Tell Your Family’s Story

By Melanie Kalmar

Melanie Kalmar is a journalist specializing in business, healthcare, human interest, and real estate. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with family.

A legacy video is a unique way to bond with older relatives over stories that would be lost if nobody asked for them to be told.

“It encapsulates decades of living into a highlight reel,” says retired WGN news anchor Robert Jordan, CEO of Video Family Biographies in Lincolnwood. “We don’t normally have that chance to reflect on our lives. Our loved ones do at the funeral, but we’re already gone.”

Jordan and his team travel across the country to conduct in-person interviews and gather family memorabilia, such as old photos and family documents, to include in the video.

• If hiring a production company is not an option, follow Jordan’s DIY tips to produce a video destined to become a family heirloom:
• Make a list of people to interview who helped shape the subject’s life.
• Record interviews using a cell phone app with transcribing software that captures the conversations in written form.
• Interview the oldest family member first. Ask about their grandparents; you’ll go back five or six generations.
• Divide the video into chapters based on time or significant events.
• Keep it to less than 90 minutes.