The Process

A film is authored,
not assembled.

Most tribute videos are made by putting photographs in order and playing music underneath them. We sit with the raw material of a life and find the story inside it. That takes time — and it takes a conversation.

About five to six weeks, once we have everything we need.

Gathering takes as long as your family needs it to — there is no clock running on that part.

At a glance

Where would you like to begin?

For someone still here to tell it — a milestone birthday, an anniversary, a retirement, or simply before it is too late.

Stage by stage

How the film is made

1

The conversation

Twenty minutes, by telephone or video. We ask who the film is about, what occasion it is for, and who else belongs in it. Nothing needs to be prepared beforehand — this call exists so that we both know whether this is the right film to make.

2

Booking

Half is paid at booking and half on delivery. The filming date and the delivery date go on the calendar together. Once that is done, the time is yours.

3

Your story, in writing

You receive a private link — no accounts, no applications, nothing to install. Behind it are a handful of gentle questions about the life we are telling. Anyone in the family can write, and anyone can add to what someone else has written. The same link is where photographs, home video, and voice recordings are uploaded.

Take your time

There is no deadline here and no minimum. Write what you remember, when you remember it — this is not a form to be finished in one sitting.

4

The pre-interview

An unhurried telephone call with the person the film is about — thirty to forty-five minutes, no camera, nothing to prepare. This is not the interview. It is how we find out which stories they light up telling, what they have been waiting for someone to ask, and what they would rather not discuss. Every question asked on filming day is written after this call.

Why this matters most

This call is included in every film, and it is the single reason our films sound like the person rather than like a questionnaire. If the film is a surprise, this conversation happens with you instead, and the same care goes into it.

5

Filming

Half a day, in a place that means something — a kitchen table, a workshop, a front porch. We arrive early, work quietly, and take breaks whenever they are wanted. There is no set to walk onto and no performance required. Most people forget the camera is there within ten minutes.

6

The edit

The longest stretch of the work, and the part you will not see. Photographs are restored and colour-corrected, sound is cleaned and balanced, music is licensed, and the story is built. This is where a collection of material becomes a film, and it is the part that cannot be rushed without showing.

7

Your review

The finished cut goes to one person — whoever the family has named as the point of contact — along with time to sit with it. You send one set of notes, gathered from whoever you would like to consult, and we make those changes. One round of revisions is included in every film.

One point of contact

A film reviewed by seven relatives in a group message never quite gets finished. Naming a single person at booking protects the film, and spares everyone a negotiation.

8

Delivery

The finished film arrives as a high-quality file you own outright, alongside a private page where it lives permanently — the film, the story, and a place for family to leave their own memories. That page never expires and never carries a renewal fee. If the film is being shown at a gathering, we prepare a screening version for the room it will play in.

Worth knowing

What makes a film richer

Every family worries they have not kept enough. Almost every family has more than they think.

Their voice

A voicemail nobody could bring themselves to delete. A camcorder tape. A recorded toast, a sermon, a message left on an answering machine years ago. A few seconds of someone speaking is worth a hundred photographs, and it is the thing families most often forget they still have.

The story everyone tells

Every family has one — the story that comes out at every holiday, that everyone can recite, that someone always tells wrong on purpose. Write it down, even if it seems too small. It is very often where the film begins.

Photographs nobody framed

The ones in the drawer, out of focus, taken by accident. Kitchens, cars, work clothes, ordinary afternoons. Portraits tell us what someone looked like; these tell us what their life felt like.

Names on the back

When you upload a photograph, tell us who is in it and roughly when it was taken. A single line is enough. It is the difference between a photograph we can place in the story and one we can only use as decoration.

Our promises

What we will and will not do

The film is made of true things

We do not simulate anyone's voice, and we do not use artificial intelligence to recreate a person who has died — not their face, not their words, not their sound. What you hear is what was actually recorded.

The page never expires

Included with every film, and never a subscription. No renewal fees, no reminder emails, no year in which it quietly disappears.

The film is yours

It arrives as a file you own outright, to copy, share, and keep however you wish. Nothing is locked behind our doors.

We will tell you early

If the material will not carry the film you are hoping for, you will hear it before you book rather than after. An honest conversation early is worth more than a disappointing film later.

Begin

It starts with a conversation.

Twenty minutes, no preparation, no obligation. Tell us a little about who the film is for and we will reach out within a day.