Why Video?

We live in a digital world. While print
biographies may have a homely, old-style feel to them, video provides all sorts
of new opportunities. A video bio can easily be stored on a computer, copied
and shared, emailed to someone on the other side of the world, or burned to a
DVD to give someone as a gift.

How Does a Video Bio Work?

A good video bio can be compiled from old
pictures and video footage, interviews and appropriate music. It aims to tell a
person’s or family’s story in the same way a good documentary would. No doubt
you’ve seen plenty of life stories of famous people on TV before – that’s what
a video bio is. They’ve been made for years about everyone from rock stars to
politicians – why not make one for your own family?

Getting a Professional Video Biography Made

When it comes to having a video bio made
for someone special to you, you want the quality to be top notch. Unless you
know someone who’s particularly clever with cameras and computer editing, the
fastest and most convenient option is to use a professional biography creation
service like Legacy Video. Even family members who have a bit of experience
playing around with video editing programs usually aren’t capable of producing
the kind of next-level quality that a pro service can come up with. After all,
if you’re paying tribute to someone important you want it to be the highest
quality it can possibly be.

One of the biggest upsides of using a
professional service is that they can provide you with a real pro voiceover
artist to do narration for the video. This can really add an extra level to the
video bio, which along with top-notch production values makes for a video both
you and your family can be proud of for a long time to come.

Legacy Video is a premium video biography
creation service. They provide a custom video creation option where they put
together a family history from pictures, video clips and info you provide. If
you’d rather put together a video bio yourself, Legacy also provides a set of
self-production tools that help ensure your finished product will be
first-rate. Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in each of these
production options so you can decide which will be best for the family video
project you have in mind.

The Custom Production Option

This option is perfect if you don’t know
anyone with the time or inclination to learn to use video editing tools in
order to produce a high quality video bio. Legacy’s professional team are able
to take the raw materials you provide and turn them into a TV-quality video
biography. If you want a hands-free approach with a guaranteed high quality
result, this is the way to go.

The downsides? Well, cost is obviously a
factor here. It’s relatively expensive to order a custom built video bio as
opposed to using the DIY tools offered by Legacy to make one yourself. That
said, you should also think about the value of your time that would go into
working on the project yourself, especially if you’re having to learn to use
editing tools you’re unfamiliar with. It might cost a little more to have the
video made for you, but will ultimately work out cheaper when you factor in the
value of your time.

The Self Production Tools

If you or someone in your family is already
pretty savvy when it comes to video editing, you might want to try your hand at
using the Legacy Video editing and production suite of tools. One of the big
upsides of this is that you have total creative control of the project – you
decide exactly what will be in the video, what order things will appear in and
so on. And even if you’re not all that confident with video editing, the
training tools provided are pretty comprehensive and include webinars that show
you how to go through each step and key process.

On the downside, you may not quite have the
technical skills to produce a video of the same quality as the professional
vids created by Legacy, and you have to put a lot of your own time into the
project.

HEIRLOOM
An in-depth family biographical video that is as engaging and informative as a Biography Channel documentary. Photos, home movies, researched archival materials and music are combined with the interview. Chapter introductions are created using archival and family photos.
•1 day shoot
•Interview: up to 8 hours
•Scanning up to 150 family photos edited into video.
•Original home movies and videos (some format transfer charges may apply)
•Animated chapter headings on DVD
•Photo slide show chapter to music
•Music of your choice throughout
•4 DVD’s delivered in cloth bound book cover
LEGACY
Includes light editing and a special opening montage that is created with up to 50 family photos. The DVD is designed with chapters so that specific milestones and stories can be found easily.
•1 day shoot
•Interview: up to 6 hours
•Light editing
•50 family photos in opening montage with music
•Chapter headings on DVD
•2 DVD’s delivered in cloth bound book cover
HISTORICAL RECORD
This is ideal for the family that sees the importance of videotaping the stories now, but prefers to hold off on the extras until further down the road.
•1 day shoot
•Interview: up to 6 hours
•1 DVD delivered in cloth bound book cover
Prices vary depending on customization. Please call us at 212-929-2028 for a quote.

All of our packages include one full day shoot with a producer/interviewer, professional television crew, recording on High Definition Broadcast cameras and sound equipment. Each 60 – 90 minute DVD comes packaged in our unique cloth bound cover.

Animated slide show:

We create stylized photo montages for special events like birthdays reunions, and retirement parties.

Coffee table photo book:

An elegant coffee-table book that includes photos as well as letters, comments, and artwork from family members.

