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The myfamily.com Monthly Newsletter
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View past volumes
Volume 3, December 2007
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Shoot Holiday Videos Like A Professional
There's no better way to capture and share your holidays than by making a movie starring you and your family. Whether you're filming a family dinner or children opening gifts, videos help you preserve the sights and sounds of this magical time of year. And when you share your video with others, it will make them feel like they were right there celebrating with you. Here are some tips for recording and editing video like a professional:
Treat your video camera like a still camera:
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Never walk while you're filming. Just stand still and hold the camera as steady as you can. Try holding your elbows in close to your body for added stability and if you have one, use a tripod.
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Shoot short clips. Unless you're recording a specific event or ceremony and you don't want to miss a moment of it, take a lot of short clips instead of long continuous ones.
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Don't pan or zoom while you're recording. Frame your shot as you would if you were taking a still photo, then shoot a short clip.
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Shoot a variety of shots:
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There are three types of shots you want to use: Wide, Medium and Close-up.
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Wide shots help you establish the scene. For example, if you're at a holiday concert go outside and get some shots of the building it's in, or a sign that announces it. Medium shots show people and their interactions. Close-ups shows specific things, like a face or gift.
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But remember not to zoom in and out between the three shots while you're still filming. Stop, zoom, then start again.
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Edit, edit, edit:
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Use video editing software to shorten up your video, take out shots that don't turn out well or rearrange the order of different clips. You can also add music, titles, transitions and effects, but try not to overdo it.
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Winter Photo Contest
Congratulations to our winners!
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Lynn Hoffman
Mount Airy, MD
View It
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Monica Smith
Humble, TX
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Kimberly Cabral
Eboticoke, Ontario
View It
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Casey Heupel
West Glacier, MT
View It
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This Month's Contests
Family Holiday Photo Contest:
For next month's newsletter, we'd love to see some photos of you and your family celebrating the holidays together. Submit yours by uploading them to your myfamily.com site, then use the 'Share' feature to send them to us at MFContest@tgn.com. We'll pick our favorites and include them in next month's newsletter.
Best New Year's Recipe:
One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier and get more exercise. Help us start off 2008 on the right foot by submitting some of your own great-tasting healthy recipes. We'll include our favorite in next month's newsletter.
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How Do You Use myfamily.com?
submitted by:
John Mitchell
Bakersfield, CA
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"I use myfamily in three ways. I have three family websites that I use to stay in touch with relatives on my father’s, mother’s and wife’s sides of the family. I also use it at work to share files with other co-workers who may be out of the office. We travel a lot and often realize that we have forgotten a file or digital item that we need. But our network is not available outside of the office. Now with an email notification to someone in the office, they can upload the file or item to myfamily and it’s password secure from the rest of the world. Finally, I also use it to communicate with members of our professional association. It allows me to share information such as minutes of meetings, financial records, photos and to poll the membership on various issues."
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Featured Recipe - Orange Glazed Sweet Potatoes
submitted by:
Anita Price
Rathdrum, ID
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Ingredients:
2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Pare sweet potatoes; cut each lengthwise in half. Arrange in ungreased 1-1/2 quart casserole.
In small saucepan, stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and orange peel. Slowly stir in orange juice into sugar mixture. Add butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Pour hot orange juice mixture over sweet potatoes in casserole.
Cover; bake 1 hour, basting occasionally.
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