Family Matters

When I opened my first studio, I worked more hours than I ever could have imagined.  Sometimes, after photographing for an entire day, I would then spend hours in the darkroom printing all that I had shot.
Digital was still a long way off, but whether your hands are immersed in Dektol or your fingers are mousing away at Photoshop, time has a way off slipping by when you're concentrating on your work.

At 2 am, talk radio was not only a companion, it was the only thing keeping me awake, yet of all the hours I spent listening, only one program remains clear to this day.  I was listening to a radio host named Barry Farber and on this particular night he was talking about making a recording of his father.

Now in today's electronic world, picking up and using a video camera is a pretty common thing.  I mean most people's phones can shoot video now, but in the mid 1980s, the technology wasn't there and he was talking about using a audio cassette tape recorder.

But all technology aside, I found his discussion both brilliant and illuminating.  He was talking about recording the voice of his father so that future generations of his family could hear his voice and perhaps a little family history.  Something that more than often, gets lost.

You may have a recording of your grandmother holding your child as an infant, but what format is it on?. VHS?  VHS-C?  Hi-8?  Does that camera still work and if it does, will the tape still play after laying in the basement since you replaced it with a DVD player?

Many of us "filmmakers" have watched hours of documentaries on PBS or the History Channel television, but rarely have considered documenting our own histories?  And if so... Why not?

You might also be quite surprised at some of the things you learn about your grandmother or grandfather.  Believe it or not, they were kids once, too.

I have a friend named Rob Katz and he's made a business out of recording family histories.  He calls his company Small Talk Productions  Small Talk Website  and he creates delightful films about other folk's families.   He calls it "Oral Histories" and although Milton Shwartzberg might not have held the fate of the empire in his hands like Winston Churchill, his own life experiences might be just as interesting to his family.

I had the pleasure of filling-in as Rob's DP last year and to my surprise, it was an interesting shoot.  Rob's line of questioning was well researched both with other family members and the prevalent history during the time his subjects were growing up.  This gave them something to relate to and also helped jog their memory a bit.

I remember the sound and smell of the Revere projector that my father used to show us the family films.  There was always a mall amount of smoke rising above the machine as dust would burn off the bulbs.

One of the unique things about old style 8mm home movies, was that the camera carried a very short load of film.  Usually between 2:40" and 3:20", depending on the speed the camera was set to and due to the expense, it was pretty rare to simply blow an entire roll of film on one event.  So, it was not uncommon to find shots of birthdays, weddings, family outings, your grandparents the beach and Niagara Falls, all on one 50 ft. spool of film.

The jumping from subject to subject was part of the fun and we always knew what we were looking at because my mother and father would keep a constant narration in flow,  discussing how dirty the pool was or how much weight my aunt gained.

Which brings me back around to recording your family.

Wouldn't you like to know what your great great grandfather sounded like.  Don't you think your kids will, when they grow up?  Think ahead.

With the passing of my own mother, I now realize that my one year old daughter will probably not remember the sound of her grandmother's voice.  We will tell her all about grandma and there will be plenty of home movies and photographs, but it would have been nice to have an audio recording, as well.

My suggestion is to create a simple time capsule.  Include shots of the current objects in your living room or kitchen.  Include current events, like a newspaper heading and shots around your town.  It may seem like ordinary stuff now, but very shortly it will change and disappear or be covered up by something new.  Plan your shots well so that you can use them in your family documentary.

Who knows, maybe in a few years (when you become famous) the History Channel will come looking for your personal b-roll or at the least, it will be fun to look back and reminisce.

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