| With all of the work you have put into your | | | | your photographs and other documents, keep in |
| completing your research and compiling your | | | | mind that too many documents may become |
| family history, you may want something a little | | | | boring to those viewing the video; interspersing |
| more interesting than a simple chart to showcase | | | | items like marriage records and birth certificates |
| your completed project. A family tree video is a | | | | with relevant photographs will help detract from |
| great way to bring photographs, records and | | | | the perhaps mundane sight of displaying a |
| other documents to life in a very visual way. By | | | | generations old document. For example, follow a |
| making use of a scanner, movie making software, | | | | scanned marriage certificate with a wedding |
| and perhaps even a few audio files, you can | | | | photo! Or follow a birth certificate with a |
| create an exciting video that will assist you in | | | | photograph of the family with the new baby! |
| telling the story of your family in a new way. | | | | By utilizing the right software for your project, |
| There is a multitude of professional services that | | | | these scanned images can also be combined with |
| will create a video for you, using your provided | | | | clips from home movies. While these clips, for |
| materials. However, with all of the readily available | | | | obvious reasons, will not exist for several earlier |
| equipment that these digital times have brought | | | | generations, adding those that do exist will help |
| with them, it is an easy process to create the | | | | provide a feel for the era. Your research might |
| video on your own. If you are new to the video | | | | have turned up public domain video, however, |
| creation process then perhaps a short video | | | | that can also be integrated into your project. A |
| would be the best initial option for you; while | | | | great example of this would be a public domain |
| creating a family tree video is an easy process, it | | | | clip that shows perhaps the founding of and |
| can still require hours of work to organize, scan, | | | | growing of the city where your great |
| and edit the photographs and documents to be | | | | grandparents settled to raise their family. Public |
| used. In order to keep your video short and | | | | domain photographs can be used in much the |
| concise, choose carefully the items you feel will | | | | same manner; they will provide and add to the |
| best be able to tell your family story. | | | | great sense of the history that your family |
| While a photograph can really tell a story on its | | | | photographs and documents offer. If your |
| own, adding an audio file to narrate the | | | | grandfather fought in the Civil War, but you have |
| photograph can bring it to life; add music from the | | | | no photograph of him in uniform, look for |
| appropriate era, or using a voice narration to add | | | | photographs that show large groups of soldiers or |
| extra depth to the visual detail already being | | | | other representations of the war. Pair these |
| displayed. Your audio files can give a voice and a | | | | photographs with your scans of letters written |
| new life to family members long since passed on | | | | from the front lines, or even with photographs of |
| by sharing details about their lives that other | | | | medals earned by your grandfather. |
| family members might not have known. Scanned | | | | Creating your digital family tree can be an |
| documents, like birth certificates or newspaper | | | | intensive project, but it is a very rewarding |
| clippings can often be difficult to read, especially if | | | | project! Once complete, you will have a beautiful |
| they are very old. Adding audio will help share and | | | | and entertaining video that will carry your family |
| explain the information that your viewers will be | | | | history into the future for new generations to |
| seeing. | | | | enjoy; and perhaps even add to! |
| When selecting the order in which you will display | | | | |