This will be a bit of a lengthy post to the message boards but I just wanted to share a few hints and tips about the part videotape can play in family history. As I write this, I am converting a videotape (from Thanksgiving 1986) to dvd. No one knows how long videotape might last - I know I have tape from the mid 1980's that still plays well but I want to copy them all to a digital format. There are machines you can buy that play/record vhs on one side and play/record dvd's on the other side. Don't confuse this with dvd players, what I have is a player-recorder. As for the five generations, not everyone will have a chance for something like that. In my case, it was relatives on my wife's side. My two girls (now in thier young 20's) were toddlers, next generation was my wife, then her mother, then her grandmother and finally an aunt of my wife's grandmother who was in her 90's at the time and still, as they say, 'of sound mind and body'. We filmed in the eldest relative's house which happened to be a Sears house. My wife's heritage is mostly from Virginia. Her grandmother's aunt, on tape, mentioned how her mother told her that she was glad slavery was over with before she turned 21 as she did not want to inherit slaves. Just to point out some of the things you might capture in an interview. Now for some tips and hints. I don't know if they even sell video cameras any more - could be everything is digital. Either way, the tips and hints apply for tape or digital. First - don't just 'wing it'. As much as possible script what will be said. You will capture spontaneous moments but you want to avoid awkward moments where no one knows what to say. Write out a list of possible topics/questions and go over it well in advance with the person to be interviewed. Encourage him or her (or them) to suggest their own topics and questions and add them to the list. It can work out well to interview a group of relatives - two or three aunts and uncles for instance. It may also work out well *not* to interview several at once so give it some thought. Include the 'environment' of the interview. Before you start, pan up and down the street from outside the house or apartment to give an idea of the neighborhood where the person currently lives. Try to get video of schools attended, places of employment, places of worship attended or where married - any place you can reasonably get to that touches on the persons life. If you can get to a cemetary where the person has relatives buried, take some video of headstones. Be slow in moving the camera. If panning about go quite slowly as the movement will be magnified when watching the tape. Tape from different angles. Look over a person's shoulder with the camera as they go thru a photo album. Think of professional interviews on TV and how they are presented. Change the angle of view from time to time. Well before the interview, encourage the person to pull together various artifiacts of thier life - military awards, school diplomas, marriage certificate, old photos - all sorts of still items can be focused on while a person talks. Try a bit of 'drama' - shoot over the headstone of an ancestor while the interview subject walks away from you. As a final shot, have the person wave goodbye thru a window while you shoot from outside the house. The chief part of the tape will be a person to person conversation. You will want someone else to hold the camera while you talk with the person. You might literally refer to notes on paper in your hand while you talk. It will keep the conversation moving and on topic. Some spontaneous moments will almost certainly pop in. Keep tv's and radios off. I would even go so far as to temporarily unplug telephones while interviewing. If you get a 'real time' interruption, you can recover but it's not always easy and makes for bad taping. While concentrating on one person, if you can get several generations together in a film that makes for great tape. I'm not sure if I'll ever get a shot at five generations again but I'm glad I took the time for it some 17 or 18 years ago. Rambled on a bit - if there is a single point I want to make, it is this - plan the interview and then plan some more. Include as many different facets of a persons life as you can - what was their childhood like, school, employment, marriage? I believe there are useful online guides you can review and probably printed materials you can buy. Hope this gives people some food for thought! Russ Sprague Kensington, Maryland _________________________________________________________________ Get in the mood for Valentine's Day. View photos, recipes and more on your Live.com page. http://www.live.com/?addTemplate=ValentinesDay&ocid=T001MSN30A0701