Many people only realise after a parent or grandparent has gone how little they knew about that person's early life: where they grew up, how they came to the city, how they got through the hardest years. A family documentary does something simple. While there is still time, it asks the elder to tell those stories, then fills in the pictures with old photos and home video. It doesn't need broadcast standards. It needs time, patience and someone willing to sort through everything properly.
What a family documentary looks like
- One person's life: a grandparent's or parent's story from childhood to today. The most common kind, and the easiest to start.
- A whole family: three generations, how a family business began, moves, separations and reunions.
- A single subject: the story of an old shop, a piece of farmland, a family house.
There is no standard length. A full version for the family to watch together can run twenty to forty minutes; a highlights version for a banquet or reunion works best at under five.
The interview is the backbone
The heart of a family documentary is the elder's own words. Record over several sessions, one topic at a time; it is less tiring, and details come back more easily. Some questions that tend to get people talking:
- What was the place you grew up in like? How many of you were there?
- What was your first job? What did you buy with your first pay?
- How did you meet your husband or wife?
- When was the hardest time in your life, and how did you get through it?
- What are you proudest of?
- What would you like to say to your grandchildren?
Recording is simple: a phone or camera on a tripod in landscape, the elder sitting facing a window, the television off and the air conditioning not blowing at the microphone. The person asking sits just beside the lens, so the elder talks to a person rather than to the camera. For sound, see recording clear audio without a microphone.
Sorting old photos and video
- Collect: albums, tapes, discs and phone photos, and ask brothers, sisters and relatives what they have.
- Digitise: scan photos, or photograph them from directly above in daylight; have tapes and discs converted to digital files.
- Label years and people: notes on the back of photos and what the elder remembers go into the file names or a list. Without this, the editor can't know who is who.
- Restore the important ones: yellowed, torn or faded photos can be restored; for an assessment, use our repair site. Old footage can be assessed too; see old video restoration.
What happens in the edit
- Sections arranged by time or theme, each opening with a line from the elder.
- When a place or person is mentioned, the picture cuts to the matching photo, with slow camera movement; see turning photos into a video that doesn't look like a slideshow.
- Subtitles for passages in Taiwanese or Hakka, with wording checked by the family.
- Cards with years and places, so the younger generation can follow the order of events.
- Light music that never talks over the speaker.
Think carefully before using AI to animate faces in old photos. AI can change how a person looks, and the family may feel it no longer resembles them; see turning photos into video.
Before sending it to us
Put the interviews, photos and old video in one cloud folder, with a short outline: the elder's name, the main stages of their life, the stories that must be included and where the film will be shown. For uploading, see how to send large video files. Other kinds of private commission are listed under private commissioned videos.
Frequently asked questions
What if the elder isn't much of a talker or is shy of the camera?
Skip the formal interview and leave a phone recording during ordinary conversation. Talking with family, or looking through old photos together, often brings out the most.
There is a lot of material. Should all of it go to the editor?
It helps to send everything and mark what must be included. More material means more sorting time, which is reflected in the assessment.
Can it be made in stages?
Yes. Making a highlights version first and a full version later, once more interviews or photos are in, is a practical approach.
