Collect the content, then share your project!
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You need content for a Life Story project. Not just the content you’ll generate yourself in the recording or the shoe box of old photos you have stashed under the bed. You also need that photo album you’re Great Aunt has stashed away. Or the old Super 8 films Uncle Bob shot back in the ’60′s. But you also want the new digital images your grandchildren are taking on their new fangled smart phones. You have an idea of what you want to create but you have to pull it all together to make it work. Producing the Life Story is for later but how do you collect the scattered information?
Herding Cats
Getting information from relatives is akin to herding cats. Everyone has their ideas of what they want to do. What works for me is to give them clear and concise instructions of what I want depending on the skills of who I’m talking to. For some people you may need to go to their home and scan the photos, while others can use email and online sharing services.
Physical Digital Media Systems …via By Danny Nicholson on Flickr
- What do you want?
- Who has it?
- What form is it in?
- Can it be digitised?
- Can they convert it to digital?
- How do you want it shared?
- Do they have the skills to share it?
- Do others near them have the skills?
- What are the alternatives?
And if all else fails you may need to travel to them and do all the work in gathering the information. [click to continue…]
Audio as prompts & atmosphere for your personal story!
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The most obvious audio you have, will be the recorded conversation and the most obvious prompts for getting that audio are questions. But there are other types of prompts, including audio.
Old Time Radio Drama Sound Effects
When editing a Life Story there is nothing better than music for setting the tone. In your world you’re immersed in music from the radio, television, records, live performances and now all their digital versions. It’s impossible not be affected by the music that’s around you and often just hearing a snippet will remind you of your past or that of your culture.
Audio to remind, other than music.
Some families are fortunate to have audio from private sources. These could be tape recordings, film or video of people when they were younger or the atmosphere of events. The audio reminders of you life, like music, can also be the sounds that take you back to the times long ago. Are you lucky enough to have audio of a wedding, a child’s first words or the sounds of an overseas trip? [click to continue…]
Like a bud unfolding in time-lapse to a flower.
I speak often of not only the importance of recording a retrospective of your life but also capturing a life story as it’s live. There are many ways. Here is another…
Today my favourite uncle passed away.
It started with Bill, …this site I’m talking about.
It was after sitting with him for a week recording his humble but (for his family), interesting Life Story that motivated me to want to share these techniques with you. What his six hours of audio has given my family is immeasurable but also, as often happens, what I gave him in asking to hear his story was to show how much I cared and how much those who love him cared about who is was. One of the world’s great Gentle Men.
We all have loss in our lives, now is my families turn again. Here’s a little of what he was like and for us will always be. Travel well Billy 
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Ian Kath on twitter
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