Creating Family History Videos Easily and for Free

Videos are a fun and effective way to share family history. Imagine taking an old photo album and creating a video where you tell stories about those people and places. It’s easier than you think – and you can do it for free – with a new program called Adobe Spark

Here’s a short (minute and a half) video I created using Adobe Spark. 

Videos give us another way to tell stories. Case in point: Until my daughter saw this, she didn’t realize that her grandpa first had a Texaco station and later changed to Gulf. Yes, she’s heard us talking about it over the years, but it never quite sank in.

The longest and hardest part of the video-making process was deciding what photos I wanted to include. (And looking up the address of the Texaco station because I couldn’t remember it.)

Imagine the uses for video in your family history. Instead of a map on a wall, you could have a video showing where your ancestors came from. You could walk through a timeline of your ancestor’s military service. You could make a virtual cemetery with photos of tombstones. With the voiceover, you can record your explanation of what’s on the screen.

Adobe Spark makes it so easy to create and videos. After you’ve made your video, you can upload it to YouTube or Facebook. You could make several of them and play them in a loop at a family reunion. (My mind is reeling with possibilities!)

Here’s how you can make your own family history video using Adobe Spark:

It took longer for me to explain how I made my video than it took for me to actually make the video!

Adobe Spark is also available for iOS as three different apps – Adobe Spark Video, Adobe Spark Page, and Adobe Spark Post. (I expect an Android version soon.) All three iOS apps are free. If you log in with your Adobe ID, the app with sync with projects you started on your computer.

I am very excited about this new program. I hope you’ll give it a try! What ideas do you have for a video you’d like to make? (And if you do make one, leave a link in the comments below. I’d love to see it!)

Creating Family History Videos for Free with Adobe Spark

Videos are a fun and effective way to share family history. See how you can create them easily and for free with Adobe Spark.

Posted: May 24, 2016.

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