Finance Roll

A video biography is a lot more than just videography; it is a personal documentary filled with interviews, photographs, narration, archival footage, home videos, and music that is produced and edited into artistic, television-quality documentaries. Think of your family scrapbook on steroids. It comes to life, it speaks, it sings, and it tells stories to you and to generations to come. It's an awesome way to preserve and share memories. It's one of those, "Just Gotta Have It," kind of gifts, for which you will never experience a moment of regret.

In life we can expect some big-ticket items: college education, wedding, purchasing a house, buying a luxury car or boat, getting that much-needed facelift. These big-ticket items cause U.S. consumers to ask themselves, "Can I afford this?" Some folks are lucky enough to have disposable income for these kinds of purchases; some can only dream; while others, even in this lousy U.S. economy, embrace the notion that some items - even though considered "luxury" - are worth every penny... especially if they impact our lives in a positive way.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, wouldn't an entire video biography/documentary be worth at least several thousand dollars? Are your family memories worth as much, or more, than a sub-compact car? If the answer is "yes," then you are the perfect candidate for a video biography.

Think about it this way. Education is of paramount importance, but you have a choice: state-subsidized or private university.

Weddings are matters of the heart, so standing before the Justice of the Peace is just as legal and binding (not to mention cheaper) as a $16 million extravaganza.

I suppose a 1,300 square-foot house is big enough for a family of four, but 6,000 square feet is even nicer, especially when you have more bathrooms than bedrooms, as well as heated Pietra Firma LuxTouch tile on the outside balcony to ensure your comfort on cool evenings.

When it comes to economy and ecology, we owe it to this planet to buy sub-compact hybrid cars with great gas mileage, but oh... the feel of that Rolls Royce car seat with its 400 pieces of German Bavarian bull leather on your skin is just too glorious.

Speaking of cars and skin - my face needs more than a nip-'n'-tuck, it requires a complete overhaul. Do I choose the cheapest plastic surgeon, or the guy who did Raquel Welch's work? I'm going with the latter.

So, this brings us to the question: "Can money make us happy?" Maybe not entirely, but it can make the journey to find happiness a lot more comfortable and interesting. And once more it can finance extraordinary memories. I'm not talking about scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef or skydiving into the Haleakala Crater in Maui; I am talking about capturing a lifetime of memories and sharing them with family and friends.

Video Biographies

"What the heck is a video biography?" you ask. I can assure you, it's not just videography. A video biography is a personal documentary filled with interviews, photographs, narration, archival footage, home videos, and music that is produced and edited into artistic, television-quality documentaries. Think of your family scrapbook on steroids. It comes to life, it speaks, it sings, and it tells stories to you and to generations to come. It's an awesome and practical way to preserve and share memories.

Gone are the black lick-'em-and-stick-'em photo corners, plastic hold-your-photos-in-place film, and the tower of archival photo boxes marked by years. What can I say? Things change. Just think about what we did before zip-lock plastic bags - we used waxed paper! With the incredibly strict air travel rules today, can you imagine having to wrap your allowed items in waxed paper to take onboard with you? Crazy, yes? Well, in a way, so is keeping your prized memorabilia stuck between sheets of paper, crammed in shoeboxes, locked in the safe deposit box, or left to self-destruct on cassette tape (audio & visual).

Enter the world of professional video biographies, also known as:

• Celebration videos
• Corporate videos
• Family history chronicles
• Funeral and memorial tribute videos
• Genealogy videos
• Legacy videos
• Living tribute videos
• Personal and family history documentaries

Whatever you want to call it, it's the here-and-now wave of technology that will let your memories ride to the next millennium.

Some of you artistic types who are adept with multi-media gizmos and video/audio technology may tackle the project yourself, but for the other 98% of us, we will more than likely choose a professional company that offers the expertise and the equipment to render our family memorabilia into an A&E-quality documentary. There are several companies that provide video biography services - some are more comprehensive than others, a few offer higher-end technologically, some are more artistic, some cheaper while others are more expensive. Here are just a few to whet your whistle:

DAC Video Productions. Based in the Cleveland, Ohio, area, DAC serves clients nationally, offering video biographies and photo montages. It also provides transfer and conversion services.

Family Legacy Video. Arizona-based Family Legacy Video offers custom-crafted legacy videos, audio CDs, and photo books. It also offers guides and webinars with video biography tips and tricks, as well as royalty-free music.

Legacy Multimedia. This Houston, Texas, company covers the gamut of services, as well as offers a blog post.

Reel Tributes is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and produces what it calls "Documentaries of a Lifetime." It offers full, high-end service, including initial consultation, planning, production, and editing. A single producer is responsible for each project.

Save Their Story is located in San Diego, California, and offers basic to extended interviews. Interviewers are located throughout the U.S.

Your Story Here handles projects mostly in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, but is extending locations in the U.S. The company specializes in video biographies, veterans and genealogy videos, and ethical wills (aka spiritual or legacy letters). It also works with Alzheimer's patients to coax memories by using "reminiscence therapy."

Whatever your budget is; whatever your celebration, tribute, or memorial may be... a video biography is one of those "Just-Gotta-Have-It" kind of treats we allow ourselves in our lifetime and never have a moment of regret. It's not just for today, it's for generations to come.