The Memory Vault is a way of capturing your life, or the lives of your parents or grandparents on film.  But The Memory Vault is so much more than a simple film.  It would be easy to just stand in front of a camera and talk about your life, but how would that capture the real essence of a life? How could this be sufficiently interesting for your family to want such a video? When would you actually get around to making such a video? The Memory Vault is a seven-stage process for capturing the things about your life that are special to you and, more importantly, special to your family.  There are so many things that happen in your life, your parents’ lives and your grandparents’, that we forget about and are lost for the generation to come.  And sometimes, it’s only when they are captured that you realise how truly important they are.

There are many ways to capture your memories.  You can write a book, talk into the video camera at home or simply talk to your family.  All of these may work, but nothing protects your memories, experiences and life like a professionally produced film of your life.  With a film it is not just your experiences that are captured, but so are you! Have you ever wondered why Michael Parkinson was so successful? It’s because he had the ability to have people talk about their life in a way that made you interested and wanting to hear more.  This is what a film does for you and your family.  It lets people see you, and hear you talking about things that really matter.  As the years go by, these things become more and more valuable to your family.

 The Pre-Production Meeting

The pre-production meeting will take place at your home at a time to suit you. We are aware of the many commitments on your time and so are happy to schedule the meeting for an evening or a weekend if this is better for you.

The meeting will usually be with one of our producers; they are very experienced in making documentaries, which is an invaluable skill when making a film about your life.

The pre-production meeting will be a chance for you to think about your life, your history, the history of your family in such a way to discover what are the important and pivotal points in your life, and in that of your parents.

At the meeting, the producer will talk through your life and help you to recall important moments that will be interesting for those who will be watching the film.

Often the producer will ask to be shown photographs from your life, and of your family, to form a perspective on your life and family so as to think about how best diff erent events can be shown and discussed in the film. The film will not be linear and the events of your life will probably not be shown in a chronological order, and so a real understanding of what’s important to you and what would be important to your family in future years is vital.

You will find this whole meeting a real pleasure. Clients have said in the past how interesting they have found this simple process of talking with a trained interviewer about their life. It really does help to bring out the quality of your life. So often you will be amazed at how some things that you do not think are important, mean a great deal to your family, and it’s in this meeting that you will start to get a sense of this.

The meeting will last anywhere from two to four hours, depending on you. The producer will never outstay a welcome, but will stay as long as you need to feel that you have got the most from the meeting.

 The Production Prep

The producer will have taken reams of notes from the pre-production meeting, and it will be their job to break this information down into an outline of your film.

As we have said, to make the film interesting for your family and friends, as well as the generations to come, rarely will it be in a simple chronological order. It takes a skilled professional to boil down the hours of conversation to a series of focal points from your life, on which a running order can be written.

The running order for the film will be based around important events from your life and that of your family.

Like any film, it needs to be crafted to keep the viewer interested, not just because they are family, but because the film itself has an effective structure.

The production prep will help to start to identify what additional filming may be needed to bring your story to life. This will allow the later location shoots to be prepared and scheduled. The running order will also help to identify who you may want to invite to the filming so that their comments can be included in the film.

Once the running order is produced it will be sent to you for your comments. This will give you time to think about the contents before filming, but mostly so that you can ensure that everything that is important to you is included. We will ask you to return a copy of the running order with your views so that it can be amended ready for shooting.

We know that you will not be experienced in documentary making, and so the producer will be on hand to talk you through the running order and why it is constructed in a particular way.

 The Studio Session

The studio session will take place either in your home or in our studio. Most clients prefer filming to take place at home as this is more convenient for them. You will agree a date for shooting which fits into your schedule.

We want the filming process to be something that you enjoy and so want it to fit around your life, not be an interruption of it.

If we are filming in your home the film crew will treat your home with the respect it deserves. They will be bringing with them a great deal of equipment and will make sure that it does not upset your home in any way.

When they leave, everything will be exactly as it was when they arrived.

As the film crew set up, the producer will introduce you to the interviewer. Our interviewers are all professional film and production interviewers. He or she will talk you through the running order again and will tell you how the filming process works. This way, you know what will happen every step of the way.

The interviewer will discuss the questions that will be asked, and what answers you might like to give. This will give you time to think clearly about what you may like to say. That said, your interviewer will be skilled at question and event linking, so that your answers will flow freely in a natural way. It’s this skilled questioning that will make a real difference to the finished film.

Most shoots take four to six hours, depending on what needs to be filmed. If you have other members of your family that you want involved, then it is a good idea for them to be present towards the end or beginning of the filming so that they can be filmed with their anecdotes.

While the crew do their technical thing, the production assistant will go through pictures, film or video that you may have that should be included in the film. These will be noted and receipts given to you for each so that you can keep a record of what may be taken away for inclusion in the film. These will then be returned to you after the initial edit.

 The Initial Edit

After the studio session there will be upwards of four to five hours of film to be reviewed and edited. This is where our production team take over.

The purpose of the initial edit is to review the content of the film to judge how it will best fit into the film. Very often some questions may have been asked by the interviewer in several different ways, at different times, to get contrasting perspectives to your answers.

These need to be edited into a cohesive answer that fits well into the whole film. This process can take several days as all of the film must be viewed and then aligned into the running order. From this the editing process will begin to reduce the footage into the most appropriate shots from the multiple camera angles to give the film a sense of pacing and space.

During the initial edit the producer will start to insert into the film some of the photos, film or video that you may have. This again helps to give the film a sense of pace. It will also allow the producer to establish if more content is needed or, indeed, if re-enactments may be required to bring a story to life.

All of this takes place behind the scenes over the two weeks or so after shooting.

 Location Shoots

Early in the process the producer will have established with you if any location shoots will be required. Very often it may be a good idea to film a family member or friend who can’t get to the studio session, or a shot of a previous home or workplace may enhance one of the stories that you told during filming. The producer and a cameraman will then arrange to visit the location and film where required.

Most location shoots can be catered for in the set fixed fee pricing for the Memory Vault.

However, if the location shoot will include significant travel and time there may be an additional charge for this. The producer will always discuss this with you prior to scheduling the location shoot to make sure you are totally happy with both the planned shoot and the cost. You will never get an invoice out of the blue.

 The Rough Cut

Once the location shoots have taken place these will be assembled and edited down to fit into spaces left in the initial edit. With these included the rough cut can be compiled.

The rough cut is your film about 80% completed. Its purpose is to ensure that all the stories and anecdotes from your life are in the right place, and that nothing important is left out. It also allows for both timing and pacing to be set into the film.

At this stage the rough cut will have little or no music added, and colour and sound balancing will not be completed. This means that when you watch, some parts may seem a little disjointed or pictures may fl icker and sound quality may vary. This is very normal at this stage, and the rough cut is a working copy that can easily be amended and changed.

A copy of the rough cut will be given to you to review. We will ask you for your comments and thoughts. It will allow you to make sure that the final product is perfect in every way.

 The Final Cut

When you pass the rough cut back to us we will use your comments to re-cut the film where appropriate and make any amendments that you want. Once these amendments are made, there will be the final insertions into the film, prior to adding the music.

The final work consists of the sound and colour balancing. This makes sure that the whole film has a look and feel of quality which you just can’t achieve without professional help. The last step is to have the DVD menus made and package design completed.

Finally, the finished film is presented to you on DVD. You will receive a copy as well as copies for your family. All that remains is for you to share your life through the DVD and see the difference it makes to everyone in your family.