In every attic and spare room across the country there are dozens of photo albums, 8mm movies reels, color slides and letters detailing lives lived. It is true in Burien too. What can be lost is the narrative that goes with those pictures. Thanks to Tellit Productions, not anymore.

Don Norling, retired Highline District educator, was given the gift of a session at Tellit last month. His daughter had purchased the legacy video package at the Mar Vista school auction. Brothers Bill Reid, a former DJ and David Leaming teamed up to create a lasting memento for Don's children and beyond.

More than three years and many DVD videos later the brothers have perfected the craft of how to ask the right questions from their subjects. Nothing personal, you understand, but Don did say he'd volunteered some highlights of his life even his kids did not know. Don chronicled his life in education from teacher to coach to principal, eventually running school district athletics. He talked about his early life in Ellensburg."The old barn grandpa built is still standing", he said.

That might not seem important but 50 years from now, if it is STILL standing, the grandkids can point to it and appreciate the connection. This is the essence of what Tellit does.

There is a simple technique the brothers use to build the story. They ask questions, sometimes barely audible on the tape. Mostly the account of a person's life flows naturally as if they had heard the question before and were easily transitioning from one adventure to another.

The clever editing by Dave with picture fades and video tricks is visually pleasing. His years at Fox Television are evidence of a craft well learned. The videos run 15 minutes to an hour. They require several editing hours using Final Cut Pro software. They are shown as individual DVD videos allowing a viewer to choose the segment to watch.

Tellit gets around too. They're not limited to the studio. On some occasions they feel the client is more comfortable in their own homes. There is a lighting challenge but it usually works out.

For Bill Reid, it is about the marketing. While personal histories are a valuable asset Tellit also does memory vacation video editing, event coverage videos and business marketing videos. Yes, even businesses like to tell their stories. That's Bill's job; to tell their own story.

For Don Norling it was a good experience. He's already given a copy to his son and daughter keeping one for himself. Who knows, he might come back to add to his copy with a story of wrestling bears in Alaska.