For years my family had asked me to share the genealogy research
I had collected over time. I heard about digital storytelling and
thought this might be one way to share some of the rich history of
my family with others.
For years my family had asked me to share the genealogy research I had collected over time. I heard about digital storytelling and thought this might be one way to share some of the rich history of my family with others.
My great-grandmother had left me a worn green scrapbook with 1920’s-style borders, and I brought it along for the workshop to browse for story ideas.
Embossed in gold on the front were her name and her husband’s, “Inez Redding Bisbee” and “Leroy Bisbee.” Held within the leather binding were the memories of their life together in Western Maine; photos of deep snow and hunted deer, celebratory greeting cards and yellowed newspaper clippings. All were colorful characters defined in sepia and through the tattered postcards shared back and forth between loved ones throughout several wars. Beyond these treasured family artifacts, Inez had left her imprint on my DNA.
Her lively, hearty-Maine, surviving-self had the same red blood that coursed through my veins today. At the workshop I created a digital story about our common path using narration, photos, graphics, and shared it via DVD and online to my family and friends.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share my stories, to work at CMAP, and to share our workshops of digital storytelling and video production. I look forward to listening to the stories about your families, your community and your life experiences. I hope you’ll join us for the class!
About the Workshop
CMAP will be offering a 3-day digital storytelling workshop to collect the stories of local residents, the community and families through a multimedia format that includes photographs, scripted narration, graphics, music and titles. Just like a story told around a kitchen table, CMAP’s workshop offers an opportunity to document important family stories, local oral histories and a way to memorialize those who have passed.
At the end of the workshop, participants create multiple DVDs of their story that can be given as one-of-a-kind gifts for the holidays. Memorials, births, the first year of a baby or the brief history of a lifetime or oral histories are some of the topics explored during these workshops. Attendees can choose to provide CMAP with a DVD to air on Channel 20 over the holiday season.
Cost: $15 for CMAP members; $20 for residents of Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista; Morgan Hill residents: $25. Price includes all three days of the workshop.
When: Workshop participants must attend all three dates: Wednesday, Dec. 3 (Orientation: 6-8 p.m.); Friday, Dec. 5 (6-8 p.m.) through Saturday, Dec. 6 (1-5 p.m.).
Details: Visit www.mycmap.org or e-mail Kathy at mycmap.org or call (408) 846-4983 ext. 6.