Family Tree:

Hand made family tree by a professional calligrapher. A family tree can be included in the photo book if requested as well as graphically in the video.

Digital picture frame:

Purchase one of our digital frames and let us create a slide show from the photos used for the video.

Photo Retouching:

We scan, retouch and repair priceless photos using professional retouching software

Digital Uploading

We upload your videos and photos to a secure family website. Family and friends

Video biographies not only ensure that your family history will not be forgotten, they allow your children, grandchildren and all the generations to come the opportunity to hear the stories directly from the mouths of the story tellers.  With all the details and richness that can only come from the source, video biographies allow you to video tape family members as they relate their personal stories.

The advantage of video biographies over other formats is that viewers can both listen and watch the speaker as the story is told. Video biographies capture details, tone, and expression—it’s like hearing a story firsthand.

When creating a video biography, it’s critical to use high quality video and equipment. Preparing the speaker is also essential to ensure a quality presentation. Pay attention to the setting and make sure the speaker is comfortable. Develop a series of questions for the speaker to respond to and prepare the speaker by introducing topics or time periods that are particularly vivid, emotional or exciting.

Video biographies bring your family history and your ancestors to life in a way that cannot be achieved by standard recordings. They are personal, timeless, and preserve your precious history for generations to come.

We are television professionals creating meaningful and captivating
programs for television and film, Fortune 500 corporations and
non-profit organizations.

We have over 20 years experience creating customized broadcast quality
biographical videos for families and individuals.

Our best advertisement: what our satisfied clients SAY about us, and
SAMPLES of video biographies.

Family Voices Media: creative, utmost reliability, delivering excellent
quality.

Contact us for a free quote.
info@familyvoicesmedia.com / 212-929-2028

Testimonials

Dariush M

I did a preview screening with the entire family on Friday night, for my
father’s birthday, and there was not a dry eye in the house. They were
particularly grateful for all of the added footage you guys tracked
down.

Judy T.

The taping of our family biography took place almost too late. We lost
our brother just a few weeks later. Thankfully the whole family has this
documentary to remember him by.

Howard F.

My father is the last link to the Old World and our family history.
After him, the story’s gone. I wanted my kids to hear it firsthand,
directly from him.

Shirley B.

Meeting before the interview was very helpful. Your professionalism made
the whole process very easy. My whole family is thrilled!

A prominent New York Jewish family chose a modification of Family Voices Media’s popular Legacy video package. Their goal was to create a video biography that coupled previously recorded interviews with more recent and technologically updated footage. With original interviews available only on VHS, it was the task of Family Voices Media’s Legacy video team to carefully transfer the footage to a digital format. To create the video biography, it was necessary to comb through over 90 minutes of home movies, many beautiful black and white photographs, and more recent color photos as well. Each photo was individually scanned and exhaustive hours were spent with Photoshop to brighten, adjust color, contrast, and restore the images.

It was here that the real challenge began. Since all the interviews had been recorded years before the Legacy video biography project was undertaken, the material had to be edited to create a coherent presentation. Fortunately the eloquence of the subjects and the wealth of anecdotes and information they provided made the task easier. After exhaustive work, the structure of the video biography is fairly linear, beginning with the childhood of each of the parents, moving through education, army, memorable events and a message to the grandchildren. Family Voices then color corrected the original VHS video and sweetened the sound while enhancing the video with photos and movies of old Brooklyn, Port Chester, and World War II. The extremely satisfied customers will be premiering it in September at a family reunion.

The Maanavi video features quite a bit of history. The parents each had a memorable childhood; one in Germany, the other in Iran. They met in England, were married in Iran, and lived there until the fall of the Shah of Iran, when they came to the United States.

But with virtually no family photographs from their days in Iran, a great deal of research was needed to fill the gaps. A moving section about the revolution and the fall of the Shah was instrumental.

It was the gaps that led the team to determine that the video biography would not be presented linearly, but that rather a little creativity was required. The video biography therefore begins with the meeting of the parents in England, for which there was much lively discussion and anecdotes about how they met and the clash of cultures that ensued. The presence of the grandchildren on the day of filming inspired the video biography team to film them together with Mr. and Mrs. Maanavi. Moments with the grandchildren were used as a prologue along with an introduction by the son.

The video biography is enhanced by special chapters including an original poem in Farsi recited by Mr. Maanavi, politics and religion, a slideshow of all their photos and a chapter simply called Stories, which features several stories that have become part of family lore.

Family Voices Media produces engaging, high quality videos that preserve your family history. Please contact us at 212-929-5634 info@familyvoicesmedia.com.