How our clients react to our revelations about their history - and why those reactions are so important
By Hûw Steer, Family History Films
Imagine discovering that:
You had relatives in America who you’d never even heard of
Your great-great-grandfather invented the turbocharger
You were related to royalty
If you’ve watched one of those TV shows where celebrities are astonished by the secrets of their families’ pasts, you’ll know how powerful revelations like these can be. That’s why we make sure they’re at the heart of our own process. We build our films around reveals like these, capturing your reactions to your family’s hidden secrets and working them into the film, so that future generations can experience the same excitement as you in years to come.
We usually begin our research with what our clients can tell us - and show us. Through conversations with you and your immediate family and by reviewing your records and photos, we can establish what stories you already know. But while you might have a few stories from older generations there’ll be plenty of mysteries still to uncover. Armed with that initial information, our researchers start plumbing the depths of archives around the world to start filling in the blanks. That’s when we start finding new stories - and planning how we’ll reveal them to you.
Our team setting up for an initial interview
Typically we’ll already be arranging interviews with you on camera, to capture high-quality footage of you and your family discussing what you can remember. And in the process we can start to reveal what we know - and what you might not. Are you talking about your memories of your great-grandmother and her family? Well, here’s a photograph of her father in uniform, and the story of what he did during the First World War. You might know your great-uncle was a coal miner, but did you know that he barely survived one of the biggest disasters in Welsh history?
We’ve revealed connections to everyone from Irish immigrants to the British Royal Family - but no matter who it’s about, the stories are always exciting. Sometimes things can get very emotional - and though such moments can be very powerful in our finished films, it’s up to you how we use them. This is your family’s story, after all - there are few things more personal.
But we won’t just reveal these stories in your living-room - we’ll take you out to where they happened. We’ve taken clients to the factories where their ancestors built aeroplanes, to the stadiums where they ran alongside Olympic champions, or to the places they were buried - and brought expert historians along with us to explain exactly how amazing your family story really is. You’ll get to experience these revelations and your family history first-hand, standing in the same places your ancestors once stood. And by capturing it on film, we can preserve you and your reactions as a part of that history for future generations to come.
On location for a reveal with one of our clients
Even in recent challenging months, we’ve kept things rolling. HD videoconferencing and our network of local camera crews have allowed us to conduct and direct our interviews from halfway across the world in perfect safety.
But of course we don’t reveal everything. If we presented every one of our reveals to you in an interview, there’d be nothing left for the end… so we always keep some back for the ultimate reveal: the first time you watch the finished film, and experience your family’s history in full.
If you’d like to find out what we can reveal about your own family history, get in touch today to arrange a free consultation by emailing paul@myfamilyhistoryfilm.com.