Every story is different.
The way it’s told should be too.
A note on pricing
Once.Then.Now. projects typically begin at $4,500. Most personal documentary films range from $6,500 to $15,000+, depending on the story, filming time, archival materials, locations, and finished length.
It may help to think of this as you would other meaningful investments: a family trip, a milestone celebration, a wedding photographer, or something beautiful made for your home.
Those things matter because they hold memory and meaning. A legacy film does too, in a way your family can return to for years.
A voice. A story. A presence. Preserved.
There isn’t just one way these stories come out.
Sometimes it begins with someone wanting to tell their own story. Sometimes it begins with a child, partner, or friend wanting to preserve the story of someone they love. Sometimes it’s a quiet conversation. Sometimes it’s a full house, with voices overlapping and memories surfacing without warning. Sometimes it’s one chapter, one relationship, one meal, or one day that seems to hold everything.
However it begins, the goal is the same: to preserve a voice, a life, a chapter, or a moment with care, so it can be returned to for years to come.
Every package with Once.Then.Now. is a starting point, shaped around the person being filmed, the story being told, and the moment you’re in.
Our Packages
01
Signature Life Story Documentary
30 – 60 minute cinematic film
A life, told with the care it deserves.
There are stories that only exist in someone’s voice: the way they remember things, the details they return to, the moments they choose to tell. Over time, those stories get harder to access, or disappear entirely.
A Signature Life Story captures those memories while they’re still close. I guide a series of conversations that trace a life across time, then shape them with photographs, archival footage, and careful editing into something cohesive and lasting.
Along the way, we make space for more than memories. We capture the perspective, values, hard-won wisdom your family will want to carry forward.
The result is a film your family can return to, and hear again.
For moments like these:
A parent or grandparent ready to reflect on a full life
A family wanting to preserve stories, values, and wisdom
A life that deserves to be honored with depth and care
A lasting gift future generations can return to again and again
02
A Chapter of Life
20 – 30 minute cinematic film
One part of a life, given space and shape.
Sometimes it’s not the whole story, it’s the part that changed everything.
A career. A relationship. A stretch of years that still holds weight. These are often the stories that get shortened or skipped over.
We focus in on one chapter and stay with it, letting it unfold fully, then shaping it into something clear and structured, with a beginning, a middle, and a sense of resolution. Over time, more than one of these films can also grow into a chaptered collection, each piece building on the last, creating depth and continuity across a life.
For moments like these:
When a career, relationship, or season of life that shaped everything
When a story that deserves more than a quick summary
When a chapter someone keeps returning to, but rarely tells fully
When you want a way to build a collection of meaningful stories over time
03
Celebration Film
20 – 60 minute collage
A story told by many, created for one.
Not every meaningful message happens in the same room.
Celebration brings together voices from different places: friends, family, colleagues, classmates, teammates, and the people who’s lives have been touched by someone important.
Each participant records a guided interview remotely, sharing memories, stories, and personal messages. I shape those individual pieces into one unified film, something thoughtful, emotional, and deeply personal to honor someone significant.
For moments like these:
Milestone birthdays, retirements, tributes, or major life celebrations
When people can’t all be together, but still want to be part of the gift
When you want to honor a parent, partner, mentor, friend, or colleague
When you want to give a group gift made from stories, memories, and personal messages
04
Captured Conversation
30–60 minute conversation
Guided by a professional interviewer
Exactly as it happened. Clear, simple, and beautifully recorded.
Sometimes the most important thing is simply to record the conversation today.
This is for families who want something more thoughtful than an informal recording, but aren’t ready for a fully shaped documentary film. They want a conversation guided by someone who knows how to ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, and gently bring out stories that might otherwise stay unspoken.
The result is uninterrupted and not heavily shaped or stylized. It preserves the voice, presence, wisdom, and emotion of the person as they are today. Simple, but powerful.
For moments like these:
When timing matters, and the conversation should be recorded now
When there’s a loved one whose voice, presence, and stories you want preserved
When families want something simple, real, and professionally captured
When there’s a story or conversation you later you don’t want to wish you had captured
05
Sunday Brunch
20 – 60 minute documentary film
“I wish we had captured that when everyone was there!”
There’s something different about a house when it’s full.
Voices overlap. Stories surface. People fall into old rhythms. Small moments unfolding without effort.
Sunday Brunch captures that feeling as it actually happens. I come to you, blend into the day, and gently pull people aside for short, meaningful conversations. The film becomes less about documenting an event, and more about preserving the feeling of everyone being there.
For moments like these:
Birthdays, anniversaries, family gatherings, or retirement parties
A rare gathering with multiple generations in one place
For capturing the stories, voices, and small moments that happen naturally
When you want a gift for someone who “doesn’t need anything”
06
Dinner’s On
20 – 30 minute documentary film
A recipe, a ritual, the person behind it.
Some meals are more than food. What you ache for is the kitchen: the warmth, the low hum of conversation, the way they moved, the small in-between moments you didn’t know you’d miss.
This is family history, personality, and a way of caring for others that doesn’t always get said out loud.
Dinner’s On centers around one meaningful dish, capturing not just how it’s made, but why it matters. I spend time with the person who makes the meal, filming the preparation, the casual conversations between loved ones, and the moment it’s served and shared.
The film moves between the kitchen and the table: where the recipe came from, how it has changed, and what it has meant to the people who gather around it.
For moments like these:
When you want to capture a parent or grandparent known for “their” dish
When there’s a recipe tied to family history, culture, or tradition
When there’s a kitchen ritual that says more than a recipe card ever could
When you want to remember how it feels to gather around the table
07
The Kids Are Alright
10 – 20 minute documentary film
The family, from the kid’s point of view
There’s an honesty in kids.
The way they talk about each other. The way they describe family. What they notice, what they find funny, what they take seriously.
I spend time with siblings, cousins, or close friends, guiding a relaxed, age-appropriate conversation about each other and the world as they understand it now.
The film captures their honesty, humor, playfulness and innocence before they start thinking too much about what and how they say it. It preserves a magical stage of life that changes faster than we want it to, in a way that often becomes unexpectedly moving.
For moments like these:
When you want to record siblings, cousins, or close friends growing up in the same orbit
When you want to capture a stage of childhood your family wants to remember before it changes
When you want to document how the kids see each other, and the world around them
When you want the children themselves to have something to treasure, and return to, years from now
Need something custom?
Let’s talk.
Some stories don’t fit neatly into a package.
If you’re thinking about a person, a gathering, a transition, a family business, or a story that feels hard to categorize, we can shape something around it.
The starting point is simple: what do you want to make sure is not lost?
