Posted on January 29, 2019 By Judy Tan Editor Pick 2, Purpose, Relationships

Technology has improved our lives in so many ways, from getting where we want to go to connecting with friends and family. One major improvement we’re enjoying is how technology is able to connect us to the past.

Video biographies are an up-and-coming service professional videographers are offering to families. These films are visually captivating, historically poetic and vitally important as they capture the lives of older generations to share with the younger for years to come.

Family Line Video

Family Line Video is a video biography business based in Chicago. Susan Saunders, the owner and founder, was inspired to create her business when she interviewed older students in graduate school. She fell in love with listening and capturing the stories of older generations, and understood how meaningful these stories would be to family members.

Saunders’ goal is to make it seem like her subjects are talking directly to the viewer. She calls her video biographies “family documentaries,." as she uses music, family photos, and audio files to tell the stories.

Her interviews are generally three hours long, and start with questions about childhood memories, parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. While many clients are wary at first, especially those with less socially inclined elders, Saunders almost always releases floods of memories. She takes the film from the interviews and edits it together with historical photos and important documents like birth and marriage certificates.

All Saunders’ clients share how incredibly valuable her videos are, as they preserve beautiful memories and connections for generations to come. Saunders offers four packages, ranging from $950 to $3800.

Your Life Matters Video

Your Life Matters Video is a similar service based out of San Francisco and lead by Allen Bronstein. Bronstein got into the business when he was asked to make a memorial video for a superior court judge, and he’s never looked back.

Usually 8 to 20 minutes long, his videos cost from $1500 to $2500 depending on travel and editing time. Bronstein likes to focus his videos on meaningful events in his subject’s lives, as he feels empathy is the best way to tell a story and make sure people feel like their stories are valuable. That’s why he thinks of his videos as “video heirlooms.."

From comparing childhood photos of grandparents to images of their grandchild, to telling fun stories of adventures, Bronstein’s videos are designed to make sure his subject’s and their loved ones know their stories matter.

Your Story

There are many more video biography businesses all across the country, including:

With a little research, you can easily find a video biographer to help capture your story, or an aging loved one’s story.

Would you appreciate a video biography of one of your aging loved ones? Would you consider making one of yourself for your descendants? Tell us why or why not in the comment section.

Don’t forget to check back soon for more articles.