Immortality at Last! Professionally Produced Family Documentaries Come of Age

Immortality at last! The professionally produced family documentary comes of age.

Commissioning a set of formal portraits in sombrely framed oils was once the fashionable way for well-to-do families to leave images of themselves for posterity. But today’s cash-rich, time-poor masters of the universe have found a new and creative way to preserve their family history.

Welcome to the age of the professionally produced family documentary, where budgets almost rival broadcast TV productions. Well-heeled City slickers, corporate bigwigs, lawyers, doctors and the like are spending as much as 60,000 dollars on having experienced TV crews shoot biographical documentaries about their own family, for private viewing.

These productions are being made by one of the leading production company’s in the field, “Times of your Life Media” and put together with all the skill, resources and production values of professionally produced documentary television. Crews are sent worldwide to do location shoots that many independent TV companies simply couldn’t afford. Hundreds of hours are sometimes spent assembling historical sequences from old family films, videos and collections of photographs.

And many TV professionals, depressed by the onslaught of reality and tabloid celebrity television that relies on the exploitation of cheap and plentiful media graduates, are actively choosing to make movies for private individuals because they see them as one of the last refuges of serious, story-telling documentary film-making.

Styling itself as a “Family Media Company”, a two-year-old film company, “Times of Your Life Media”, located in the Washington DC suburb of Reston Virginia is the brand leader in this emerging sector of the television documentary industry. With a turnover of close to a million dollars last year, and a staff of 14 editors, camera people and directors, “Times of your Life Media has all the amenities and buzz of a fully fledged TV production house, even though none of its work will ever be seen on television.

Yet while TV professionals increasingly complain about broadcasters caring little about documentary quality, people commissioning private family films seem genuinely appreciative of their work.

“Even somebody who was not a family member wouldn’t be bored watching the film we had made about my grand father,’ says Tommy Link, a Fort Lauderdale business owner, dispelling in a sentence, perhaps, most people’s visceral fear of being subjected to friends home movies and videos.

Links 45-minute film cost around 22,000 dollars and required a Times of Your Life crew to travel to New York City and Chicago. The film was helped by its subject matter “Thomas Link who has led a life more fruitful as documentary fodder than most of us enjoy. He was a business man and inventor who designed and built the Link Trainer which was used to train aviators during the Second World War.

But now Link and his wife, Clarise, who also works for a government agency, are having a second movie made, at a cost of around 5,000 dollars currently in post-production, about their children. The director came for a whole day and was very comfortable with the kids, says Link. “He was really in tune with families just like us. It’s not intrusive, as if you’ve let someone into a very intimate part of your life.”

“He went with the children from one of their activities to the next” a Saturday afternoon soccer game, dressing up as pirates and charging through the kitchen and so on. He fitted into their routine of being noisy and childlike and spoke with them while capturing the moments on high definition cameras. He’d ask things like, ‘Who’s your best friend?’, ‘What’s your favorite food?’ What’s it like being at school?’, ‘What’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done?’ It was really a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed the entire shoot.

Heather and David Thomas both working professionals in Fairfax Virginia have had a Times of Your Life Media production made costing around 25,000 dollars made.

One was about Thomas’s family, and was shot as a 50th birthday present for him over six days on location in and around Northern Virginia. ‘Within three weeks, the guys put together a movie of his life. “It was amazing”, says Thomas. “It was especially great because following the filming one of our great aunts who was featured in the production passed away. “It was a fantastic experience for my family to have this production with my father. It meant so much to us to capture him as he was, and I really couldn’t put a price on the results. My parents are now busy showing the movie to all their friends and they’re really not a home movies type of crowd.”

Shooting family documentary footage is only a part of the new personal family documentary business. Most of what “Times of your Life Media” does is painstakingly constructing watchable productions from dusty boxes shoe full of random home videos, ancient reels of film home movies and thousands of unsorted family photos.

Robert Clay, say’s that he dumped, 20 years worth of photos and video on the Times of your Life’s doorstep. The material, which included over100 hours of video and some 12,000 still photos of his children, filled a van that arrived to pick it up from the family home near Warrenton Virginia.

Six months and 45,000 dollars later, the Thomas family movie is nearing completion. So far it spans six DVDs of 50 minutes each. “The first two DVDs have been delivered and the children are glued to them,” says Clay. “They just keep watching them again and again, beginning to end, and then putting on the next one. The editor did a great job of selecting the best material. We would never, ever, have looked at the original material. Even for those of us in it, it wasn’t really watchable before, and it was completely un-catalogued.

