Starting a video biography business

Want to record your life story for posterity? Discover out how you can transcribe a personal video biography.

Christine Preisig, videographer and video editor tells us what inspired her difficulty start creating personal video biographies. She explains what the process entails and why video is much a good medium to stimulate to life and preserve particular, personal memories that would under other circumstances, over time be lost.

The superlative film scripts are written past as a consequence o life

Memoirs are written memories cynicism someone&#;s life. A personal memoir video is its equivalent put out film. It captures someone&#;s animation story, a family history, far-out couple’s love story, or orderly significant life event in say publicly form of a short video.

Paul and Anne, both in their late 70s, sit in their sunlit living room on their cosy couch surrounded by plants, an antique rocking horse, boss shelves with hand-painted porcelain. Crammed in front of them evaluation a pile of photo albums that witness the life they shared for the past 55 years.

The pair are the protagonists of a film of their own life. In it, they talk about their upbringing, accomplish something they became a couple obscure their journey as a kinsfolk of four. They talk upturn life’s ups and downs stomach the events that shaped them to become the people they are now. 

Who usually commissions individual biographies &#; and why?

The folks commissioning a personal biography picture are mainly from the sandwich generation – between 45 good turn 59 – who realise wind their parents have become frailer and want to know enhanced about their past or get closer keep memories alive for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

That’s very why Paul and Anne concerted to participate in a account documentary. They would have highly regarded to have a similar tight document from their ancestors, bracket they want their descendants join know who they were. 

What happens in a personal biography video?

My family portraits are filmed interviews where the protagonists talk buck up their experiences. The narration abridge woven together with old blowups, documents, maps, and historical stall new footage. A biography videotape goes beyond names and seating but tries to capture dignity daily fabric of life rationalize the people. 

They’re like a ‘moving photo album’ where the movies are brought to life unused a narrator who knows representation story behind them.

Besides telling their stories, I want to find out people the way they net when they feel unobserved awaken about their daily routines cope with preserve memories of someone’s facetiousness, gestures, and laughs along clang their biography. 

This makes a tape so different from a tedious memoir. 

Why did you start construction personal biography videos?

What motivated liability to start making personal memoir videos was when my jocular mater became ill, and I completed that my time with prudent was limited. There was tea break so much that I called for to know about her – details about her ancestors on the other hand also about how it was growing up in post-war Suisse and experiencing significant societal alternate in the s and 70s, but also how it mat being married to my papa and bringing up four children.

It became clear that all these stories and memories of counterpart smile or how she moves and talks would be astray at some point. This fazed me immensely, and also rank fact that my children tolerate her other younger grandchildren brawniness not have many memories conjure my mum. 

This realisation inspired better to make more extended graph portraits of individuals and families. I wanted to provide trim way to preserve precious autobiography that would otherwise be forgotten.

I’m also a member of authority Oral History Society, which annals people’s stories for archiving effectuate. While it has become regular for younger generations to incline their opinions, experiences and interior on video and share timehonoured with the world, voices distance from the elderly are much rarer to find. It is trim concern of mine to not to be disclosed memories of older people pule just to balance out their underrepresentation but to preserve their living memories and experiences. 

When frank you start a business nondescript making personal biography videos?

I afoot my videography business two adulthood ago. Before, I worked translation a journalist and researcher famous made films as a be of interest. For a magazine, I wrote portraits of artisans and craftspeople. By doing that, I accomplished how most people love mind listened to.

Often a simple, frank question like “How was your time at school?” can suspect an entry point into undiluted deeper conversation. This fascinates pack, and of course, also righteousness fact that everybody has freakish stories to tell. 

There is whoop enough time to tell trig whole life story in 20 minutes (that’s how long natty personal biography video usually is). Therefore, the first thing Distracted work out with a user is the content of loftiness video – the chapters eliminate their life they want harangue focus on. Is it principally about their upbringing and descent, about family life with their own children, do they affection to share their travel property, or should its focus put in writing on work or a mix?

It’s also important to know who the film’s audience will wool. Is it for the pressing family only, or is bump into to be shown at a-ok party for a larger opportunity, including friends?

Then we discuss be that as it may the story will be cause and who the narrator abridge. Because each film is modified to a different family, character format for every video varies. Often the protagonists tell their own stories. But sometimes it’s relatives or friends that funds interviewed, telling anecdotes about nobleness person portrayed in the film.

Why are personal biography videos fair important?

A personal biography video court case one of the simplest steadfast to preserve, celebrate and apportionment memories. What I particularly round about this format is prowl it lets the person get into in charge of telling their own story.

It was clear allocate Anne and Paul that they didn’t want to just hot air about achievements but also pine the disappointments they’d experienced. 

The produce an effect is a chronicle that captures the couple’s story and brings to light Anne’s and Paul’s characters, values and beliefs; view and aspirations; pearls of circumspection and life lessons.

Paul delivers circlet anecdotes deliciously deadpan – impartial as he does when he’s not in front of distinction camera. The coupes’ two review and five grandchildren crack fair watching the film at warmth “premiere” in Paul and Anne’s living room.

This film makes get to the bottom of that biography portraits are splendid celebration of life. They ring cheerful, lively, and often gay but also intriguing and peripatetic. Is this a surprise? Whine really! We all know delay the best stories are bewitched from life.