! No, it's their opportunity to discover that Grandma and Grandpa were once 'real' people just like them... to hear their crazy adventures and experiments, and to establish their own special bond with their Grandparents.
The best part is that you'll have that candid video to cherish for years to come. Even after the children grow up and have children of their own. Even after Grandma and Grandpa begin to forget parts of their own stories. Even after your memories of the event begin to get blurry... the video shall stand witness to a fun afternoon of getting to 'know' each other better.
"Why haven't we done this earlier?" Just be prepared for that one!
Aditi
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Check out our new video
We are making some changes to our web site and this new sample is the first one. Take a look:
http://www.savetheirstory.com/video/testimonials.htm
--Bridget Poizner
http://www.savetheirstory.com/video/testimonials.htm
--Bridget Poizner
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Recording Family Stories: "Fine... I'll do it... someday!"
That's what one gentleman said to me at the end of my presentation on preserving family history and the need to do it NOW. I wasn't sure if he was being funny or sincere - so I confirmed my suspicions by raising my eyebrows, laughing and wagging my finger at him simultaneously.
"Some day?" I exclaimed. This after I had just spoken for 30 minutes on the need to seize the day by its horns!
"Oh. Well, yes, I mean someday soon," he beamed back to me, slightly nervous now.
A part of me wanted to sit him down and repeat everything I had just said to a larger audience. It wasn't about generating business because if it was, I wouldn't have devoted my talk to informing the general public on how they could create Video Biographies themselves - without having to rely on an outsider.
No. It was because I see it so often. Until someone falls ill, or ages overnight, or starts to lose their memory... or worse... until it's absolutely impossible to ignore the fact that we are not going to live forever, people rarely think much about leaving a legacy that is more interactive and meaningful than mere objects or money.
Yet what is it that we treasure the most? The memories. The stories. The sense of who a person was when he / she was still alive and in their prime. We treasure the opportunity to feel like we once knew them, even if they lived two generations ago. The chance to understand where our journey began and how we happen to be where we are today. It is the sense of continuity that we value - the sense of belonging and creation and nurturing.
Why then do we put it off for 'someday'? 'Later'? 'Soon'? 'Tomorrow'? All of which so easily become 'too late'.
Aditi
"Some day?" I exclaimed. This after I had just spoken for 30 minutes on the need to seize the day by its horns!
"Oh. Well, yes, I mean someday soon," he beamed back to me, slightly nervous now.
A part of me wanted to sit him down and repeat everything I had just said to a larger audience. It wasn't about generating business because if it was, I wouldn't have devoted my talk to informing the general public on how they could create Video Biographies themselves - without having to rely on an outsider.
No. It was because I see it so often. Until someone falls ill, or ages overnight, or starts to lose their memory... or worse... until it's absolutely impossible to ignore the fact that we are not going to live forever, people rarely think much about leaving a legacy that is more interactive and meaningful than mere objects or money.
Yet what is it that we treasure the most? The memories. The stories. The sense of who a person was when he / she was still alive and in their prime. We treasure the opportunity to feel like we once knew them, even if they lived two generations ago. The chance to understand where our journey began and how we happen to be where we are today. It is the sense of continuity that we value - the sense of belonging and creation and nurturing.
Why then do we put it off for 'someday'? 'Later'? 'Soon'? 'Tomorrow'? All of which so easily become 'too late'.
Aditi
