Gurnee, Illinois
We film personal life-story interviews in Gurnee homes, helping parents, grandparents and relatives tell their stories face to face with a filmmaker. Your Life, Filmed combines those conversations with family photographs and selected home movies to create a professionally edited family documentary.
Family documentary production in Gurnee
A parent may remember why the family moved to Gurnee. Their children may remember the first friends they made, a holiday in the new house or the relative who lived nearby. A family documentary can bring these accounts together while keeping each person’s perspective clear. We help you decide who should be interviewed and which questions each person can answer.
Filming begins with conversation in a familiar home setting. We ask about the events, people and decisions that shaped your family, then edit the interviews into a film with a clear narrative. Photographs and usable home-movie clips provide context, while the recorded interviews preserve how your relatives tell their stories: their phrasing, expression and personal recollections.
Explore life-story filmmakingThe chapters that make a life
Choose a family event that more than one relative remembers. Ask each person what happened before and afterward, who was there and why the day matters to them. Differences in perspective can help younger family members understand relationships without forcing everyone into an identical account.
Gurnee’s Viking Park was developed in 1973 and 1974. If family photographs show time spent there, use them to ask who organized the outing, which friends came along and what the children remember. A familiar local setting is useful when it leads to a personal story your relative wants to tell.
Invite a relative to explain something they have never had much time to discuss: an early job, a friendship, a difficult decision or a family custom. An adult child can suggest the questions, while the person being filmed decides what they want to share in their own words.
Plan your family film
Choose one family contact to collect questions and help coordinate availability. Make a list of the people you hope to include, where each interview could take place and any date you are working toward. Relatives do not all need to be present for every conversation. The number of participants, locations and filming days is confirmed through your chosen package and proposal.
For the home interview, tell us about the room, access and any regular interruptions. Gather digital photographs in a labeled folder and make a separate list of tapes, reels or albums that need attention. You do not need to sort an entire family archive before contacting us; an initial selection helps us identify the material that supports the film.
See preparation, filming and deliveryBefore we begin
Yes, within the agreed filming scope. The Signature Life Film includes up to two participants and two Lake County locations. The Family Documentary includes up to five participants and three Lake County locations across two filming days. Lake County travel is included. Tell us where everyone lives so we can discuss a practical interview schedule.
Yes. Share the intended viewing date when you inquire. Published delivery estimates are 6–8 weeks for Story Portrait, 10–12 weeks for Signature Life Film and 14–18 weeks for the Family Documentary. Availability, material preparation and reviews affect the schedule, so a specific deadline must be agreed before booking. These are life-story films; event coverage is not included automatically.
Selected usable clips can be integrated within the Signature or Family Documentary package’s media allowance. Tell us the format and condition of tapes or reels before preparing them. Digitizing analog media is not listed as a standard package inclusion, so any transfer requirements and costs need to be discussed separately. An initial list of the material is enough to begin planning.
It helps to appoint one family contact who gathers feedback before each review. Story Portrait and Signature Life Film include two structured revision rounds; the Family Documentary includes three. We discuss the people and subjects to include during preparation, then use the agreed revision process to collect clear, coordinated notes on the film.
Life-story film packages
Lake County travel is included in each package. Compare the interview participants, film length and family materials before choosing a scope.
One person. One focused story.
15–20 minute film
$3,800
Explore packageMore voices. A richer family archive.
30–40 minute film
$7,500
Explore packageSeveral people, places, and chapters.
45–60 minute film
$12,500
Explore packageChoose a starting point
A comfortable way to invite someone you love to tell their own story.
Connect several voices and generations in one family film.
Plan a birthday, anniversary or retirement film around a meaningful date.
Preserve the person and decisions behind a family business.
Lake County and nearby communities
We can discuss relatives in more than one community and confirm the locations included in your chosen film.
Your Life, Filmed
Start with the relatives you want to include, the Gurnee home where you would like to film and any family gathering or delivery date you have in mind.
Start a conversation
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