Release Your Inner Ken Burns Denise Barrett Olson

Like many others, I am a huge fan of Ken Burns.  He has turned the
historical documentary into an art form.  The Civil War was one of the
most compelling programs I ever watched on television - followed by
Baseball, JAZZ and The National Parks.  Not only am I mesmerized by the
story being told, I'm impressed that he used some very simple techniques
to tell it.  With Civil War, most of the visuals were drawn from historical
photos documenting that war.  He made those photos come alive with a
simple technique that moved across and into each photo, giving both
movement and focus to a specific point or person.  That technique is now
named for him - the Ken Burns effect.  
Mr. Burns' Civil War is an excellent example of how to create a
compelling family documentary from basic components.  In addition to
historical photos, he included recent photos of historic sites, adding to the
sense of place.  The narrative included excerpts from personal letters and
journals read by actors who made you feel the original authors were
speaking.  He used these simple, but elegant techniques to create an
impressive history. 
We family historians can use these same elements to create our own
family documentaries.  We may not want to tackle a project as large as
 Release Your Inner Ken Burns

Mr. Burns' epics, but we do have many compelling stories of our own and
this is a great way to bring them to life.
You probably already have the tools you need to create your
documentary right on your computer. Windows users have Movie Maker,
Photo Gallery and Sound Recorder. Mac users have iPhoto, iMovie and
Garage Band. Add either Microsoft Office, iWork or OpenOffice.org and
you have your own production studio ready and waiting for you.
Let’s get started.

The Storyboard
A storyboard is a collection of sketches and notes used to visualize
what you want your documentary to look like.  This not only helps you
build your story's timeline, but is a good way to choose which graphical
elements will be used and where.  You can use note cards for your
storyboard, shuffling them around until you're happy with the timeline. 
Even sticky notes could serve the purpose.  I've found that my
presentation software - iWork’s Keynote - works best for me. 

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I start by using Keynote's Outline view to build my story points.  It's easy
to move a topic around in the outline - just drag the slide to the new
location.  Here, I've decided that the Scenic Ranch slide should come
right after the Wild West & Old Florida Collide slide, so all I need to do is
drag the slide in the Outline pane until I have it where I want it.

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Next, I use the slide area to display possible images, video clips or
graphics that I want included at each point in the story.  As shown here,
the drawing tools are handy to show how the image should be cropped or
what areas need to be edited for color or lighting.

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The notes area will be where most of my story-building effort is

expressed.  At the beginning of the planning process it may only have a
few notes, but as I build my story, the notes area offers a place to describe
what I want to see and hear at each point in the story.  Yes, even my script
can be built here in my notes.  In addition to fleshing out my story and

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timeline, I will also want to include production notes.  For example, if I

am showing a group shot and want to zoom in on one individual, that’s
included in my notes. 

Other things to consider are color schemes for backgrounds, titles and
other graphical elements.  Which fonts do I want to use?  Am I going to
fill the screen with an image or display it in a frame? 
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My storyboard will be a work in progress up to the moment my

documentary is finished.  As the details of my project shape up, the
storyboard shows which elements I already have and which I need to
collect or even create.  In this Ranch project, you've seen that I need to
build a logo, find some fonts and crop some photos.  I might need to
coerce find family or neighbors to do some of the voice-overs so I can
include their memories or excerpts from old letters in my documentary. 
During the production effort, the storyboard contains my script and serves
as a task list showing what has been done and what still needs work. 

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It's easy to print a storyboard - just choose the Notes option in the
print properties.  This way, I can easily reference my notes even when I’m
out on a photo shoot or knee-deep in my movie-making software.
The storyboard takes time to develop and fine-tune, but it’s much
easier to make your changes and adjustments here. Once your movie
project is 70-80% complete, changes are going to be a lot more time-
consuming. I’ll be the first to admit to an impulsive nature, but I’ve found
the hard way that advance planning just makes sense - and a better
finished product.

