How It Works
Every film is different, because every family is
Every family film we make is different, because every family is. What stays the same is the approach: unhurried, attentive, and built for the long view. We are not capturing a moment. We are building a record of a life in progress.
The interviews
We sit down with your children every year, or as suits your family. Each session runs around 30 minutes. We begin with children as young as four. The questions are gentle, curious, and carefully chosen with you in advance.
Topics are explored across multiple sessions, so responses deepen rather than repeat. We take our time.
Option one
On Location
We come to you. At home, children are at ease and the footage shows it. In-person sessions allow us to connect directly with your kids and capture professional-quality footage in a relaxed, familiar setting.
Option two
Over Zoom
Some families simply prefer it. No scheduling around school runs, no tidying the sitting room. The child is in their own space, which often helps. All you need is a laptop or phone. We take care of the rest.
The same child. Three sessions. A completely different person each time.
The film
Films improve when edited across years. We recommend editing after around three seasons — that is when the contrast becomes extraordinary. But one season works, and so does four. You decide.
Families who prefer an annual edit receive a finished short film each year. Others prefer an assembly edit and short teaser each year, banking the remaining edit time until they are ready for the full film. Both work. What matters is starting.
Your footage, always
The footage belongs to your family. When we deliver the finished film, we deliver the raw, unedited material too. Clients who prefer to receive their raw footage annually are welcome to do so, provided the allocated edit budget for that year has been paid. We store everything safely until then. Never without your permission. These are intimate, private films and we treat them accordingly. Families who are happy for us to share selected clips on social media receive a discount on their annual costs. We do not sell your data to anyone, ever.
If we were unable to make your film, for any reason, you are entitled to every unedited frame immediately. If we went out of business, the footage is yours, not ours.
What we hold, we hold in trust.
How we work together
At the start of the project we agree a budget, a schedule, a set of topics and an annual filming window. Each year you provide three preferred dates within a four-week period — one must be a weekday. We ask for a degree of flexibility around timings, because we always prioritise the child’s experience over a precise schedule.
A parent or responsible adult is present throughout. We ask for a brief call the day before each session to share any updates or topics to focus on. On-location filming is currently in 4K, and techniques are updated as technology advances.
“I am in awe of the quality of the material. I could not have envisaged how imaginatively our material could be woven together to create such a magical watch and a lovely memory of our daughters as they are growing up. Thank you.”
Linda Diotallevi