Smart Phone Family History!

C Copyright 2012 by Marlo E. Schuldt
Volume 6 #3
Doing Family History
The “Smart & Easy” Way
by Marlo E. Schuldt
There are so many new gizmos,
gadgets and great ideas it’s hard to
keep up! Sometimes all the new stuff
just makes my head swim. However,
you have my interest when something
new comes along that helps with family
history.
I’ve come to realize the younger
generation is interested in any kind
of new computer technology. They
seem naturally wired up to understand
how to use and have fun with the
latest tech stuff.
If you’re intimidated or bewildered by the new
smart phones, please refer to my newsletter, “A
Smart Phone, The Daydream of a Genealogist.”
It will demystify and introduce you to the smart
phone I have and why you might consider getting
a new phone. The newsletter is not hard to
understand since I’m the one who wrote it.
Recently I decided we might be able to entice
our grandkids to help with family history by using You can find it here:
their phone. I can always fall back and use the
http://www.heritagecollector.com/Newsletter/
pity angle – helping grandpa and grandma Newslist.htm
learn how to use some newfangled invention
like a SMART PHONE!
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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A Phone in Every Hand
Have you noticed how many kids are
using portable phones these days?
They are texting, talking, taking
photos, shooting video and playing
games with their phones. It’s like a
“cell” phone has grown out of their
hand or is glued to their ear almost
24/7.
Kids love their phones and
are constantly looking for
new things to do.
What You need?
Just one inexpensive gadget for
a smart phone. Yes, you will
have their instant attention when
you announce, “I have something new for your phone.” This
will naturally floor them because
you couldn’t possibly have anything for their phone they
don’t already know about.
A smart phone tripod. It
will set you back about a
whopping $14. That’s
chicken feed when you
realize how much this
invention is going to help
you.
Kids, Smart Phones and
Family History
A smart phone provides the
perfect mechanism to get
young people involved in
family history. You could start
by taking your children and
grandchildren on an old
fashioned treasure hunt! This
will give you the opportunity to inform and kindle
new interests in family history. They can assist
you by using their phone to help you gather and
document valuable information. The following
list offers some ideas about how our kids could
use their smart phones to help us with family
history:
1. Take photos for us at a reunion, on a
vacation, where you were born, the old
farm, grandpa’s grave, or at other family
gatherings.
2. Set the camera so it automatically adds
GPS coordinates to all the photos taken so
you can tag and view these places on
maps on the internet.
3. Record oral history with the built in sound
recorder.
4. Capture video stories, interviews and
historical information about your family.
It also obligates them
since you are giving them
something for their
phone! That’s a double win
for you!
Where to Get the tripod? Go on-line or to
your local camera store. I was surprised that
the young guys at the camera store had to ask
some questions and hunt around to find it.
Here’s the key
phrase to use. “I’m
looking for a
camera phone
tripod. Something
that will connect my
smart phone to a
tripod.” Hopefully
that will turn the
light on in their
head. There are
different kinds. The
one I got was
called, “QSXVersiPod,
Quantaray by
Sumpak. It was
$14.99.
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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Why You Need a Smart Phone Tripod
Most smart phones do not have a fitting to
attach the phone to a tripod. The second, and
most important reason to get a tripod, is you
do not want to shoot, what I call, “Get sick
video.” It’s the kind of video where the camera
shakes and
moves a lot –
kind of like
shooting
video out the
window of a
moving car.
Watching this
kind of video
will be very
distracting
and hard to
endure and
makes some
people motion sick. The tripod will be
extremely helpful when the smart phone is
used to take video. Unlike shaky, hand held
video, the camera will have a solid footing so
it will not be moving around when taking
video.
3. Landscape setting. Rotate the “head’ down
so the camera is sitting in a landscape
position.
4. The tripod will not hold the camera in this
position because the tripod legs are too
close together causing the camera to tip
over.
5. You must extend the tripod legs to get the
proper balance and support. I almost took
my tripod back to the camera store at this
point because I didn’t think it would work.
The directions were NO HELP. I had to
experiment for about thirty minutes.
6. Extend the legs. Spread two of the tripod
legs apart and position them under the
Setting up the Tripod
camera for best support. The third leg
The tripod is easy to set up for portrait photos.
should be on the opposite of the camera as
However, it’s a bit tricky to adjust for landshown below.
scape video and photos. Here’s how:
1. Attach the camera
adapter. Turn the
screw to widen the
adapter to fit the
phone. Start with
the camera in a
portrait setting.
2. Adjust the screw so
the camera fits
snugly into the
holder. You will be able to use this setting
for portrait photos and video.
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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Using Different Tripods
The camera holder is the most important part
of the tripod because it has a fitting that can
be used with different kinds of tripods.
Simply unscrew the holder from the tripod
head. You can then screw the holder into
another larger tripod allowing for better
shooting positions.
Using a Smart Phone to Record Video
Stories and History
Recording video is the best way to share
stories because it captures and embellishes
the story with hand and body gestures, big
smiles, a good belly laugh, and a little sniffle h
which make a story more dramatic and
interesting. Best of all, you see the person
telling the story in real time.
Story Ideas
1. How your mom and dad or grandma and
grandpa first met.
2. A first date and kiss.
3. Firsts - steps, words, date, prom dress,
driving a car, etc.
4. Funny / embarrassing incidents.
5. The fish that got away.
Screw the holder into the detachable hot
shoe or screw it directly into the tripod.
