Habitat for Humanity of Boone County, Indiana, in conjunction with Homes for Wounded Warriors, built a house for Marine Sergeant Jesse James and his wife. I prepared a slideshow from their pictures of the building progress, set to patriotic music (by military bands and in the public domain)
The formats for family keepsakes is constantly changing. Slides gave way to prints, which gave way to digital picture files. Home movie film reels lost to video tape, which is now losing to digital video. DVDs, which are making VHS tapes obsolete, now have competition from blu-ray. Hard drive storage is becoming ever cheaper, and the latest trend is to store your precious files somewhere in “The Cloud.” But what is the one best way to keep media memories and archive digital files?
I’ll be honest with you. There isn’t one. And by that I mean, there isn’t ONE. The best media and file storage is not so much a place or a format as a strategy. And the best strategy for protecting and enjoying your media memories involves both convenience and redundancy.
First and foremost, your media should be converted and kept in a format that you can presently enjoy and share with ease. For example, a photo book on a coffee table for guests to enjoy is preferable to a box of photos still in their store pouches. Video tapes from a broken camcorder should be transferred to a format you can play back. Digital images should be easily accessible on your viewing screen of choice, whether that be your portable ipad or the family room TV.
In addition to the ability to enjoy your pictures and video at present, a storage strategy should be mindful of protecting them for the future. Even if they are fine now, analog video tape, film reels, slides, and prints, all risk color deterioration over time. Humidity, dust, and sunlight can quickly age these formats, sometimes making them unrecoverable. In contrast, digital files do not fade over time, but are instead at risk of being lost due to failure or corruption of the hard drive or memory card. And everything, physical or digital, is at risk of loss due to fire or weather. Therefore, maintaining redundant digital copies, in multiple locations, is the best overall strategy.
A plan for redundant digital copies need not be complicated, and you don’t have to do it alone. Multimedia Memories can help you plan a strategy for protecting and enjoying your photos and videos for years to come.
One of the things we enjoy most at Multimedia Memories is designing something unique and creative. While we have serious computing power and software at our disposal, they are just the tools. Or, if your like us, they’re more like toys.
Recently, we’ve designed a 3-D pop-up Christmas Card as a DVD menu. We’ve created motion slideshows with reflections, animated magazine page flips and pop-up photo books. We’ve made pictures of the cheerleading squad do backflips and cartwheels. And using a photograph of a basketball hoop, we’ve even animated the net stretching as the ball went through. Our designs can be understated and elegant when appropriate, or full-trottle, and of course, everything in between.
We could say more, but right now we’re busy working on animating flying text that lands on football field splattering “mud” on the camera.
Welcome to the digital age, where digital still and video cameras have completely changed the way we capture memories. With no film costs, no developing fees, and no prints to buy, it’s easier than ever to click and record away.
In high definition and high resolution, we can snap every smile, capture every coo, and digitize to our delight.
And then…..
We fill up our hard drives with the many gigabytes of our precious memories.
We can take care to archive these treasures by renaming and sorting the digital files, and we might preserve and protect them with automatic backup services.
But then….
It’s still the digital age’s equivalent of a shoebox full of slides in the attic.
A carefully labeled shoebox, I grant you.
Because the real value in our pictures and videos is not in their mere existence, no matter how carefully kept. It is in the enjoyment we receive from viewing them — and most especially when our loved ones view them together.
That’s why I love what we do at Multimedia Memories. We make your memories as fun as they are easy to watch.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Don’t let your pictures remain silent. Call Multimedia Memories today!
Do you still have your wedding video on video tape? This Valentine’s Day, surprise your spouse with a restored video of your wedding on a beautifully printed DVD. Our custom wedding package includes:
Regularly $100, we are offering this Wedding VHS to DVD Package to our newsletter subscribers for $75 during the month of February. (Subscribe to the right.)
Not enough time to find the tape or plan for some extra features? Order a gift certificate, and we will reserve this special price for you.
Check out an example of our work.
The top 10 reasons to call Multimedia Memories this fall:
10. Your ten-year-old doesn’t know what he looked like as a baby.
9. You want to prove to your grandkids that you once had hair.
8. Where’s the power cord to the old camcorder?
9. Grandma’s not going to do the chicken dance again.
8. 250 wedding guests holding100 digital cameras and 60 camcorders, now what?
7. How do I play these tapes?
6. Be the envy of your friends — Instead of a Christmas card with one picture, send them a photo montage on disc or post it online!
5. You know you don’t want to spend your vacation scanning pictures.
4. Your memories don’t belong in a box.
3. The 11th anniversary of her 29th birthday only happens once!
2. You’ll remember what it was like to be a newlywed.
1. We’ll make you look goooooood.
Send us your own reason & we might just name next month’s special after it.