Building the Documentary

A simple documentary is basically a photo slideshow. To give it
impact, we will add title slides to introduce our subject and to provide
credits at the end. We will include transitions - effects that appear as the
viewer moves from one slide to the next - and effects like pan and zoom
which generate “the Ken Burns effect”. Then there’s the narration, sound
effects and background music.
Before you begin building your documentary, you will need some
tools and to make a decision on what software to use. You have options -
lots of options. Let’s take a look.
First the tools. Actually, the only tool you need is a good microphone
to use while recording your narration. I use a headset because it’s useful
for so many other tasks and, since it is a multi-task tool, I recommend
choosing a good one. I found a good quality Plantronics headset online
that I was able to get on sale for less than $50.00. You can record your
narration with almost any level microphone or headset. Don’t feel you
have to spend large sums of money just to get started, but if you decide

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you really like building multimedia documentaries, start saving some

money and watch for deals.
Next, you’ll need some software. Here’s a look at some of your
options.
Probably the easiest is Photoshop
Elements for Windows. The Windows
version uses its organizer component
to create the slideshow from the
images you’ve selected and allows you
to include special effects (like the Ken
Burns effect), transitions, background
music and to record your narrative.
This capability has been around for
some time so even if you have an older
version of Elements, you should be
able to use it.
Mac users will find iMovie a great
option. You can pull your images in
from iPhoto, set your transitions and
effects and there’s a very nice
collection of royalty-free background
music you can easily include in your
project. Adding narration is a breeze
and, in addition to creating title and
credit slides, you can easily
superimpose text over your photos or
video clips. You can also choose to use
a pre-designed theme to provide these elements if you’re not ready to try
doing them yourself.
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Windows users have Movie Maker. Movie Maker basics are easy to
learn and, like iMovie, there’s a lot of whistles and bells if you want to
take the time to learn them. Transitions, titles and credits offer lots of
options, but the only zoom effect available moves into or away from the
center of the screen. Adding narration and background music is also
pretty straight-forward.
The same presentation software you used to create your storyboard is
also a great tool to build a documentary. It allows for slide transitions,
special effects (called animations), recording narrations and background
music. This option has advantages when your images are different sizes
and shapes. With video-based systems, the app will fill in the background
with a color. Sometimes you get to choose that color, sometimes you
don’t. With a presentation app, you have complete control of the
background and can include frames, titles, captions and other graphical
elements to provide a consistent theme throughout the presentation. The
trade-off is a limited number of production options for sharing your
finished product.
There are several options for packaging your project to share with
others. PowerPoint offers the PowerPoint Show that can be viewed using
the free PowerPoint Viewer application (Windows only). The advantage of
the PowerPoint Show is that it can provide an interactive experience.
Viewers can stop and start the show and follow any hyperlinks included
in the production. The disadvantage is the difficulties you’ll experience in
packaging and distributing all the components that make up your
presentation.
A better option might be to take advantage of online slideshow-sharing
platforms like slideboom [http://www.slideboom.com] or SlideShare
[http://www.slideshare.net]. slideboom supports slides with included
audio, but SlideShare does not.
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Keynote, a component of Apple’s iWork ’09 suite, can export the

slideshow to a QuickTime movie as either a timed show where each slide
is up for a specified duration or an interactive show where the viewer
chooses when to change a slide.
All presentation apps offer an option to export the slides as JPEG
images. This allows you to create a themed look for your documentary
and manage those mismatched
photos yet still take advantage of
the video capabilities in your
movie app.
In my Circle B Ranch project,
I have several different photo
sizes and a few need some
serious cropping so I’m using
Apple’s Keynote presentation
software to build my
documentary.
First, I chose an appropriate
theme from Pages’ theme
collection and began adding
slides with images. Pages also
offers several frame options for
my images. I’m using the photo
corners frame to add a bit of a
vintage look to my slideshow.
Even small details like font styles
can impact your the style of your
presentation.

