Laundry Basket Sequence

One of our documentary subjects was born in 1906, and was first thought to be dead upon birth. According to the family’s oral history, somebody put what they thought was the dead child in a laundry basket strewn with white linens. The challenge for us was where to find an old photo of a linen-lined laundry basket from 1906. Impossible, right? Still, it was absolutely essential we have that image so that the visuals matched the writing. In the end, we went to a professional basket weaver, and based on the family’s description, purchased a basket, which we used in the final product. This is an example of how meticulous we are about accuracy.

Research

Often, we have to research old photos on the internet or at public libraries to tell your story correctly. In this case, our documentary subject played with a west coast baseball team during the 1920’s. We had no pictures of our subject wearing the team uniform, so we had to dig through archival links, texts and photos to find a picture of the team during the same time period in order to illustrate what the team uniform looked like. Often, this process is difficult and very time consuming. But it is essential to proper storytelling. This is the kind of effort even the large production houses in New York and Los Angeles would either avoid, or charge large sums of money to complete because of the huge amount of time involved. We consider such dedication and persistence part of our job, to give you a quality product.

Custom Music

We work with our own Singer/Songwriter to give your project qualities that are both appropriate and unique. He is an award winning artist named David Grossman. David began writing and playing his own music at the age of 8 in San Francisco, and was recognized by several publications as a musical prodigy. He began performing at the age of 14. He has released more than a dozen Cds during his career. Among his many awards David was twice named the best Acoustic act in the Arizona Republic. His music has been used on television shows and feature presentations. He also earned the honor as Best Acoustic Act two consecutive years at the Arizona Music Awards.

Tragically, this incredible artist has suffered a series of personal tragedies and setbacks throughout his life. But those challenges have translated into heartfelt lyrics and melodies that relate to real people, with real life experiences of their own. His music is the perfect compliment to your personal documentary, and a perfect fit for what we produce. In this sequence, David’s music adds an emotional element to these home movies in a uniquely poignant and moving way. His talent as a songwriter combined with our professional experience makes your personal documentary truly heartfelt, emotionally compelling and uniquely dignified.

Editing Techniques

This seemingly routine photograph pan can take up to ten minutes to complete. While it may look like a simple camera move, it is actually created by sophisticated equipment during the editing process. It is not uncommon for us to change or fine-tune this effect 5 or 6 times to get it just right. This brief example took 50 minutes to complete. We will not settle for something that looks “acceptable”. We want it perfect every time.

Camera and Lighting

Sometimes, your project requires “out of the box” creativity. In this case, we felt the documentary needed a different approach. Anyone can scan photographs into a computer. In this case, the client gave us photos she described as enormously sentimental. So we decided to place them on a flat surface, and shoot them through one of our High Definition cameras. It took us 45 minutes to do the lighting alone. You can see from the final product how it showcased these sentimental photographs in a different and unique way. These are the touches that set us apart, and they illustrate our commitment to creativity.