life memories

Once you have contracted us to produce your Life Memories Video Biography we will visit you in the comfort of your own home with a lovely long list of memory provoking questions. We go through these questions in their specific categories (eg early childhood, dating, parenthood, life lessons and many, many more) and make a note of the ones that induce a strong link to your memories through various stages of your life.

If there are areas of your life that you specifically want to talk about, or on the other hand, not want to talk about, we completely respect your decisions as this is your biography to tell and no one else’s.

Within a few days of this first discussion we will send you the list of questions that you have selected well in advance of your interview session so that you can focus on what your responses will be.

During the interview process we may combine a number of closely related questions in to a single question as this provides for a more naturally flowing response from you. We may also omit some questions selected during the interview if we feel they have already been covered in responses to previous questions.

Normally we film in your home as this is where you are most comfortable. It is usual to pick your favourite room with you sitting in your favorite chair. We like to film in a room that is not overly cramped or cluttered as the background may prove distracting. It may also be necessary to move your chair slightly for best lighting. Although interviews can be filmed outside we try to discourage this due to changeable lighting conditions and unpredictable noise events from wind, traffic, dogs barking etc.

During our initial visit with you we will look at potential interview locations, discuss them with you and at the end agree a suitable location, so that it is ready when we come to film.

In our deluxe packages you also have the option of any background of your choice (either still or moving) keyed in behind you, for all, or certain parts of the interview.

There will normally be a crew of 2-3 people to film an interview, comprising our Producer/Director, Interviewer, and sometimes, a Production Assistant. Our staff are very friendly and realise that this process is very new to you, and will do their utmost to put you at ease during the whole process.

Usually, two cameras are used to provide the most flexibility during editing. We use professional quality HD cameras.

We use professional lighting for all our interviews. Lighting is key for a professional looking interview and is just as important as camera quality.

Depending on requirements of the actual interview location we will employ between 1 to 3 lights of our own lights, plus 1 or 2 reflector panels. We choose our lights and their locations carefully to minimise glare to our subjects. Our main lights are either fluorescent or LED to keep our interview subjects cool. In most cases people forget the lights are there shortly after being switched

Yes. We will attach a small lapel microphone to your clothing just below your neck to ensure professional audio quality. Most people are unaware that they are actually wearing them.

It is quite normal for anyone to get nervous before filming, even the seasoned professionals get the jitters.

It is our team's priority to make you feel comfortable through the entire interview process. To get you used to the cameras and lights we will sit you down in your interview chair and chat to you while we are setting up. This gets you used to the extra equipment in the room and lets you develop a rapport with our friendly team. By the time we are ready to start filming the interview it will be like chatting with friends. In fact, during the interview process you will be asked to look at the interviewer and not at the camera, which immediately makes people feel more comfortable.

Editing is a very powerful process. You may be surprised to learn that the same mistakes happen in professional television interviews but you are never aware of this because of the editing process. You are the ‘star’ of this video, and as such, we are going to make sure that our editing shows you in the best possible light. This means skillfully removing any mistakes or awkward moments so that your viewing audience will not even realise it has happened.

Yes of course. Any time you are feeling tired, want to stretch your legs or stop for any other reason that's OK. We would naturally prefer that you do this at the end of answering a question.

Although there are some general time constraints for the entire interview process we will let you keep talking when answering any question as this is often how the best stories emerge. However, if we do feel on the odd occasion that you are getting way off the track our interviewer will raise his/her hand, out of camera view, as a signal to you to wind-up the answer as soon as possible.

It will probably be very apparent to you as to what photos you should include, but here's some additional tips:

• Choose pictures that you can tell a story about

• Choose the pictures that show character and personality

• Choose a mix of close-ups as well as photos that have groups and action in them

• Choose photos to reveal the most important stages of life eg: important moments, significant events like first day at school, graduation, wedding etc

• Avoid photos that are too similar

• Avoid out of focus photos

• Avoid selecting too many photos without people in them

This depends on the video biography package you have chosen

This does not really matter as often we will digitally crop the photos during editing to provide the most seamless fit into the overall program. Alternatively with some photos we may magnify them slightly and then pan across or down the photo to provide greater impact.

The simple answer is no. Using a high-quality digital camera and specialised lighting, we are able to make high-resolution copies of your photos within your own home. All we need is a flat surface such as a kitchen table to place our photo easel on and photographic copies are made within a matter of minutes. We will take down a short note about every photograph as we record it.

This is not a problem as in most cases we can photograph them quite well within the album. Under no circumstances attempt to remove them from the album if they are stuck in as we would be as upset as you if they became damaged

Although we try to avoid this we can fit a special filter on the camera lens to remove reflections from the glass on a photo frame. As it is more time-consuming to copy photos this way we would only do this for a select few special photographs.

Absolutely. Any article or object in your home that can be photographed, right down to the size of a 5 cent coin, can be included as a still image in your video biography.