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Keynote offers two options for

adding narration to a presentation. I
can create a recorded presentation -
turning on the microphone and
recording my script as I move from
slide to slide. For short projects, this
is the easiest option. Yes, I’ll flub the
narration and have to make several
recordings before I have one I like,
but that’s going to happen regardless
of the option you choose.
For longer presentations, you
may want to record the script for
each slide separately. Keynote,
PowerPoint and Photoshop Elements
(Windows) all offer this slide-by-
slide narration capability. Photoshop
Elements is the only app that
provides the ability to record within
the application.
Windows users have a simple
way to record their narrative clips - the Windows
Sound Recorder. You’ll find it in the Accessories
folder on the Windows Menu. Once opened, it
looks something like this example. Make sure your
microphone/headset is plugged in and configured
for your system, then try some test recordings to get
a feel for the way things work and you’re ready to
go.

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After you’ve finished a recording, the bottom window appears so you

can save it. Choose a name that will make it easy to find the recording
when you go to place it on your slide. I use the very imaginative
recording1, recording2, recording3 format myself.
Mac users have Garage Band - the all-in-one audio platform. Open
Garage Band and create a new project. The project will have one
instrument - a piano. Click the plus sign at the bottom left of the app
window and add a “Real Instrument” to your mix. Now, click on the
Record button and start your narration.
When finished, click the Play button
(triangle icon) to stop recording. If you
like the result, save it to disk using the
format and file name your prefer.
When you insert a sound media
object on a slide, you’ll see an icon
representing that object. Click once to
select the object, then use the actions
pane to set up a Build In action to play
the audio. That will insure the narration
begins as soon as the slide appears.
Once the first recording is inserted
in the slideshow, you can return to
Garage Band, delete it and record the
next one. When it’s the way you want
it, save it to disk and insert it on the
next slide. Set the Build In action, save
the presentation, then repeat again for
the next slide until your presentation is
complete.
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After all the narration is recorded and placed on your presentation,

you’ve completed the hard part of production. Congratulations! You’re
almost done. The rest of the production process is the fun part - the
special effects.

Final Touches
For all intents and purposes, the documentary is done. Think of it as a
cake that has been baked and iced. We could serve it as it is . . . or, we
can add a few embellishments. Our embellishments will be in the form of
transitions and special effects. A transition is
what happens when your documentary moves
from one scene or photo to the next. All of the
applications we’ve discussed - from Photoshop
Elements to movie editing to presentation slides -
offer several types of transitions. Experiment
with your options to see which fit the tone and
style of your documentary.
Using Photoshop Elements, the transitions are
selected by clicking on the small blue boxes
between each slide. When you select one, the
Properties area in the right sidebar offers you
options for transition type. The example shows
several of the available options. As you see, you
can set a different transition effect between each
side, but too many choices could distract from
your presentation. Having said that, transitions
can be used to help build excitement or tension
as your story moves forward. Moving from an

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unobtrusive transition to an “in your face” one immediately tells the

viewer that something important is coming. Yes, you’ll have to spend time
experimenting with the various transitions available in your application to
see how they work within your storyline, but it can add professional
impact to your finished product.
Along with transitions, special effects
also add a professional look to your
documentary. My favorite has to be the
pan and zoom effect known as the Ken
Burns effect. Presentation software
(PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) doesn’t offer
this effect but has some basic zoom effects
that offer a limited capability. The
Photoshop Elements example shown
below works in much the same way as the
iMovie effect. Notice the two boxes, one
red and one green, in each of the photos
making up the slideshow. They appear
when the Enable Pan & Zoom checkbox is
selected. The green box displays the initial
view of that photo and the red box
displays the ending view.
In this example, the beginning view is
zoomed in on the tower and the ending
view includes the entire photo. So, when
the photo first appears on the screen, start
with the tower and over the 5 seconds it
will be displayed, it will zoom out to the
entire photo.

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Notice the caption in the bottom right

corner of the photo. Because the slide will
transition as soon as the end area is
displayed, it’s probable that the caption
won’t be on-screen long enough for
anyone to read it. To deal with this
problem, add another Pan & Zoom effect
where both the beginning and ending
boxes include the entire photo. That will
extend the time the caption is visible.
The pan and zoom effect can do more
than just zoom into and out of a photo. If
your start box sits in the left half of the
photo and the end box sits in the right
half, the resulting effect will be to move
across the photo from left to right.
There are times when no effect is
necessary - like this photo of armored
personnel carriers sailing through the
flooded streets of New Orleans after
Hurricane
Katrina -
because the few seconds this photo was
displayed in a Veterans Day slideshow
gives the viewer time to take in the
magnitude of the disaster.
Once the story is complete, you’ll want
to include title slides at the beginning of
the documentary and credits at the end.
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If you’re using PowerPoint or Keynote, this is as simple as adding slides in