It does cost a lot of money, but when people see the finished product; they realize just how much you’re getting for that. If I could put a dollar into this and a dollar into my pension, I’m pretty sure this is better value. The Clays are planning to keep on filming and snapping and to go back to Times of your Life every few years to update their production.

I gave Times of Your Life my family beach vacation videos spanning 15 years. It was a huge collection of photos, videos of various formats and super 8 film after six weeks, I received a superbly edited 60-minute montage of film and contemporary music that has been shown even to non-family members, who if they were bored by it were polite enough not to say so. Some even went as far as to say that the production was genuinely interesting and evocative.

What was remarkable about their work was how the editor, Joey Thomas, somehow made sense of all the fuzzy relatives and toddling infants and got the archive into a sensible chronological order. “Its detective work,” explains Thomas, the 46 year old owner of Times of Your Life Media. “With the videos and film, there were no labeling clues as to what was what and it wasn’t in any particular order. So what you’re looking for are visual clues. The only narrative you have with this kind of montage work is the chronology. You’re working out which holiday was which, which Christmas, even counting the candles on birthday cakes.”

For Thomas, family movies are the future for his film-making career. Tommy Link, a film- school graduate, has a hard news cameraman background in Washington DC, but says: “I find this work really stimulating. It’s actually film-making at its most personal and emotional. We get stories from the people that lived them, and there’s nothing more fascinating to me than that.”

Thomas explains that the company’s success is based on a demographic change in middle-class society. ‘I started this because I had kids in my forties, and I realized that by the time my kids were in their twenties my dad would probably not be with us any more and they’d never get to know each other. I wanted something that my son, when he’s in his thirties, would have to realize what a great guy his grandfather was. And then I also wanted something for my dad to have, so he could know how cool his grandchildren are. Also, my family is really spread out and getting people together has just become impossible. I was aware that while I had these strong family ties, there was little chance that my three kids would spend much time with their cousins or get to know one another.

Thomas goes on to explain: “A good percentage of our customers are in a similar boat in that their parents or sister or brother are in California or over seas and they never really see each other. When I was a kid, my great fear was family reunions, because I didn’t know who anybody was. But when my kids meet their family in Miami, they know them all from watching the DVD.’

That’s all very well, but isn’t it all a bit, well, un-American, to spend large sums of money on vanity video productions?

“I certainly needed convincing that it wasn’t going to be something incredibly tacky that only rich investment bankers would do,” says Tom Link. “But you could see from looking at the films they’d done of other families that they really capture the essence of the families and the children. And with us, they got it right.”

“My friends were perfectly comfortable with the idea, but I have to say I mentioned it with embarrassment because they were initially like me. But then my friends came round to the idea that it could be a nice way of capturing the family in a way that most of us are pretty incompetent at. You know, all those terrible home-video soundtracks you get with the kids saying, “Mummy can I stop doing this yet?”

‘But now my friends have realized that this isn’t something brash or showy. Quite a few of them are now considering doing the same.’

www.timesofyourlifemedia.com. Montage documentaries of archive material typically cost between 2,000 dollars and 5,000 dollars. Full biographical films cost from 5,000 dollars to 80,000 dollars and up, depending on the breath and scope of the project.

Finding Vacation Rentals in North Lake Tahoe

The main difference between North and South Lake Tahoe is that
most people who live on the lake year around tend to own houses
on the northern end. Here you’ll find housing developments of
the highest quality, serene resorts, campgrounds, beautiful
beaches as well as shopping and dining as good if not superior
to the choices in the busier, more crowded southern end of the
lake. North Lake Tahoe vacation rentals tend to favor the more
family-oriented traveler, seeking peace and serenity. Because
there are more permanent living facilities on the north shores,
there are more houses and condos available for rent to tourists
than there are on the southern shores. Furthermore, the resorts
dotted throughout the area are, for the most part, more of the
smaller, boutique resorts rather than the larger, bustling
hotels. Because the northern shores are in California there is
no gambling there. This major difference accounts for the total
difference in ambiance between the two locations around the
lake.

There are concerts, art shows, dance recitals and other local
gatherings on the north shore that are more typical of a small
town while the south end is more typical of a Las Vegas
atmosphere. In Lake Tahoe you’ll find more emphasis on skiing in
the winter and mountain play all year round. You can take the
Heavenly Gondola Tram into the mountains and hike to your hearts
content. Then cool off with a relaxing swim in the lake. In the
summer the Renaissance Fair holds its annual merrymaking in the
hills around the north shore.

