Using Your Camera as a Digital Archiving ToolWritten by Jay Corrao – Copyright 2005
It is age of digital camera, a wonderful device that not only allows you to take great pictures but also allows you to digitize all that is sacred to you. But even if you don’t own a state of art digital camera and are still using film you can use your film camera to digitize all that is important to you. Cameras are used to take pictures and most people take pictures of other people, places and events but if you think outside box you start to move beyond obvious uses and begin to realize true potential of this versatile device. For example you can take pictures of documents, artwork, musical instruments, your valued collections, toaster; anything that has sentimental value to you that may not endure test of time. You may be asking yourself is author nuts, why would I want to take a picture of my toaster? We’ll get to that later. In meantime let’s look at some interesting ways to use your cameral as a digital archiving tool. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a collection of your most important personal documents; wills, living wills, insurance information, investment information all in one safe and secure place? If you take well lit, focused snapshots of documents with your camera at high resolution you can then import images to your PC or Mac and burn them onto CD or DVD media; that way your documents can be stored in one place and easily accessible. If you don’t own a digital camera or a computer for that matter don’t worry, you can simply ask for your images to be put on a CD when you get your pictures developed. Once your pictures are on CD they can be saved and output later if needed. Photos that have been digitized in this manner remain intact and unchanged. They do not fade, yellow, or degrade with age. And since CD media is said to have a shelf life of 50 years or more when stored correctly you are basically future proofing your images as well.
| | Video Biographies; Why Hire a Professional?Written by Jay Corrao – Copyright 2005
There are lots of reasons to create a video biography. Some people have a desire to share and pass down stories from one generation to another while others would like to leave behind a family or personal legacy. Whatever your reason is, while creating a video biography can an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience, it can also be a very daunting task. There are many things to consider before you start your project. Here are just a few: The Story It is my opinion that if your stories require a lot of details such as time, date, place, clothing worn, and other historically factual data, then just pick one or two stories to tell. Many people bite off more than they can chew and get discouraged when they start to understand effort truly involved in just putting together their storyline. If you would like to tell several stories that tell of a person’s character or lessons learned than it is probably not necessary to go into a considerable amount of detail. Who Will be Involved? Are you working alone on this project or with a group of people such as other family members or friends? The more input you receive from other people more time it can take to put together your story and content. This is not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. Content What kinds of content do you want to incorporate into your production? Photos, slides, video from different sources such as VHS tape, 8 or 16mm home movies, documents, quotes, personal interviews, narration? The list goes on and on.
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