How to Create Captivating Family History Videos Episode 3

by | Jun 20, 2016 | 01 What's New, Video

In this blog and video series I’m showing you how you can create captivating videos about your family history quickly and easily with Animoto. In this final installment we will put the finishing touches on your video and produce it.

In Episode 1

…we laid a foundation for the family history video that you are going to create. Watch Episode 1 here.

In Episode 2

…we set up your free Animoto account and

  • selected a style and song
  • imported all your great photo and video content
  • added some text and
  • reviewed our video’s progress

It all comes together so quickly! Watch episode 2 here.

Watch Episode 3 below:

 

Further Editing

You may notice when you previewed your video that the timing needs a little adjustment because its moving a little too fast or too slowly. You can fine tune the speed at which the images are shown and the length of the song by clicking the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the editor (just above the images). In the pop up window you can trim the song and slide the lever to change the pace. When you’re done, click Save and preview the video again to see the changes. Sometimes adding or subtracting images will also help perfect the pace.

Settings

Before you produce your video, be sure to click the Settings button and take a moment to review the title of your video, how your name appears as the producer, and add a date if you want. You can also add a description, which I highly recommend because it helps the people you share the video with understand what they are about to see.

Call to Action

Another really cool feature in the settings is the Call to Action button. A Call to Action invites your viewers to do something, such as:

  • visit your family website or blog
  • visit your family Facebook group (which is a really neat idea, especially when you’re organizing a family reunion)
  • complete a questionnaire about the family history

There are so many ways to engage your viewers! Animoto allows you to add a Call to Action button to your video at the end that you can link to any where you want to take them on the web.

To add your Call to Action, click to check box for Show Call-to-Action button. Then type in a name to label your button such as Visit our Family Reunion Facebook Page. In the field next to URL, type in or copy and paste the website address.  For example: www.genealogygems.com. Click the Save button, and your call to action will appear on your video.

Producing Your Video

After making your edits and previewing your video one last time, you’re ready to produce it. Click the Produce button, which will take you to the Produce Video page. Here you have one more opportunity to edit the title, producer name, date, and description.

On the side bar you can select the resolution size of your video. Producing your video can take a few minutes and depends on the length of your video. The good news is that Animoto will conveniently send an email to notify you when it is ready.

Your final produced video will appear on its own page where you can view it again. You’ll see another link along the side for Video Settings. Click it and you will find additional settings that can now be customized. One important setting is Privacy Options, which lets you to designate whether or not you want to allow viewers to comment on your video or be able to share it on social media. When you’re done, click Save to go back to the video page.

Sharing your Family History Video

Your family history video is now ready for sharing, and there are loads of options available. You can share by:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • sharing a link to the video
  • uploading it to YouTube

You can also post it on your own website by copying the Embed code and pasting it into the source code of a webpage on your website. Click the More button and you’ll find many more social media options for sharing your video. I would also highly recommend that you download a copy of the video as well to your computer for permanent storage.

Continuing with Animoto

Once your free trial is over you will have to subscribe to Animoto if you wish to continue creating videos. There are many options to choose from so you can find the one that fits your needs.

If you only need to make one or a couple of videos at a time, you could do all your planning before making a purchase. Then you can purchase one month’s Personal use of Animoto. If you have several or ongoing projects, purchasing the 1 year subscription saves quite a bit compared to the monthly subscription. Plans include unlimited HD video creation and sharing. Click this link to go to Animoto and click Pricing at the top of the page for all your options.

Think of the Possibilities!

You could create videos for:

  • weddings
  • birthdays
  • holidays
  • graduation parties
  • family reunions
  • retirement parties
  • genealogy society events
  • your genealogy website or blog
  • tutorials and classroom teaching
  • your facebook page

…the possibilities are endless! Click here to start your free Animoto trial. And I’d LOVE to see your family history videos! Comment below and include a link to your video.

 

 

Love Finding Old Maps Online? Help “Index” Them!

by | Apr 9, 2015 | 01 What's New, Maps, Volunteer

The Beaver Map, 1715. By Special Collections Toronto Public Library. Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons.

Recently I’ve seen two calls for volunteers to help “georeference” old maps. Basically, you’re tagging the maps in a way similar to tagging photos of people on social media sites. This makes finding old maps online easier and more accurate. It also allows sites to overlay the old and new maps. “Some places have changed significantly or disappeared completely, creating a puzzle that reveals an exciting contrast,” explains the British Library.

These two sites are asking for volunteers:

The British Library Online Gallery. The British Library is asking for volunteers to help georeference 50,000 maps it’s put online. Go right to the site and you’ll see the invitation to help on the home page. You’ll also see that you can click on a tab to search maps that are already georeferenced! The British Library tells its volunteers: “Your name will be credited, and your efforts will significantly improve public access to these collections. Contributors can see the results of their work, as well as the progress of the pilot and other participants, and the top contributor will be publicly announced.”

David Rumsey Historical Maps. This mega-maps site is also looking for volunteers to help add locations to its online map collections. On the home page, click on the left where it says Georeferencer: Help Add Location to Maps.

We blog about maps a lot here at Genealogy Gems. To learn more about using old maps online and for genealogy, go to our home page and search on the Maps category on the lower left side of the page. Additionally, Genealogy Gems Premium members have access to full-length video classes like these:

Not a Genealogy Gems Premium member? Click here to become one!

Digital Family History Book Collection Hits 200k!

by | May 31, 2015 | 01 What's New, Digital Archives, FamilySearch, images, Libraries

plant_growing_out_of_book_800_wht_9084

A milestone 200,000 digital family history books are now online at the multi-library Family History Books collection at FamilySearch.org. The growing collection, which began in 2007, includes “family histories, county and local histories, genealogy magazines and how-to books, gazetteers, and medieval histories and pedigrees,” according to the landing page.

Last time I looked for books here, I found one on my Homer ancestors. This time around, I found another gem: a book of children’s stories written about these ancestors! Digitally-archived volumes like county and local histories, published  family histories and others are so valuable because they are immediately accessible and because they are keyword-searchable. Try these keyword search strategies:

  • Look for only a surname (in case the first name is written different ways or a different relative is mentioned).
  • Search for the name of a neighborhood, street, church, school, business, type of work or other keywords that pertain to your family.
  • Use the Advanced Search feature to focus your search for a keyword in a title, type of publication (periodical, etc).

Once you’re reading a book, you can click on the info icon (a circle with an “i” in it on the upper right) to see more information about the book, including source citation and copyright information.

While the number of volumes online skyrockets, the online Viewer for reading them is only gradually improving. Here’s a TIP from FamilySearch staffer Dennis Meldrum: “Safari does not work well with the Viewer.” Neither do mobile devices like the iPhone or iPad. “The Viewer works best with IE or Firefox. It also works with Chrome, but the Adobe Tools do not work. We are aware of the limitations of the Viewer and are working to replace it by the end of the year.”

evernote_libraryWant to keep track of which genealogy books are on your shelf and which you’ve found online? Create an Evernote genealogy library! Click here to learn how to do that with books on your shelf, and then add additional titles with the links in Evernote. Sharpen your Evernote skills for genealogy by becoming a Genealogy Gems Premium member. This gives you a full year’s access to our Ultimate Evernote for Genealogy Education, with five (so far) full-length video classes for beginner to expert and five mini-sessions, too.

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