The Camera Angle
The best photos and videos of people should
NOT be taken looking downward. Video and
photos look much better when you are level
or perpendicular with the subject. This is
where a taller tripod really helps. This allows
you to sit comfortably behind the camera
instead of looking down or kneeling behind
the camera phone.
6. Faith promoting experiences.
7. Examples of courage.
8. Record the impromptu stories shared at
weddings, funerals, birthdays, reunions, and
anniversaries. Stories occur wherever
people gather and talk – get the camera
phone out and start recording with video or
audio!
Get the old photo album out. Video or audio
record the person telling about each photo.
Later you could scan the images and then
edit the video and audio to become the
sound track for an edited video of all the
photo stories that resulted. Think how
interesting and motivating it would be for
kids and grandchildren to see and hear
family history stories related in first person.
Recording Audio Tips
This also eliminates back or neck aches
when you are shooting video.
Most smart phones have an audio recorder so use it. Do some testing before attempting
to use the audio recorder the first time.
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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Be as close as possible to the person you are
recording. Do not get the phone too close to
their mouth or you will hear popping and other
distortions.
Using an external microphone can be very
helpful. Attach the mic to a shirt pocket or near
the upper middle of the chest to get the best
quality and resonance.
Short recordings will make it easier to edit
and use the stories later. Stop recording at the
end of each story. Begin recording when each
new story starts.
Getting Video Out of the Smart Phone
This is not hard if you know a few basics.
1. Create a new folder on your computer. Use
a file name such as Camera photos or
Camera Audio. Later you will drag or copy
and paste the video and audio files into
these folders.
2. Plug the phone into your computer via the
USB cord that came with the phone.
3. Go into My Computer. You will see all the
drives and devices attached to your
computer. Your camera will probably be
displayed as a “Removable Disk.” Click /
open this folder.
folder (Your phone may use a different
name for this folder).
5. You will see
another list of
folders. My phone
lists “100MEDIA”.
Open this folder.
(Your phone may
use a different
name for this
folder).
6. You will
next see a
list of file
names or
thumbnails
for video
and photo files.
7. Scroll down and select the appropriate
video file. Cut and paste or drag the file(s)
into a folder on your hard drive or into a
Heritage Collector Collection.
Getting Audio Files Out of the Smart
Phone
1. Create a new folder on your computer.
Use a file name such as Camera photos or
Camera Audio. Later you will drag or copy
and paste the video and audio files into
these folders.
2. Plug the phone into your computer via the
USB cord that came with the phone.
4. My HTC
myTouch 4G
smart phone
places the
photos and
video into a
folder called
DCM. Open
the DCIM
3. Go into My Computer. You will see all the
drives and devices attached to your
computer. Your camera will probably be
displayed as a “Removable Disk.” Click /
open this folder.
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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4. My HTC myTouch 4G smart phone places
audio recording into a folder called “My
Documents.” Open this folder (Your phone
may use a different name for this folder).
Basic Audio Conversion Instructions
5. You will see another folder titled, “My
Recordings.” Open this folder. (Your phone
may use a different name for this folder).
2. Select the output folder and create a name
for the new MP3 file.
6. My phone
creates audio
file format
(AMR) used by
many mobile
phones. Copy
and paste these
files into the
folder you
previously
created or into a
Heritage
Collector folder.
Note: These audio files will have to be
converted before you attempt to use the files
with Audacity sound editing software.
Conversion instructions will be listed below.
Editing and Converting Audio Files
There are many free programs available on
the internet to convert AMR files. One I
recently downloaded and installed was called
Miksoft Mobile Media Converter
You can download here:
http://www.miksoft.net/products/MMCsetup.exe
I converted the AMR files to WAV and MP3 so
I could edit them in Audacity for use in
slideshows or an edited video.
1. Open the Miksolft Media Converter. Click
on the “+” Plus icon and add the AMR
source files.
3. Select the “Conversion” option and choose
“To MP3” or a different file type such as
WAV if you are planning to do a lot of
editing to the sound file.
4. Set the output quality.
5. Click “Convert Now” to start converting
AMR files to MP3 file format.
6. A message will appear indicating the AMR
to MP3 conversion is complete.
7. Click OK. All the converted files will appear
in the folder previously specified.
Editing and Converting Video Files
There are a few minor issues you need to be
aware of when you use video.
1. Do not use proprietary video formats since
they may not play on a different computer.
2. Convert your video clips to Windows Media
Video format or WMV. The file will be
compressed and therefore much smaller. It
will also play on most Windows computer. If
there is a problem, Windows will
automatically download a helper file to play
the WMV.
3. You can use the free version of Windows
Live Essentials Movie Maker to convert you
video files. Download it here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/
movie-maker-get-started
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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A Question of Timing VS Quality
Memories fade, people pass on, and the
opportunity to record a special story may
occur only once. My motto is ”carpe diem” or
seize the moment! Record whenever you can!
You will not get the best quality using a smart
phone to record video and audio. However, in
my opinion it’s best to get any video or audio
than to wait to get something better and then
not get anything!
The following photo is not high quality. In fact
it’s kind of grainy. However, it is one of my
most cherished photos of me and dad! I’m so
grateful I have it.
Edward and Marlo Schuldt on grandma’s porch many years ago. My dad has been gone
since 1977. However, this photo comes alive when I hear my dad sing an old German song.
It’s just how I remember him. Seeing and hearing his voice makes me feel young again.
Don’t forget that you can import the
video and audio files into Heritage
Collector where you can use them in
a slideshow and share everything on
the self-running gift CD/DVD.
c Copyright Marlo E. Schuldt 2012 http://heritagecollector.com
Doing Family History the Smart and Easy Way O
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