the appropriate format. Photoshop Elements allows you to add blank
slides anywhere in your slideshow and
then place text and graphics on them.
iMovie and Movie Maker offer several
formats for placing text right over the
photo or video.
The last special effect is sound. While
you can find and use any number of
sound effects, like rain, thunder or train
whistles, you’re probably more likely to
use music. A favorite song can add to
both the tone and the sentimental value
of your documentary, but you must
understand your legal limits when using
music. I try to use royalty-free music
wherever possible, but I will use a
specific song or track that fits my story
when I’m not posting that project
publicly. iMovie and Garage Band have
several royalty-free tracks for use in your
projects and there are sites online which
offer all kinds of music - some free. They make great background or mood
music for your piece without distracting the viewer from the photos or
narration.
Yes, there are times when a specific song is needed for emotional or
historic value, but mostly I prefer background music - especially loops
that are automatically repeated throughout the presentation. These are are

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the easiest to manage since you don’t have to organize and time your
photos to match the music, yet they support the project’s theme or mood.
When working with background music, some platforms give you more
control than others. In my Circle B Ranch project, Keynote will only let
me set a background music volume level for the entire presentation.
Movie applications allow you to adjust the volumes at any point in the
project - louder for the intro then reduced during the narration. Again, it’s
mostly a matter of experimenting until you have just what you want.

The Premier
Once you’re documentary is finished, you’ll need to determine how
you want to distribute it. You’re options include:
• play it only on your computer.
• put it on CD and send it to the people you want to see it.
• put it on DVD so it can be played on computers and televisions and
send it to the people you want to see it.
• put it online so it can be viewed via the Web.
When distributing your documentary via CD so others can watch it on
their computers, you’ll find some potential compatibility issues. If your
application will create only Windows Media Videos (WMV files), your
viewers will need Windows Media Player to view it. No problem if
everyone has Windows computers, however there’s no Windows Media
Player for Macs. Apple’s Quicktime is a free download for either Mac or
Windows computers, but not everyone wants it on their systems. Linux
folks will need to install plugins on their computers to watch either. Then
there’s Uncle Bob who doesn’t own a computer.

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One good alternative is a digital frame that will also play video.
Granted, they’re small and generally don’t have the best sound quality,
but they are portable and add a bit of punch to any family gathering. And,
since almost everybody has one these days, you could distribute your
video on either a USB drive or a small memory card. Check with family
members to see which models they have and can they play video on
them.
Many newer computers include a DVD/CD combo drive instead of
just a CD drive. If you have one, creating DVDs that can be played on
your family’s televisions is a great option. Both iDVD (Mac) and
Windows DVD Maker

Wrap Up
This instruction sheet is an updated version of a series I wrote for the
Shades of the Departed Magazine. You’ll find these articles and more in
my The Future of Memories column at Shades along with many other
fascinating and informative articles - all about the love of old
photographs.
You can also find more family history projects at my site, Moultrie
Creek Gazette. Below, in the Resources section, you’ll find links to
software, sites and other projects for inspiration.

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Resources
This page offers links to additional useful information.

Software
• Apple’s iLife - iMovie, iPhoto and Garage Band
• Apple’s iWork - Keynote, Pages and Numbers
• Windows Live - Movie Maker, Photo Gallery
• Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
• Photoshop Elements for Windows and Mac

Online Resources
Release Your Inner Ken Burns
by Denise Barrett Olson
• Shades of the Departed Magazine
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
• The Circle B Ranch documentary Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
• slideshare United States License. To view a copy of this license,
visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
• slideboom us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second
Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105,
• YouTube USA.

• Vimeo For more information regarding this publication contact

me at http://moultriecreek.us or by email at
author@moultriecreek.us.

Stop by Moultrie Creek Gazette for more family history

project ideas and take a look at some completed projects too.

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