Skip to content

Legacy Film Focus On House

Lovely Couple Documents Memories:

Legacy Film Focus On House

The Nitty Gritty

Project Details

Ellen And Richard were preparing to move out of their house in which they had lived for more than 45 years! Their kids are all grown up and they felt like it was time to downsize to a more manageable house at their age. So they bought another house and sold their existing one. But before moving, they wanted a way to tell their stories.

They had a lot of family history in that house. After all, they, too, did much growing up there as a young, married couple. And then they had kids. And now they have grand kids. I told them that my in-laws had a similar experience, in that they were sad to have to downsize. My idea for them was to do a Legacy Film and focus on the house.

Their job was simple: they were to think of family stories and events that took place in the house, and to keep them short – about 2-3 minutes each. It’s good to have a range of stories from funny, to endearing, to ones about lessons the kids learned growing up, etc.

The day of the shoot I decided to use a special filter that softens the image and makes the light bloom out slightly. In a cinematographer’s language, I wanted to have warm, inviting colors with natural skin tones. I tried to give the impression of being at a loving home with a loving, nurturing, welcoming couple. So, I included shots like the one to the left, with Ellen looking up at the bookshelf. Here, she was remembering. It was a poignant moment that I documented and included in the film. I send my thanks to Elisif Brandon, the assistant director for this shoot. I’d also like to thank Ellen and Richard for their wonderful family stories!

“The whole piece is beautifully shot and edited! I’m so glad you added those extra parts – I think they add more color to the story of our life in the house. You integrated them at just the right point. We are so happy to have this record of our lives in the house that we, our children and our grandchildren can enjoy.”

ELLEN GLANZ

SKILLS OR SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT USED

Values add up to 100%

MANAGEMENT – COMMUNICATIONS WITH CLIENTS
15
SONY S-LOG CAMERA WITH SPECIAL LENS FILTER
20
CREATIVE EYE FOR INTERESTING SHOTS
35
EDITING/COLOR GRADING
30
VIDEO SCREENSHOTS: FROZEN IN TIME

Project Gallery

Legacy Film Focus On House

Here are some of my favorite shots. I like how the lens filter made the sunlight coming into the house pop, while still being able to clearly see their facial expressions. In some cases, I captured video of interesting knick-knacks around the house, like Richard’s antique birdcage collection, some figurines, and Italian artwork. Focusing their family stories to within their home made this shoot very efficient and much easier to plan. Special thanks goes to Elisif Brandon, who was there as the assistant director. Elisif made things much easier as I could focus on the technical aspects of video while she drew Ellen’s and Richard’s focus to telling stories.

Want to do a family biography on film?