Yes we do restore photos, but this is done as a separate service and it is charged on a photo by photo basis.

When we restore a photo the original is not altered in any way, however we do need to take the photo back to our office to scan it at high resolution. The digital image that results is then worked on by a skilled restorer using specialised software and techniques to remove scratches, tears, blemishes and fading. The restored digital image is then reproduced back on to photo paper to the same size as the original or enlarged according to your requirements. We can even colourise your old black and white or sepia photographs from colour details you provide to us.

Yes you can. In fact we encourage you to unearth your old movies if they can tell or highlight a specific story as this can be compelling viewing. However you must keep in mind that we will probably not insert more than 10 – 20 seconds of a specific clip at any one time during your biography. In general, use the same criteria for selecting clips as you use for photo selection. As far as quantity goes one 10 second clip equates to one photo, so the more clips you have the less photos required or vice-versa.

It is important to understand that we must take slides, Super 8 films and videos back to our office to digitise them for inclusion in your biography. We will take any media you have selected away with us at the completion of the interview recording phase.

Although we will take the utmost care in handling your media, old film can become quite fragile and brittle and as such we cannot be held responsible for any accidental damage they may occur. We will certainly not continue with copying the media if we are at all concerned that any damage might result.

We will return all original media to you when we deliver your finished video biography.

Yes you can, in fact we encourage you to do so if there are some pieces of music that have special meaning to you. The music you supply, whether on a CD or record, will be taken to our office for digitising, and then returned to you when we deliver your finished video biography. Please note we are unable to digitise old “78” records.

This is also fine. Our own library contains a huge selection of music and we will choose appropriate material after discussing it with you.

A Vision Fantastic adheres to all Australian copyright laws. We obtain a Domestic Use Video License (for CD, video and DVD) from AMCOS/ARIA for all music used in your biography. The fee for this license is included in the fixed contract price for your video biography. Under the license granted you can only show the video in a private domestic viewing environment. You will be asked to acknowledge this requirement when you sign your contract for your video biography.

Life Memories Video Biographies take 4 - 6 weeks to complete once filming has been completed. At times there can be a wait for filming sessions, so it is important that you place your order with us the moment you are ready to proceed with your biography project.

Before placing your order we will visit you to discuss your needs and what package best suits you. At this time we will provide you with a fixed price quotation for the completed video biography package which will remain valid for one month. Either phone our office or send us an email to arrange for this first obligation free meeting.

• We visit you initially to provide you with information on the video biography packages and options, where we will provide you with a fixed price quotation.

• Once you have decided to go ahead with the project we will visit you a second time. During this meeting we will:

• determine interview questions by running through interview question list with you

• determine the best location for your interview

• discuss other materials such as photos, etc. for inclusion in the video

• arrange a date and time for the interview filming

• collect your deposit to secure a filming date

• Our 3rd visit is the big one. This is when we film your interview, take copies of the photos you have selected for inclusion, take photographs of other memorabilia and gather any other media such as video tapes for inclusion in the program. You should allow between 3 – 6 hours for this visit depending on the length of the video biography that you have chosen. At this visit we also collect the filming portion payment.

• Our 4th and final visit is when we deliver your finished video biography to you. We will sit down with you and view it with you and assuming that you love it, will collect the balance of the payment.

• Between visits 3 & 4 we will usually be in contact with you a few times as questions arise during the editing process. This is usually done over the phone but you are also free to view the work in progress via prior appointment.

All interviews are shot in full high-definition format.

The finished video biography can be provided on DVD (standard definition), Blu-ray (high definition), USB storage device or a transmitted digital file. All media contain menus for easy navigation. 

For an additional cost our DVD and Blu-ray discs can be produced using M-DISC® technology media, providing a life of up to 1000 years - quite simply the best archival solution available today.

The finished video biography can be delivered on any combination of these formats.

We accept:

• Cash

• MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Apple Pay, G Pay or PayPal

• Direct Deposit

We require 15% deposit when you place your order with us and 35% on the day of filming. At the completion of your project we require the remaining 50% payment when handing over your completed project media.

Yes. If you are not fully satisfied with your video biography that we provide we will refund you 100% of the purchase price. However should you request a full refund you will not be allowed to retain any project media that we have produced.

To be honest nobody has ever claimed a refund as we work closely with our clients throughout the project and there are no problems that come up that cannot be rectified to the satisfaction of both the client and ourselves

Yes. Any information provided to partners or employees of A Vision Fantastic (for Life Memories Video Biographies), whether written or verbal, by its clients will remain private and confidential and only be used for the purpose of creating the contracted video biography. Excerpts from the said video can only be made available to others (for promotional purposes, etc) after written permission has been obtained from the client. Naturally, we cannot accept responsibility for any information in the finished video biography program divulged to others by the client.