Give the gift of a life’s story!
Preserve your history for future generations with a personal memoir video.
Carefully Crafted
… by award-winning documentary filmmaker Luci Westphal, a historian with decades of experience interviewing, filming, and editing.
Luci interviews the storytellers in the personal setting of their own home, creating a comfortable atmosphere.
All interviews are confidential and none of the videos will be screened publicly unless agreed to by all participants.
Unique Gift
What could be more meaningful than preserving the life history of a family member, the highlights of a career, an entire love story, or sharing life lessons with future generations.
You can purchase this service for yourself and then gift the finished video OR you can purchase the service for someone else to have their story recorded.
Gift for anniversary, birthday, or retirement.
Variety of Packages
Various video packages with budgets to meet your needs and expectations, including an audio-only alternative.
Packages are divided by topic and by scope (video length, secondary material, number of storytellers).
How It Works
Every memoir video project starts with a free consultation conversation.
Once a filming date has been set, the storyteller (you or your gift recipient) will receive a document to help prepare for the video recording. The storyteller will gather photos and other materials to be used in the video.
On the filming date, we will record the interview for 2 – 4 hours at your home. Our interviewer, Luci Westphal, will ask all the questions. Immediately after, we will scan in photos and other materials to be used in the video. Some premium packages include additional services for negatives and other archival materials.
A few weeks later, you will receive a finished personal memoir video.
What You Get
On the practical side, the storyteller will receive the finished video (or audio) with their story on a usb flash drive in a gift box. We can also help get the video uploaded to share it as a password-protected stream. Personal video players are also an option.
But the finished video is only one side of the what the storyteller gets. Just as important is the unique and rewarding experience of telling your story – to a professional interviewer who cares to hear what you have experienced and wish to tell.
If you are purchasing the Recorded Lives Personal Memoir Video service as a gift for someone else to record THEIR story, we can provide a printed or digital gift card and next-step instructions.
How Much It Costs
Variety of Packages – Price Based on Scope
We offer a variety of video production packages with different prices based on number of storytellers, amount of photos and other archival material, and request for additional research. Besides the standard full video, there’s also an audio-only option. If the recording takes place outside of the Tampa Bay / Sarasota / Lakeland area, there may be travel costs.
Variety of Packages – Price Based on Topic
Different kinds of stories have different needs, and therefore different budgets. There is the individual telling their full life story or just wanting to tell one anecdote. Another person wants to capture their professional legacy (e.g., invention, history of company, etc.). A couple tells their love story. Multiple family members share their memories about one person or a couple’s love story.
Client-Centric Approach
While we offer specific production packages already, we are open to your own ideas and can make an offering based on your specific memoir ideas.
Sample Videos
Coming soon…
Let’s work together to tell your story
Every project is a personal journey, and we are here to guide you every step of the way.