North Lake Tahoe is well known for its community living. Resort
condominiums are springing up all over the area. They feature
many of the same luxuries found in the major hotels with maid
service, beautiful pools, lakeside cabanas and recreation
rentals, with one exception – you’re an owner not a tourist.
True, you can rent out your condominium to tourists as a source
of extra income. Or you can just buy it and keep it to enjoy for
the rest of your life. In North Lake Tahoe you get the best of
both worlds – the peaceful serenity of the mountains and the
lake situated minutes away from the glamorous nightlife at the
south shore casinos

Find More Northern California Family Vacation Articles

What To Expect When Visiting Mendocino County

Situated on the spectacular Redwood Coast of California, approximately 200 miles north of San Francisco, Humboldt County is very proud of its wonderful experiences and attractions for any curious traveler. However, its greatest claim to fame is that it is the true home of the ever popular California Coastal Redwoods. Moreover, Humboldt County is a proud home of the world’s tallest trees, the estate of original old-growth redwoods, and the best and largest redwood parks including Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Redwood National Park, and Drive Thru Trees, as well as the most scenic and accessible groves, trails, and driving tours.
Combined with more than 100 miles of outstandingly beautiful Californian coastline, with everything from sandy beaches to rocky tide pools and rugged cliffs, Humboldt County redwood forests provide great outdoor playground that is certainly second to none. Nature is the very first reason why travelers choose to visit Humboldt. Whether you are in Humboldt for a gentle stroll along the towering redwoods, a backcountry tour by motorcycle or car, or a challenging and adventurous mountain trail, you will find an unspoiled yet wild slice of California. If you are into wildlife viewing and bird watching, sailing, rafting, kayaking or other water sports, cycle touring or mountain biking, backpacking, bouldering or other extreme sports, or just beachcombing and kicking back on the shore, Humboldt County offers the most untouched and scenic place in California to do these activities.
You don’t have to be a mountaineer to appreciate the beauty of Humboldt County. Its natural wonders are only a few minutes away from cities and small towns that provide a full range of dining, lodging, shopping, as well as other attractions for any traveler to experience.
Eureka is the largest city in Humboldt County with the most amenities for travelers, a vibrant art scene, lots of places to see and lots of things to do. It certainly makes an ideal home base for a Humboldt County vacation. Arcata, the college town in the northern part of Eureka offers any travelers with unique attractions such as the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary. Other popular towns for travelers include Trinidad, Orick, Victorian Village of Ferndale, and Shelter Cove.
Moving away from its coast, the Avenue of the Giants and Garberville are the gateways to the Southern Humboldt. In the eastern part is the Willow Creek, the doorstep of the Six Rivers National Forest, which is very popular for rafting, fishing, and Bigfoot.
Humboldt County is a nature-oriented, rural destination with lots of coasts, forests, and countryside between many small towns. If you decide to stay in any of the towns given above, you can certainly make day trips to beaches, redwood parks, and other public lands. You can also enjoy other activities from art appreciation to wine tasting to local events to heritage touring.

That is low in cost?

Hotel with a pool, taking it easy. But I want to take my girlfriend and on a tight budget..

What are some ideas?
Okay dude.. I know all the cities names!! That didn’t help!

