In celebration of the Oct. 18 National Home Movie Day, the Westminster branch of Home Video Studio is launching a program in which HVS will videotape the narrative of one life story at any independent living center or retirement community in the Denver area at no charge.
The program,
Lifestories, is designed to highlight the historical contribution of home movies and the importance of sharing biographical information with family and friends to help preserve that history.
"Everyone has a story to tell whether they think they do or not," said Steve Dalbec, owner of HVS. "We want to demonstrate the value of this video documentation for future generations. Lifestories allows elderly people to capture tales, myths and even songs that are unique to those individuals."
Dalbec is asking administrators at Denver-area independent living centers to nominate someone at their facility who has an exciting story to tell. HVS will prompt the resident with questions about their childhood, life experiences and even ask for perspectives and words of wisdom. The
Lifestories video will be edited with titles and other graphics to personalize the Lifestory. Options include adding personal photos, videos, film or other mementos. Administrators can email their nomination to Dalbec at
steve.d@homevideostudio.com.
Home Video Studio will make the finished product available for viewing by residents of the independent living center. An HVS Home Movie night will be scheduled and home movies of historical significance or with a high entertainment factor will be shown, along with the Lifestory of the selected resident.
From the mid-1920s, families shot home movie film, mostly in 8 mm, until the advent of videotape in the 1980s. Millions of feet of film sit in attic and basement storage, waiting to tell the story of earlier times in the lives of families. Movie Night allows Home Video Studio to show some of the best of the film that has been transferred to DVD. Owners have signed releases for those DVDs to be shown as part of the Great American Home Movie Project. Organizers of the Great American Home Movie Project are soliciting home movies for inclusion in a documentary that shows America in an earlier time and showcases its rich history. Movie Night allows residences to get a peek at some of the film under consideration for the project.
Also in recognition of National Home Movie Day, HVS is discounting prices on all services by 15 percent through the end of the month.