In this week 26 of our project of making your own Family History Video, we’ve learned how to get creative with overlays.  Have you thought about whether you have a letter, verse, sheet music, story that has been written by someone in your family? Maybe a favorite seasonal poem or story that is read each year?  A saying, or list of different sayings that you heard all the time?  Even jokes that a loved one told over and over and typed up in a fun font can make for a great overlay atop a smiling photo of the witty relative. 

Using those same techniques, you could also transition one photo to another.  You can also use a still photo as overlay on top of a video.  So your ‘to-do’ this week is to:

• look through your treasures to see if there is anything that might be better captured and shared as an overlay.
  

• Practice the overlay techniques.  Try different transparency levels to find one that works best with your project.  Have fun with it. 
  

• Check online or at your local library for pictures of the cities that played a large role in your family’s history.  If you can find some that were of the same era that your family lived there, even better – just don’t forget to respect copyrights.
  

Using a video of someone reading a letter along with supportive still pictures of the writer and those they write about, is the topic today.  Because yesterday was Veterans Day, we have used a real-life example from WWII. Today's blog is a video of working with overlays to create those familiar 'letter over photo with someone reading the letter'  overlays. Click here to watch Part 9 in our video series.

We’ve touched on how to apply a graphic or photo to an overlay track on Corel VideoStudio Ultimate X7.  This week we’re going to dive further into that topic and show other creative ways to show your family history.  Since tomorrow is Veterans Day, we’ll be using a military theme but the same techniques would apply to other themes.

During your interview with a family member, a good practice whenever they speak of military service is to ask about letters.  Handwritten or telegraphs are most dramatic but typed or even emails will work.  Have your interviewee read a letter aloud.  They don’t have to look at the camera while they read.  Scan or take a picture of the letter they are reading.  Ask for a photo that supports the letter, in our military example it might be their military in-uniform photo. 

You can also use stock video.  A simple DIY (do it yourself) would be to film a national flag waving in the wind for a military theme.  However, there are great resources for stock footage that is mostly open copyright – of course, it’s ALWAYS up to you to confirm use of someone else’s work.  However, personal, non-profit work (which your personal Family History Video will probably be) is relatively a safe avenue, especially if you credit the work as presented on the video or in the credits. Check out archive.org or commons.wikimedia.org.  Check also the local libraries of a town or county you are researching.  Within any of those resources, you can search for specific years, wars, or item (“waving flag”), etc. In the U.S., for explanations and a list of other resources, go to www.publicdomainsherpa.com.  Explore. Enjoy.