50 Years of Love: A Dream Landscape Renovation Story
A couple, fifty years, and the place they built together.
Family Story Films · Prescott & Yavapai County
Family story films.
A grandparent's voice, the kids at the age they are right now, the whole family in one place. Recorded properly, kept forever.
Every family has one person who remembers everything, and every family waits too long to record them. This is the film that fixes that.
Molly and I are a husband-and-wife team, and we have a young family of our own. That is most of why this work matters to us. A phone video of Grandpa at Thanksgiving is better than nothing. A proper film, with his voice recorded clean and the old photographs scanned in, is something the great-grandchildren will watch.
The setup stays small on purpose. One camera, one microphone, two people who are easy to have in the house. The best moments in a family film are the ones that happen when everyone forgets we are there.
Based in Prescott Valley, born and raised here, and covering Prescott, Chino Valley, Sedona, and all of Yavapai County with no travel charge.
01 · Films I Make
Five kinds of family film.
They range from a quiet afternoon with one person to a full weekend with the whole family. All of them start with a conversation about who the film is for.
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01
The Grandparent Interview
A sit-down conversation with a parent or grandparent about where they came from, who they loved, and what they want the family to know. Recorded properly, while they are here to tell it. The film families ask for once and keep forever.
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02
A Day in the Life
No interviews, no posing. A morning at the house, the kids at the age they are right now, the dog, the kitchen noise, the way your family actually sounds. Cut to a few quiet minutes you will not be able to watch without crying in ten years.
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03
Reunions & Milestones
The whole family in one place for the first time in years. A 50th anniversary, a 90th birthday, a reunion at the ranch. Coverage of the day plus short interviews with each branch of the family so everyone ends up on the record.
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04
Legacy & Heritage Films
The family history told start to finish. Old photographs and home video scanned in, interviews with the people who remember, and a film that explains to the grandchildren how the family got here.
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05
Family Business Stories
When the business and the family are the same thing. The founder, the generation running it now, and the one coming up, in a film that works for the company website and for the family archive.
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Just photos?
Family portrait sessions are their own thing, and Molly and I shoot them year round. If a gallery is what you need, start there.
Family photography
02 · How We Work
Small crew, real people.
The thing that makes a family film work is not the camera. It is whether the people in it feel like themselves. Everything about how we show up is built around that.
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Husband-and-wife team, Tex on the film and Molly on the stills, so the day produces both, and a house full of kids meets two people instead of a crew.
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Small setup by design, one cinema camera, a wireless microphone, and natural light where it works, because a lighting rig is what makes a grandmother go quiet.
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The interview is a conversation, a short pre-call before shoot day, so the real stories surface on camera the second time they are told, not the first.
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Archival handled, photographs, slides, VHS, and camcorder tapes digitized at high resolution and returned with the film.
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100+ five-star reviews, and no rating below five, most of them from families and couples.
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Files you keep, a master for the archive and a web version to share, delivered to download and own, not streamed on a subscription.
03 — Selected Films
Stories about a family.
Two films where the subject was a family and the place they built. Click a thumbnail to play.
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Cinematic Cattle Branding & Rancher Life
A working family ranch, filmed over a branding day.
04 · How It Works
Six steps, none of them rushed.
The scope, the number, and the questions all get settled before a camera comes out of the case. Shoot day should feel like a visit, not a production.
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The call
Who the film is about, who it is for, and what has to be in it. If a grandparent is involved, we talk about their energy and timing so the shoot fits them, not the other way around.
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The pre-visit
A short recorded phone call with the main subjects. It settles nerves, surfaces the stories worth telling, and means shoot day is spent capturing instead of discovering.
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Shoot day
Usually a half day at the house or the family place. Interviews first while everyone is fresh, then the ordinary moments that end up being the best part of the film.
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Archival
Old photos, letters, and tapes scanned at high resolution. This is usually what turns a nice interview into a family film.
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The edit
Assembly, a first cut for your notes, then the fine cut. Color graded, mixed for clear dialogue, licensed music so nothing ever gets taken down.
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Delivery
The master file, a web version, and short clips for sharing. Extra copies on drives for each branch of the family if you want them.
Family Films · FAQs
Questions families ask.
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My parent is not comfortable on camera. Will this work?
Almost nobody's parent is, and those are usually the best films. The pre-call means they have already told the stories once by phone before a camera is in the room. On the day, the setup is small and I keep the conversation going rather than directing. Most people forget the camera in about ten minutes. -
How long is the finished film?
A grandparent interview usually lands between fifteen and forty minutes, with a shorter highlight cut for sharing. A day-in-the-life film runs three to six minutes. A full legacy film with archival and multiple interviews can run an hour. Length follows the story, not a package. -
What does a family film cost?
It is scoped per family. A single half-day interview is the simplest version. Multiple subjects, a reunion weekend, or a lot of archival scanning scale it up. The first call is free and ends with a written scope and a fixed number, so nothing moves until you have both. -
Can you include old photos and home video?
Yes, and please dig them out. Photographs, slides, letters, VHS and camcorder tapes, and old phone footage all get digitized at high resolution and returned to you. The archival material is usually what makes the film feel like the whole family history rather than one afternoon. -
Do you also take family photos?
Yes. Molly shoots stills while I film, so a family session can produce the portrait gallery and the film on the same day. Family portraits are also available on their own through the photography page. -
Where do you shoot?
Based in Prescott Valley and covering Prescott, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt, Sedona, Cottonwood, and the rest of Yavapai County at no travel charge. Flagstaff and Phoenix are a regular drive. Farther is quoted in the scope. If the family story lives somewhere else, I travel for it.
Family film inquiries
Who is the film about?
Tell me who you want on the record and what you want the grandchildren to know. The first call is free and every inquiry gets a personal reply within 24 hours.