Round Lake, Illinois
We produce family documentary films in Round Lake through guided, face-to-camera interviews at home. Tell the story behind your family milestones, photographs and everyday memories in a finished film that relatives can watch together and revisit.
At-home life-story filmmaking
An interview gives a relative time to explain how one chapter led to another. The first job, a change of home and the arrival of children may be connected in ways younger family members have never heard. We prepare questions that help bring those connections into the conversation.
Your film can include stories from before the family lived in Round Lake. The home is the setting for the interview, not a limit on its subject. We plan the scope around the people involved and edit their accounts with relevant family photographs and selected archive materials.
Explore life-story filmmaking
Plan your family film
Choose a Round Lake room away from television, kitchen appliances and frequent foot traffic. Let us know if the available space is compact so camera and lighting arrangements can be assessed. The most photogenic room is not always the best place to record a clear voice.
If adult children want to contribute questions, combine their suggestions before filming. Prioritize the subjects the main participant also wants to discuss. Package choice determines the number of people and locations included; a broader family film needs more planning than a single-person portrait.
See preparation, filming and deliveryThe chapters that make a life
Round Lake’s municipal history describes the railroad’s role in the village’s development. If train journeys were part of your relative’s routine, ask what their commute involved and how work shaped life at home. Their personal account is the focus, rather than a retelling of railway history.
Write down the main homes, jobs and relationships before filming. Exact dates are helpful when known, but uncertainty can be acknowledged. Ask what changed between each stage, and which people supported them through those transitions.
The village makes its 2008 centennial video available as a local history resource. It may prompt questions for a longtime resident, but your documentary records their own recollections. Any third-party footage would need separate permission and an agreed role in the film.
Choose 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.
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 packageBefore we begin
We serve both communities, as well as Round Lake Park and Round Lake Heights. Use your full filming address when enquiring so the correct location and access arrangements are clear. Lake County travel is included in the published packages.
Yes. The interview can discuss any part of the person’s life. Photographs and personal materials can illustrate earlier chapters. Filming visits to additional places require agreement on location count, travel, access and any extra costs.
Viewing a publicly available video does not automatically provide permission to reproduce it. If you want third-party footage included, tell us the source during planning so rights and suitability can be considered before it is added to the project.
Story Portrait includes one subject, Signature Life Film up to two interview participants, and Family Documentary up to five. We help compare those options against your intended story, locations and available family materials.
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
Tell us which Round Lake relative you want to interview and the family chapters you hope to connect.
Start a conversation
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