Living Legacy Videos FAQ

40 years of photographing and videographing people have taught me to approach each session with a calming spirit. Lifestories are not scripted, they're simply a natural conversation that flows smoothly. The first couple of minutes of any video of course feels a bit awkward because after all, it's not every day that we have professional grade camera gear in front of us. Once the client sees and feels what we're doing, they relax. At the end of each video, it's very common for the person being filmed to say thank you to the camera. 

The process is as private or as public as you would like it to be. The final videos are your property, period, and we put that in writing. We will never use any segment of your session without clear permission from you. 

We like to arrange our sessions with buffer, in case the conversation takes on a life of its own. This is a precious moment in their life that we don't want to cut short. 

That varies, but our typical turn around time is less than four weeks. Keep in mind that when editing, we cannot do it in "fast forward". Multiple views and edits are needed in order to calibrate the audio and lighting, and to perform all of the necessary cuts and edits.

Dress to be comfortable, as though you were going out to a nice dinner restaurant. If you were in the military and plan to share that experience, consider wearing something accordingly. 

Feel free to wear what you would normally wear. We recommend face powder to reduce lighting glare.

We travel but nominal travel fees are needed, respective of your location. Alternatively, we may be able to locate a professional videographer near you that we can instruct. In that case, we would be "present" via Zoom so that we can ensure the flow is working per our standard. Alternatively though, you may want to consider a Zoom recording as well.

That's no problem at all. We'll bring our lights and gear to you for a nominal fee.

Studies show that having stories told to them helps them remember them for longer. One idea could be to have the spouse, or the children gather around and tell stories on your parent's behalf. You may want to exclude your parent from the filming and gift the video to them afterwards. 

We hear that a lot. You've no doubt seen documentary presentations on TV for some of our great ancestors, and we could talk about doing something similar for you. If one of your parents is widowed, then it may be a beautiful heirloom gift for the spouse, siblings, children, and friends to participate in a "story telling film" at which point it could be gifted to your surviving parent. 

We would love to talk with you. We have checked national competitors and our rates are substantially lower. Every session is treated like a once-in-a-lifetime event, unique to you. We would love to offer a bundle package that fits your needs and budget. 

After our conversation and agreement for the right filming session, this is generally what happens. 

1. If you opted to have a family member lead the conversation, we'll send our conversation guide to them. We'll follow up with coaching so that they are comfortable in changing it as needed, as well as guiding the conversation in-the-moment during filming.

2. On the day of filming, we'll again provide some gentle coaching to help everyone. During the actual filming, we may offer tips along the way as well.

3. Afterward, we will professionally edit all of the video footage and potentially your photos and videos seamlessly too. 

4. A link to a secure digital file will be sent, and feedback requested. After changes are made, a final link is sent and/or access to the digital files for your own safekeeping. 

We can and often do add a very short musical sequence to the very first title, credits, and any possible chapter titles. We are required to use royalty-free music.

We can film a person/family speaking in their native tongue, no problem. However, we require that the family representative we work with speak English, and participate in the film drafts process.

Yes indeed. Examples of other relics include trophies, plaques, certificates, medals, jewelry, pretty much anything. Ship to us for professional photography, or send us your own photos we can merge directly into your Legacy film.

Our mission is to help families tell as many life stories as possible. We have researched market competitors and their prices are generally twice our rate - and in one case as much as $28,000. We think that's silly. In fact, we often gift legacy videos to families who cannot afford it at all. We also know that every customer is different and might need only a minimal set of services, or might have several family members, vintage photos, and want three or even four hours of legacy videos. 

Ha! You won't find that because our services are specialized and unique to you. Similar in a way to a wedding, it takes careful conversation, options, recommendations, and ultimately key decisions that lead to our agreements together. Sometimes, that flow is very straight forward and fast, and other times it takes a while to work through. It really is up to you and your needs.

Yes there is. If you use another service and the contract is absent, you should be wary. The contract states that you own all of the rights to the videos. If OurLegacyArchives.com would like to use a very short segment for our web page or social media, we would ask for your permission before doing so. We absolutely honor and respect your privacy, and none of your personal data is ever sold to third parties.