Why would a person want a personal documentary film?

Have you ever examined faded photos of a great grandparent and wondered who they were?

What their voice sounded like?

What stories they would have told, now lost to time?

Today, despite all of our computers, and A.I., and social media, it can sometimes feel as if we might still be in the same position. Certainly, we have many, many more pictures, videos, and messages. And there are plenty of services to translate all of it into custom photo albums or write it into a book of family “memoirs” or save it ‘to the Cloud’ forever.

But does any of that solve the problem? After all, printed words can’t really show the smiling face that wrote them. Pictures and videos can reveal a voice - but only for a moment.

Does any of it really capture the full essence of who we are?

There’s a reason documentary film is an art form unto itself. Depending on the scope of the project you decide to embark on we may only talk for a few hours, or we may spend multiple days filming together. Then I and my team will sift through that footage, find the essence of the story that you want to tell, and transform it into its best cinematic version.

Is it the only way to tell your story? Of course not. But, and I maybe biased here, there’s a reason why documentary is a cherished art form - few other mediums can so fully capture the entirety of who a person is.

We can’t go back in time and do that for those who came before, but we can capture our stories now for those who come after us.

How expensive will this be?

Please see our current “Rate Card,” but for the most accurate figure we’ll need to schedule a meeting.

How long will this take?

The actual “on camera” filming time for each day of production will typically last two to three hours, with roughly an hour and half before and after for set up and clean up.

Thus, if we’re filming at your home we typically ask clients to reserve a six-hour window of time. If you would prefer to film in a studio setting (please note: this will incur an additional cost) then you would only need to be present for the roughly two hours of actual filming.

Each film is different but we plan that for every day of filming, depending on the complexity of the story and the amount of photographs and video to be added in, there will be roughly 20-30 hours of processing and edit time required.

Once the edit is complete, we’ll send it to you for review. Depending on how quickly you can get notes back to us we can then finalize the film and deliver you the final version.

Thus, for a Tier 1 film, the entire process can typically be completed within about two weeks. Our more complex Tiers of service, by necessity, take longer. In all such cases we will provide a detailed timeline and rush delivery is always available.

My family photos are one-of-a-kind, do you have to scan them?

In order to include photos and home movies in your film, they must be digitally scanned at our offices. That does mean that we will have to take them out of your home; however, our system for handling delicate archival is unique and, we think, best in the business.

First, no photo, film, videotape, or hard drive will ever be shipped through the mail by us and we would suggest that you hesitate to engage any company that asks you to do so. We have had too many valuable items lost over the years to ever fully trust any shipping service or the USPS. No offense to them, they’re great for Christmas cards, but not for transporting irreplaceable heirloom photographs.

Instead, all our digital scanning is done locally at our offices, by our own staff. When we collect your photographs you will be given a receipt for each item so you can be sure each item is returned when we are done.

In the rare instance that you would like a higher quality scan than we can provide (for example for 8mm home movies) we will first scan the material ourselves as a “safety” before consulting with you about the best facility to conduct a professional conversion. Thus, in the unlikely event the original is lost we still have a high quality copy.

We consider family photos to be priceless. This is why we take the precautions we take.

Who owns the rights to my film?

You retain all rights to your footage and the underlying life story. You are thus free to sell, re-use, and post it as you see fit once the final version of the film is delivered to you.

Will my film be shown on TV?

 At the moment, Legacy Film Group is not developing any projects for broadcast television that will feature these interviews. While opportunities do exist in the online and streaming space, particularly for our Tier III projects, client privacy is our highest concern which means that your footage will NEVER be shared and will NEVER be posted on social media, YouTube, etc except in the unique situations where you have provided your express written permission.

However, we fully encourage you to distribute your film yourself as you see fit and we place no restrictions on your use.