Avenue of the Giant

The Redwood Forest – Avenue of the Giant is a great destination vacation. This first-class world-famous spectacular scenic drive is just a 31-mile portion of the old Highway 101, which is parallel to the Freeway 101 with 51,222 acres of thick redwood groves. The Redwood Forest is by far the most exceptional display of giant trees in the 500-mile forest redwood belt and may be accessed through convenient transportation services provided on the way. The Avenue of the Giant is situated around the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the home of the largest remaining stand of untouched virgin redwoods in the whole world. Take time to camp, picnic, swim, hike, raft, fish, or ride a bike in the cool and fresh hush of the ancient redwood forest.
Do not forget to visit the Rockefeller Forest, the home of the 10,000 acres of beauty beyond description. There are many hiking trails in the forest, as well as the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th tallest trees, including the “Champion Coast Redwood” which is 370 feet tall.
Scotia, one of California’s last and still existing “company-owned” towns. This is where you will find the Historic Logging Museum with artifacts, photos, and machinery used in the old logging camps.
You should also visit the Shelter Cove which offers an airport, superb lodging, golf course, fine dining, surrounded by high mountains, beautiful beaches, and exceptional coastal views. This community also boasts of excellent beachcombing, mountain trail hiking, and ocean fishing, all within your reach.
You should also not miss Garberville, the center of commerce and activities in this area. This is where you will find a nice variety of restaurants and lodgings and accommodations. You should also check out the different distinct and unique shops in town. Garberville is just 10-minute drive from the Avenue of the Giants and 45-minute drive from Shelter Cove.
Your visit to the Redwood Forest will not be complete without a drive through the Dyerville Giant. Along the nature trail of the Founders Grove and within the Humboldt Redwoods State Park lie the two special examples of giant redwoods found near the Eel River’s South Fork. The Founders Tree was especially dedicated to the advocates of the “Save the Redwoods League”. This area was touted as the “Champion” Coast Redwood certified by the AFM or the American Forestry Association until it collapsed on the 24th of March, 1991.

If you’ve got a big birthday coming up….don’t freak out. Celebrate it. Play. Get muddy, climb a mountain, hug a big tree. Just get yourself in the car and do what makes you happy and don’t come home until you’ve got some *scars*. (Just a note: The bench was at the top of the mountain I climbed, way off the trail. The message on it…perfect. Serendipity…yesssss.) Part II (The Beach) is now uploaded as well.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

psychedelic drugs, i mean. what was your first trip experience? was it good or bad, how did you feel about your life afterwards?
im simply curious.

mine was a while ago on mushrooms in the Arcata Community redwood forest in Humboldt with a couple buddies, it was amazingly beautiful, a wonderful adventure through the woods, i saw things i’ll never see again, and met people i’m not entirely sure were real. At one point we chilled out for hours with a guy who was just hangin out on top of a tree. oh and the trees, birds, and the ground were talking to me haha it was a very spiritual and thought provoking experience.
and now i feel so much more centered on my life and my future, i have a fantastic grasp on life 🙂

oh and i know a lot of you are going to say drugs are bad and thats ok, thats your opinion and you are entitled to that, just don’t try to push your opinion on others who may not share that opinion please and thank you

We are looking for a good camping area near Santa Cruz in the redwood forest/grove. We want something as close to the beach as possible and would prefer to rent a cabin or cottage instead of using a tent.

The Amazing Wonders Of California

Variety. I guess I would say that is the main reason that so many people come to live in California from all over the United States in the world. Since the gold rush back in the 1800’s, people from all over have flocked here for a variety of reasons and movies out of Hollywood always seem to have a young girl or boy or a couple dreaming of moving to California. Why do people seem to be drawn to this place? Variety, my friend.

California has high, snowy mountain tops and low, scorching deserts. Don’t like either one of those? Then, try the beach. Still not doing it for you? Try giant redwood trees hundreds of years old, big enough to drive a car through.

Not into nature? Some of the biggest cities in the country are here. Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, huge centers of entertainment and commerce are in California.

Did I say entertainment? Don’t forget about Hollywood! Everyone should see the Walk of Fame at least once. The big stars are all here, so if you want to walk among them, Hollywood and Los Angeles are the places you want to be. As long as there is television, Los Angeles and Hollywood shall remain the home of most American entertainment superstars.

Not too interested in big stars and flashing lights? Try the San Francisco Bay area instead. Since they have become one of the greenest cities in the country, you’ll probably appreciate their attitude toward the environment.

California is also hugely cultural, with a high concentration of immigrants from other countries. In certain areas of some cities, you could walk a mile without having to hear a word of English. If you enjoy encountering other cultures without having to leave the United States, the city is the place for you to visit.

Let’s also not forget the wonderful weather. Not too hot or too cold in many places, you should be able to find a climate that is perfect for you. People worry about the earthquakes, but you really have to wonder if you would be any safer in any other part of the country, since others are subject to hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards on a regular basis. In the United States, not many people are killed by earthquakes every year in comparison with other natural disasters.

There are so many faces to California, you won’t be able to see them all in one day. Probably not even in one week. But, I can almost guarantee that you’ll find a place to call home within its sunny borders.

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I really want to get a dog in Humboldt County but I dont know where to go. But I dont want a dog off some local stranger trying to get rid of puppys I need an animal shelter or some kind of store that sells dogs.Please tell me some kind of place in Humboldt County.