What's YOUR Story?

Life Out Loud

Your stories, your voice, your legacy.

Your memories.

Our expertise.

Spring has FINALLY arrived, a time when we usually remind our friends and clients that a video tribute or biography makes a wonderful Mother's or Father's Day gift. In fact, a number of you have already 'seized the day' around this time of year by choosing to honor your parents this way, and we love hearing how well your gift was received.

This past month, however, served to remind all of us just how important it is that someone - either a family member or filmmakers like us - sit down with your loved ones to preserve their life story. Just weeks apart, we heard from two former clients who suddenly and unexpectedly lost close family members whose lives we had profiled a few years ago. One told us, "The interview we have of my father is my most treasured possession." Another wrote, "Thank God for the video!" We even heard that a friend of one of the family members who passed away was grateful for being asked to be interviewed for the video. He said it was "one of the highlights of any relationship I've had with anybody in my life."

None of us likes to think about losing someone we love, and we're happy to say that most of the subjects of our biographies are still alive and well and reliving their stories with their families through our videos. But as our clients so often become our friends, we are telling you - as a friend - get your family's stories on videotape!

Enjoy the warming months ahead. We hope to hear from you.

Barbara and Oliver

Curious about our process?

Need a price quote?

Want to see examples

of our work?

Answers are a click away:

www.lifeoutloud.tv

973.746.4992

Some Tips on Equipment to Use

For Interviewing Your Family

If you own a video camera - or even a good smartphone - there's no reason why you can't use it to record a loved one's life story on your own. Naturally, more expensive digital cameras such as the one we use may offer more advanced features and greater control over what the footage will ultimately look like, but it's amazing how well some of the simplest cameras will do in a pinch. Perhaps more important than your choice of camera, however, are the following:

Invest in a good microphone. More often than not, people who decide to try shooting an interview on their own forget the importance of capturing good sound. Trust us, that built-in microphone on your camera is great for recording the ambient noise around you (especially the sound of your hands on the camera and your own voice behind the camera). It's NOT so great at recording the sound of your interview subject's voice just a few feet away.

Borrow or buy a decent tripod. There's probably no better piece of equipment (other than a good microphone) that will help make your footage look more professional and keep the viewer's focus on your subject, and not on the fact that someone is being filmed.

A good lighting kit can help make your subject look their best, but is not as necessary as it used to be. Most of today's cameras need relatively little light to operate. Nevertheless, additional lighting will brighten the image, fill in harsh shadows, and help separate your subject from the background.

Again, everything we're describing here will make your interviews look and sound as polished as possible - something we work hard to achieve. But if you can't afford all the extra gear that we use, don't let that stop you from sitting down with loved ones and letting the camera roll. Even the simplest production is better than none at all when it comes to preserving your family's life stories.

In subsequent newsletters, we'll offer you more tips on how best to shoot and edit your interviews. Stay tuned!

"Being asked to say a few words about him for his videography has to be one of the highlights of any relationship I've had with anyone in my life."

Anurag C.

STAY IN TOUCH

90 Christopher St., Montclair, NJ 07042 - 973.746.4992