Saturday, January 16, 2010

Who Hires Video Biography Makers?

Interesting mention of the term "video biography" in the Wall Street Journal recently.

The article is titled Three Best Ways to Win a New Client and includes this:
First, you must identify your ideal customer. "Do you know your target?" says Tom Patty, a volunteer small-business counselor for the Orange County, Calif., chapter of SCORE. "What do they do? What do they value?" Mr. Patty, a retired advertising executive, says he worked with a video biography company that attracted more business by simply shifting its focus to younger customers—baby boomers rather than seniors.

This is something I have noticed in the people who inquire about our services. They, so far, have never been the people who will be the subjects of the piece. They are their children or grandchildren.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Your Life Story Video Is Not For You

The biggest challenge in marketing our video biography service may be convincing people to have something produced that won't have its greatest value until after its subjects have passed away.

Your life story video is not for you. It is for the people who come after you, some of whom you have not met and maybe never will. In fact, most people who contact us are interested in producing a personal documentary about their parents or grandparents.

Even then some people struggle to grasp the importance of preserving their loved ones’ life stories. That is understandable. In this instant gratification world it is hard to think about something that will mean the most to you 20, 30 or 50 years later.

Yet if people will spend thousands of dollars on a casket that gets buried with them and is never seen again, there is a compelling argument for making a similar investment in something that people will treasure because it can bring their loved one's faces, voices and stories back to them whenever they want to see them — forever.

A life story video also serves as a key part of a family history. With a video biography, stories of one generation are passed down to descendants in its own words.

Daily lives are hectic and it can be hard to see past the end of the week let alone look years into the future. If you have the forward thinking to do so, you'll see that one of the greatest gifts you can leave future generations of your family is the story of your life, told with your voice.

We can help. Professional interviewing, script writing and editing will make it easy for you. Visit our site Personal-Documentary.com to watch examples of our work and then contact us to learn more about the process.