Give the Gift of Lasting Memories

 Why Give a Life Story Video this Holiday Season?

It's a gift that can be shared with your entire family, now and in the future.  Put a Your Life Story Videos personal history video package under the tree this year and you’re giving someone you love the opportunity to capture the memories and stories of their lives on video for future generations. While there’s not enough time to start and complete a Your Life Story Video by Christmas or Hanukkah, you can book a  Life Story session and we’ll provide a beautiful gift certificate and personal message from you to your loved one.

Purchase before December 15, 2013 and receive 15% off the package of your choice!

Meet Connie (10am-2pm), see some Life Story examples and discuss creating your own Life Story Video during Small Business Saturday, November 30 from 10am-7pm at 16West's "Be a Localist Gift Giver" at 16 W. Beverley St., Staunton. For more information call 540.280.4259 or email connie@yourlifestoryvideos.com.

Preserving memories to share with others

On the Road Collecting Family Life Stories

My three week trip to the Midwest is over and I’m back in Staunton with tons of Life Story Videos to work on.

Usually, my Life Story clients are people I don’t know well.  In some cases I have only met them the day before. But this trip was to do Life Stories with several relatives and to record interviews for a video about my sister who died 9 years ago. 

I was a little nervous about doing the Life Stories with my brother and sister-in-law.  We had to lay out some ground rules.I needed to know in advance what parts of their lives they were interested in talking about.

My sister-in-law had recently lost both her best friend and her brother’s wife.  So it was important to allow her time to talk about them…not just in grief, but the joyful memories too.

My brother and I had never talked extensively about his tour in Vietnam.  But he did spend time talking about it in his Life Story and I am sure his children are going to appreciate the stories.  Who knows, it may open the door for them to talk more about it one-on-one!

Connie & Diane with family members

I also interviewed 15 relatives about my sister, Diane.  This is a different kind of Life Story.   This Life Story is for her grandsons who will never know her because they were too little or not yet born when she died of colon cancer in 2004. I plan to put the interviews together with photos and music. 

My sister’s death had a profound impact on my family.  I and some of my siblings live much more for today now that we have seen close up how quickly and painfully our loved ones can be taken from us.  It was good to see them enjoying their lives, their children, and their grandchildren so fully.

Coming up:  My interview with my godmother just before she was diagnosed with cancer.

Recording Life Stories a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

I have a lot of respect for people who run their own businesses. And the level of that
respect has skyrocketed since starting my own. Who knew that there were so many
forms to fill out and so many hoops to jump through!

Today I am delivering the final draft of a Life Story to a client. The nervousness
surrounding this reminds me of the moment I would step out of the control room at C-SPAN after producing a live program. Looking around, you wonder if anybody was
going to say anything. Did they like it? Did they not like it?

Of course, the network had moved on to its next live program and my work became one of many, many such shows that would air that week or that month.

Now, doing Life Stories, I realize that families will be taking a critical look at my work.
I welcome it. Doing a Life Story is, for most, a once in a lifetime experience. These
videos will live on long past the time the client (and myself!) will be on this earth. I want
it to be the best it can be, both editorially and technically.

Yesterday, I signed up a new client. What a rush!!! I am very aware of the trust that
new clients put in my hands. I return that trust with a promise to do whatever possible
to make their Life Story recording and editing a pleasurable and memorable experience.

On a sadder note, one of clients became ill this week. He was scheduled to do a Life
Story later in this year. But suddenly, a brain tumor was found. Today he is in Hospice
no longer able to communicate well enough to do a Life Story. I tell you that not to end
this blog on a downer...but to remind us all not to delay. The daughter of my client is very sad that, having made the decision to have her dad tell his Life Story, she will not
be able to hand down his stories to her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren in this new and unique way.

Coming up....a road trip to the Midwest to see my family and to do some Life Stories! Stay tuned for highlights.

Thinking About Your Own Family History

Your Life Story Videos has been launched!  About 50 friends and acquaintances from my new hometown of Staunton, Virginia joined me to celebrate at a reception on Sunday. The local television station came and did a news story about "Your Life Story Videos."  The local radio station had me on their talk show.

If there was any theme I heard in the conversations around the food table today, it was one of regret.   People wishing they had found my business when their mother or father was alive and able to tell the family stories.  They, like me, had the desire to save family history. But the video industry had not yet come far enough to empower individuals to reap benefits from high tech equipment normally reserved for TV and movie companies to preserve their heritage.

So as you are reading this, take a moment to think about your own family history.  What would it mean if a loved one could be interviewed and that their memories could be saved for future generations?   If this is something that appeals to you, give me a call and we can talk about it.  No pressure.  No obligation. 

Next week I dig in to prepare the Life Story of Charlie Browning.  You have seen portions of his interview here on this website.  Now the family has organized and prepared some old photos for me to put in the interview…to polish up the interview a bit and allow the viewer to experience what Charlie looked like at various stages of his life as his talks about them.