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December 2008

Posted by Bettina Hein
Sunday, 28 December 2008

In December 2003, I called my grandfather Karl to tell him: "Opa, I'll be home for Christmas soon and when I'm there, we'll make a movie with you as the star." On December 19, 2003 my beloved grandfather passed away before I could get home. And I don't have a single video memory of him which makes me incredibly sad to this day.

I resolved to do it differently with my grandmother Maria. My husband and I took the time to interview her on video twice about her life. When she passed away this last October we were able to to quickly edit a memorial video for her funeral. People laughed and cried seeing her on video one last time.

From my own experience, I've come up with these 5 simple steps to help YOU record your family's history in less than an hour. Do it before it is too late.

 

1. Just Do It: 0 minutes

Every day counts - I don't mean to panic you but as my story above shows, a few days can make a big difference. Don't wait until you have the perfect camera, the perfect lighting, the perfect mood. Just start. If you're at Grandma's now and won't be back for 6 months, ask a neighbor for their video camera or buy an inexpensive Flip camcorder at your local electronics store. Trust me on this one: just do it. Tomorrow could be too late.

 

2. Prepare the interview: 5 minutes

Take a blank sheet of paper and (just) copy the following time line bullet points onto it while leaving some space between each point:

  • birth (birth date, birthplace, names of parents, grandparents and siblings)
  • childhood (schools, places lived, sports, memorable trips and events)
  • education (high school, college, apprenticeship etc.)
  • service (military service if applicable, rank, function, where stationed)
  • marriage (how they met their spouse, courtship, wedding)
  • family (births of children, places lived, places of worship, family trips)
  • career (first job, promotions, companies, achievements)
  • hobbies (crafts, sports, travel, art etc)
After you've copied down these points add in some family events or stories that you've always been curious about. What was Grandpa's first car? Where exactly did he serve in Korea? Did Uncle Alfred really join the circus when he was young?

 

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Posted by Bettina Hein
Thursday, 11 December 2008

On Tuesday night, the Pixability team was in full action for its biggest public appearance yet. DJ, Randy, Josh, Dale and I packed up almost all of the monitors at the office to build a video wall for our booth. We got to present at the Web Innovators Forum in Cambridge, MA in front of 700 people as one of the selected start-up companies.

We had tons of people show up at our booth - there was a lot of interest for our product. It seems that - in a recession - people like the idea of a company actually asks for money for its product :-).

We also saw some other cool companies there - not related to video, but interesting nonetheless: for example Local Motors (crowd-sourced car design with local manufacturing) or Tripchill (mobile travel assistant).

 

Posted by Bettina Hein
Tuesday, 09 December 2008

Have you ever wondered what your dog does all day when you're at work? Yesterday I found a great product at Think Geek that allows you to attach a camera to your pet's collar. Check it out here.

This is a still digital camera that captures images every 1, 5 or 15 minutes. You can then download the images at the end of the day and see what Fido has been up to. I wish they had this gadget in a camcorder/H.264 version.

Posted by Bettina Hein
Thursday, 04 December 2008

My husband has been filming since he was 10 years old. You can imagine that he has been asked to record many family events on camera. He gladly complies with those requests – it gives him something to do and he doesn’t have to listen to Uncle Joe’s stale jokes over and over again ☺. But one thing he hates is editing the footage afterwards because it is so time-consuming. Sounds familiar? We’ve compiled some tips to you save time and help you film better family videos. Here they are:

 

Starring Grandma

Let’s say you’re the designated videographer for Grandma's 80th birthday and the whole family has flown in to celebrate. Make sure you show Grandma in detail – not only during her celebration but may also as she’s getting ready to go to the party. Take some close-ups of her at home and later on during the party.

 

Show the locale
Take what the pros call ‘establishing shots’. Is the party taking place in Grandma’s backyard? Then show the house from the driveway, take some shots of the entire backyard and then zero in on the patio where the party is going on. Are you helping to build the tent in the backyard? Put your camera on a tripod and record the process. Remember to hold still on a shot without zooming for at least 10 seconds.

Posted by Bettina Hein
Monday, 01 December 2008

The most common reason to buy a camcorder is the birth of a child. Now that your bundle of joy has arrived, started smiling for the first time or has taken its first steps you’re trying to capture those precious moments on film.

Our experts here at Pixability have brainstormed on tips how to improve your filming ability when it comes to kids videography:

 

On your knees
First, make sure not just to film from above. Take your child’s vantage point. You may feel a bit silly crawling with your camera at first, but it will pay off in better material.

Posted by Bettina Hein
Monday, 01 December 2008

At Pixability, we take your video footage – no matter how good or bad it is – and make an entertaining custom movie out of it. But, of course, lots of our customers are keen to improve their filming ability. So I’ve been asked to give some tips on how to take nicer video footage.

 

Taking better camcorder shots is not rocket science; you just need to follow a couple of basic rules. There are many books written on this subject but here is my simple take on it:

 

No. 1: Hold camera still
You need to hold the camera still – take at least 10 seconds of each shot without changing the angle or zooming. I know this feels like an eternity but it is worth it. If you are feeling shaky or light is dim, take a wide stance, lean against a wall or use a chair to stabilize yourself.

 

No. 2: Turn the lights on
If you are filming indoors, turn all available lights on. Think that’s too much? Carefully look at reality shows on TV, they always use extremely strong lighting and yet it doesn’t seem artificial. To balance the lighting out, try to turn on several sources of light – the sconces, the table lamp as well as the ceiling fixture.
Posted by Bettina Hein
Monday, 01 December 2008

Welcome to Pixability’s blog – we’re very happy to have you drop in on us. So many people have been urging me to start this blog and here it is, finally!

I hope you're rooting for us - please tell what me think. We love candid feedback and are always eager to improve our service with your help.

 

So what is Pixability all about?

Simple: most people take videos and NEVER do anything with them. We want to change that. So send us your shoeboxes full of tapes, your hard drives full of footage. We know it's bothering you that your family memories are just rotting away in the closet or attic. Pixability can help.