This is a follow up to a previous post. Our job as digital storytellers is to capture and preserve the memories around us. The younger readers might not see the true value in this yet, but us less young people will. I wish that I had video of the stories from my grandparents. Three of the four are gone but before this year is finished, I want to preserve the memory of all of the elderly in my family. They lived in a different era. They remember party lines, the first TV's, and watching man on the moon for the first time. They have lived through some of the toughest times this country has seen. Their wisdom is astonishing. You don't need the latest HDSLR's to capture these memories. Use what you have.
The interview was shot with the D300s and some really simple lighting. We used one 10.5 inch work light from home depot and another smaller work light. I positioned the bigger light camera left and ran it through a umbrella we use in our still photography. I was noticing some noise in the background even after I turned on all of the available "house light" so the other light was behind the subject and camera right pointed at the background. White balance proved to be a real issue and I hadn't had much time to play with the camera. A quick online search gave me the instructions for custom white balance. This proved to be my answer. This is my wife's father. Since she knew most of the stories she wanted to preserve, we positioned her just out of frame and she helped guide the conversation. The interview ran over 90 minutes and we still haven't had a chance to edit. What you see is straight out of camera.
Mr. White grew up in rural Arkansas. This is just a glimpse of his story........
