Jim Cosco shares a simple method for recording family members' life stories on video. Start with 30 to 40 interview questions from legacyvideostories.com, customize them with input from relatives, and involve the whole family. Skip the perfectionism: completion and authenticity matter more than technical polish.
Chapters
I would start by going to my website, going to my blog, legacyvideostories.com, and going to a couple of blog posts that have example questions. You know, I have 30 to 40 questions on there that are pretty generic, but pretty valuable. And I would print those out. I would go over those with your loved one. I would add questions that seem to be more custom to them. I would get everybody else in the family on board with what you're doing. Solicit questions from grandparents, from, I mean, you can make a fun, you can make a really fun project out of it. Solicit questions from other people in the family, come up with, you know, what you're going to ask. Then I would, you know, sit down with them and I would go through it. And I wouldn't make— I wouldn't make it difficult. Don't make it difficult for yourself because it doesn't have to be perfect. I know people might put it off because, oh, this isn't good enough yet, or I didn't like that answer. And it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be.