Step 1: Complete Order and Intake Form. After you've completed your purchase online, SAFL will send you a short intake form to provide the basic details of your family history -- whatever you can provide, including gaps and areas of curiosity that you'd like to fill-in. We'll identify stories and topics for your family's video heirloom recording.

Step 2: Storyarc Mapping Call (Video). Meet with your family's personal documentarian to map a high-level story arc for the recording. Also, if your parents are available, do a tech and lighting check (choose a quiet spot where they can sit comfortably in front of a laptop/tablet camera).

Step 3: Recording. All you need is a laptop, WIFI, and a chrome browser. Tablets are ok too. We recording using Riverside.fm, the industry leading remote recording platform. Test your mic and webcam setup with this link.

Step 4: Edit. Your documentarian will take about a week to do an initial rough cut. You can provide any favorite music tracks or digital photos (wedding ceremonies, engagement photos, other family pics) for them to integrate. Your documentarian will work with you on one round of edits to complete your video. All edit requests must be made within 1 week of receiving the initial rough cut.

Step 5: Publish. After a another week, you'll get a a high-quality, private video family heirloom with documentary styling that will be cherished for generations to come. You will get all source files and have full control over the content. We may ask for your permission with a release form to use small pieces in our marketing, and we hope you'll share your story so others can be inspired!

A professional oral history that goes as far back as possible – a priceless record that will last for generations.  You gain insight on instinctual questions every person has such as: “where did I come from?” and “how did we get here?”.  For decades to come, descendants will have a vivid living testament of your family’s origin story that can be called upon for identity, strength, and inspiration. The final product is like a video time capsule for your family.

Yes, 100%! You are in control of your content. You get all final copies of content. We can also host the final production online securely in your private digital time capsule or you can keep copies in your own secure storage. If you give us permission to use snippets of your video on our social media channels and other marketing, we would be grateful, but we only do so with explicit permission.

Call us at 925-587-8599 and/or contact [email protected]

As a third party documentarian with no family ties we probe objectively for the “why” behind your family’s timeline of events, surfacing unexpected anecdotes and personal feelings that a close family member is not always equipped to distill.  We ask questions like:  how were you raised?  What did you feel when you first touched down as a new immigrant in America?   How did you make your way? 

A comprehensive oral history record of your parents’ journey provides inspiration for generations to come.

No! Anybody that wants to record their parents and family is welcome! We love all families and each and every one has a unique story to tell. We're starting with a focus in our marketing on the community we know best, our own. But over time we plan to launch family video heirloom offerings for many other communities and cultures. We think bringing a cultural lens and specific understanding of a community's history to the interview can bring a special understanding to the conversation, but it is not a requirement!