How to Capture and Preserve Family History Before It’s Too Late
A DIY Guide in 5 Steps
How to DIY (do-it-yourself) capture and preserve your parents’ favorite memories and best stories before it’s too late…
by Mark Noonan
First, if you don’t want DIY, but would prefer DFY (done-for-you), then please visit LifeStory, our keepsake video interview that we do for you:
We interview your parents so you don’t have to.
We get answers to questions you want to know.
We make it all happen and save your time.
But if you’re motivated to do-it-yourself, then let’s dive in…
5 Steps
Decide how you want to do it.
Decide on technology.
Do it.
Add keepsakes.
Post-production & saving.
Step 1
Decide how you want to do it.
Will the finished product be a book, audio, or video?
BOOK
StoryWorth is the most well-known book option. There are many other bookmakers. See my article on StoryWorth Alternatives to learn more.
All follow the same format: you buy and they email your Mom/Dad a new question each week for a year. Your Mom/Dad writes answers back. At the end of a year, and fifty questions, you get a book. You must do all the work yourself. The book service is the platform, you pick the cover, photos, edit and format everything.
If you don’t need a physical book and want to DIY it, you can email your Mom/Dad a question every week and compile their replies into a document. Suitable questions can be found online or use our handy 101 Questions To Ask Your Parents.
Challenges:
Some parents aren’t interested in writing.
Life is busy.
Getting your parents to put in the time to do it.
You remembering to email them each week (even with reminders).
It would be interesting to know how many adult children purchase StoryWorth for their Mom/Dad but it never gets completed…
AUDIO
Services exist that will phone your parents weekly (Storii), have an AI voice ask them a question, and then your Mom/Dad answer and the recording is saved.
If you find this approach impersonal and want to record audio yourself, you can call up your Mom/Dad and use an App (TapeACall, among many others) to record your phone conversation.
In person, you can use your Smartphone like a Dictaphone. Every smartphone maker has voice memo Apps. On an iPhone it is in fact called “Voice Memos”.
You could schedule time with your Mom/Dad, give them a heads up on some of the questions you plan to ask (see our 101 Questions List again), and then place your Smartphone in front of them, near their voice, and facilitate a forty-five minute session. Start with five to ten questions. You don’t want to overwhelm your parents. You can record them together or separately, although we have found that one-on-one works best. Up to you.
Another audio option is using, or teaching your Mom/Dad how to use, the StoryCorps App. They then can record whenever they want. But once again, the real challenge is without scheduling, will it ever actually happen?
Challenges:
Scheduling time in-person to do it.
Getting a good recording.
No visuals.
VIDEO
You can use any video-conference software to record (Google Meet, Zoom, etc).
You need to schedule it, compile questions, prepare your parents, help them with any technological hurdles, and make sure the lighting and audio are working. Then you can do it.
Using a desktop or laptop works best. It is cumbersome for anyone to hold a smartphone for long periods of time. If you have a tripod/mount for your smartphone and you want to record your parents in-person, that can work. But then remember, you are without your phone. Seated comfortably in their own home and recording with a desktop or laptop seems to be most pleasant. Again, up to you.
Another option, if you know someone with professional video/audio gear and knowledge, you can record a session over a holiday. When family members gather together is a great time to set up a camera and microphone and let everyone in the room ask Mom/Dad questions. All families are different. Some parents would find this terrifying. Others will embrace the opportunity to tell tales never revealed. Before putting your folks on the spot, read the room. And keep it casual. But drunk inappropriate questions aren't fun for anyone. Unless that's how your family interacts. You know you. Act accordingly.
Challenges:
Time – it takes a lot.
Comfort – interviewing your own family members can be uncomfortable.
Step 2
Decide on technology.
For Book:
Send a weekly email and follow up.
For Audio:
Recording device: you need to use an App or a phone call.
For Video:
Recording device: desktop/laptop, smartphone, or professional gear.
Challenges:
Make sure your Mom/Dad is comfortable with your choice before you begin.
Technology can sometimes prove challenging for the older generation.
You’re not a lighting and audio expert.
Step 3
Do it.
Get your Mom/Dad to write…every week…for a year…
Sit down or make a phone call and record audio…follow up…
Sit down in-person or over videoconferencing and record video…
Challenges:
Actually doing it.
Procrastination is real.
Life gets in the way.
Don’t lose those files.
Step 4
Add keepsakes.
While you embark on this endeavor to save family history, it is a perfect time to augment the book/audio/video with other items: heirlooms, pictures, DNA…
Photo Albums, Home Movies & Recipes
Go through your parents’ photo albums and pick out any pictures you like or that you want answers to. If your Mom/Dad don’t want to relinquish these photographs, you can simply snap a picture of the photograph to save it, or scan the photos. Likewise, if you have old home movies and need to digitize those, you can use a service like Legacybox.
If food is an important family tradition, consider doing the same for recipe cards: take pictures or scan them. You can then add all these digital keepsakes to a folder with your other items and save everything in three places (more on this below).
Family Tree
If you’re on a roll and feeling motivated, now is a great time to dive down the family history rabbit hole. With sites like Ancestry you can piece together your Mom/Dad’s family tree.
DNA
Likewise, Ancestry and other sites such as 23andMe can help you unlock the DNA history of your Mom/Dad. Again, be sure to keep all this information (logins, photos, documents) in the same desktop folder for easy access (and saved two other places as well).
Family Heirlooms
Jewelry, artwork, furniture, love letters…Compile and save them. You can take pictures and ask the story behind the object. It’s all about learning your Mom/Dad’s history with their most cherished possessions.
Challenges:
It’s a lot of work.
Putting in the time and effort.
Learning family history can be joyous and painful.
Remember, excitement begets excitement. If you are passionate about these things, most likely your parents will jump on board. But don’t try to do it all at once. Baby steps, and easy simple plans to start, work best.
Step 5
Post-production & saving.
Edit book
Add photos, cover art, titles, correct all punctuation and grammar.
Audio
Turn into tracks, title all for easy access (by question).
Video
Title card each question, edit transcript and captions, create opening sequence, produce full version (16:9 formatting) and short versions (1:1 formatting) for easy social sharing.
Gather everything together and save it.
It is best to name the file with a blatantly obvious title for easy identification. For example, if it is my life story, I’d call it: LifeStory–InterviewMarkNoonan–020124.mp4
Save the file on a cloud service. If you have a Gmail account you can save the file in your Google Drive. Any cloud drive will suffice as long as it’s the main one you use.
Save the file in a folder also named similarly and leave that folder on your desktop.
Save the file on an external hard drive also for further backup.
3 places is best in case something happens. Because something always happens.
Challenges:
Editing is monotonous and time-consuming.
Saving everything for easy access.
It takes a lot of time.
RECAP
TL/DR
Book, Audio, or Video
Technology
Book: weekly email?
Audio: App or phone calls?
Video: in-person or video chat? Desktop/laptop, smartphone, or pro?
Do It – write, record, videotape
Add Keepsakes – photographs, heirlooms, DNA
Post-Production & Saving - save everything in 3 places
DFY OPTION
Don’t have time for DIY? Want an easy DFY (done-for-you) solution?
Try LifeStory, our keepsake video interview that saves your parents’ favorite memories and best stories before it’s too late.
Need help?
Book a free LifeStory consultation video chat to learn more and kickstart your goal to save your parents’ stories.
Do it Now. Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and save your Mom & Dad’s stories now…
The Grandkids will never know them. You’ll lose out on amazing memories and family history.
Start today…
