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Mary LoVerde in her book, “Touching Tomorrow”, says “In ‘the good ole days’ families spent hours listening to their elders tell stories, passing family history and wisdom to the next generation. Critics charge that television and the web have silenced many families. But we can use this technology now to bring families together again........Everyone has stories. Because, you see, stories are just recalled experiences and you can’t have lived long without some pretty interesting experiences. When you live a long time you have stories to tell. If only people ask.”

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What kinds of stories do you want to preserve?
	A story about an Event in your life (Adventure, Accomplishment Stories)	A Personal story:
	A story about Someone important to you (Character Stories, Memorials)		A love story.
	A story about a Place in your life		A story about a personal loss.
	A story about What you do (Your job, hobbies)		A recovery story.
It may be your ethical will. ("An ethical will is ...to your loved ones and provides a way to express your spiritual legacy, your values, hopes, life's lessons, forgiveness and love to your family, friends, and community." ASSOCIATION OF PERSONAL HISTORIANS )			A story about discovery.
			A story about your dreams and wishes.

The outcome of a Digital Family Story workshop will be a 2-to-5 minute digital video clip, told in your own voice and illustrated mostly with photographs from family albums and collections. You will receive a CD, a DVD or a videotape preserving multimedia memories as a legacy for future generations.

Fees are generally custom tailored for each workshop. Factors such as location and travel, duration, pre- and post-workshop support are all considered. Please contact us discuss your needs and wants.

Home	Workshops	Why attend a workshop?
		Workshop Content
		Workshop Schedule
		Preparing for the workshop
		Fees

Preparing for the workshop
Doing some of the work prior to actually attending the workshop will definitely enhance your workshop experience. Prepare the following items and bring them with you to the workshop: a script, some images, a few short video clips (optional), and music. Also acquiring some familiarity with your graphics and video editing software is beneficial.
	Script:	Prepare a rough draft of a script. A maximum of 1 1/2 pages, typed in a reasonable font and double spaced is sufficient. What should you write about? Well, you! A story is most powerful when it is personal. Tell a story about something or someone in your family or your community. Family stories always have a ready audience. Tell a story about an event in your life and how it influenced you personally or professionally.
	Images:	Select about 20 images to use in your story. If you can, scan your images at 640 x 480 resolution (200 dpi). Bring them on CD-R or pen drive. You may bring photographs, art work, letters and other items to digitize at the workshop. Digital cameras and scanners will be available at the workshop to do so. What images are best? Your story will determine that content. Then again, pictures can also evoke stories. Your story may emerge as you review old photographs.
	Video:(optional)	Video is used as effective, small clips and usually only if it enhances your story. Preview your tapes prior to the workshop and made notes about which 5-15 second clip(s) you want to use. However, some of the most powerful stories can be told simply with still images.
	Music:	Choose a couple of possibilities for background music and bring on a CD. There will be royalty free music available at the workshop. You can opt for the best choice during the final edit. We need to respect copyright, so if you may want to post your digital story on the Internet, CD music may not be appropriate.
The Center for Digital Storytelling created a manual for use at their workshop. The Digital Storytelling Cookbook is available in a PDF version at http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.html . Reviewing the beginning of the cookbook prior to the workshop is beneficial. Some of the versions of the software explained in the cookbook will be different that what we use, but you can learn about the overall process by reviewing those sections. If you have any questions, send me an e-mail: