An in-depth interview of two to four hours explores the history of the person, the important events of his or her life and the emotions surrounding these events. The whole interview is filmed along with the photos and any other relevant items.
Depending on what the client wants, the entire process can be boiled down to a one-hour film, and a highlights film of a few minutes, plus the recording of the entire interview. Each film is individually designed and edited.
Although the idea of preserving a family’s history has been around for some time, many are fairly expensive. Acknowledge Media will do family legacy films starting at about $6,000. The recordings are produced on DVD or Blu-Ray or on a digital file and the process takes about six to eight weeks.
The company is limiting work to the central East Coast area for now, but Polt sees the project expanding nationwide or even internationally eventually. The interviews are usually conducted in the family home or wherever the interviewee feels most comfortable.
“A lot of people feel like they do not have enough stories to tell or that no one will care about their lives, but they inevitably turn around and say they wish they had a movie of their grandfather or grandmother,” Brotman says. “Rich is very good communicator and story teller. This is a prime piece of estate planning that is usually overlooked.”
“We believe that a comprehensive legacy plan considers the full breadth of assets in planning for the future prosperity and security of a family. Traditionally, wealth managers focus on the financial side of the picture, but that is only one component of what a family may want to preserve for future generations,” adds Brotman who says the service also will help differentiate Brotman Financial Group from competitors.
“By teaming with Acknowledge Media, we’re providing our multi-generational family clients with the know-how, tools, and services to preserve and celebrate the unique aspects of legacy including oral histories and family values,” he says.