story orchard
Your stories. told by you.
welcome to story orchard
Your stories are worth capturing.
Story Orchard creates guided personal story films and family archive projects for people who want to record the memories, milestones, and moments that matter — told by the people who lived them.
Our work begins with you: your voice, your stories, your relationships, and the moments you want people to remember.
We can also help with the materials that surround those stories — digitizing photos, tapes, albums, home movies, and other pieces of family history that are sitting in the back of a closet or down in the basement.
family stories
Capture the stories you’ll want to remember, in the voice of the only people who know how to tell them.
wedding and anniversary stories
These aren’t films about the day, they’re films about the people starting a life together.
Expecting parents
Children only know their parents as, well, their parents. Expecting Parent Films allow you to give your future children a look at the people you were before they changed your entire world.
Retirement stories
Honor a career, a calling, or a meaningful chapter with a guided film that captures the stories, lessons, and reflections behind the years of work.
Founder or business story
Capture the story behind a business, organization, or family enterprise in the words of the people who built it.
milestones
Mark a meaningful moment such as a high school graduation or buying your first house with a focused film your family can return to for years.
Film Packages
Every Personal Story Film includes more than the final video. We guide you through the process from the first conversation to the final edit, helping you prepare, shape the focus of the interview, and feel comfortable on camera.
With years of experience in storytelling, interviewing, filming, and editing, we know how to create a calm, thoughtful process that leads to a film your family, friends, or colleagues will want to revisit for years—or generations—to come.
Package pricing reflects the scope listed above. Additional filming time, locations, participants, archive work, or custom requests can be quoted separately.
Personal Story films
Short interview story
A simple, professionally recorded interview of one person to capture their voice, stories, and memories in a clean, natural format.
This is a good fit for people who want something more thoughtful and reliable than a phone recording, but do not need a fully edited story film.
Includes:
- One planning conversation
- One hourlong guided interview session
- Professional camera, audio, and lighting
- One filming location
- Light editing for clarity and flow
- Downloadable final file
Cost: $2,250
signature story Film
Allows one featured person or two people interviewed together on camera. A polished short film built from a guided interview, selected photos, music, and thoughtful editing.
The result will be a focused, professionally produced film centered on a person, relationship, milestone, or meaningful season of life.
Includes:
- One planning conversation
- Custom pre-interview worksheet
- One hourlong guided interview session
- Professional camera, audio, and lighting
- One filming location
- Up to 20 selected photos included
- Intro and outro
- Music and light graphics
- Polished short film edit
- Downloadable final file
- One round of light revisions
Cost: $5,000
Deluxe Story Film
Includes two separate hourlong interview sessions, which can feature two individual interviews, two shared conversations, or a combination of both. Best for couples, parents, founders, or family members whose stories connect but benefit from their own interview time.
This package allows for multiple themes, additional family context, selected archival materials, and a more developed final film.
Includes:
- Two planning conversations
- Custom pre-interview worksheet(s)
- Two hourlong guided interview sessions
- Professional two-camera setup
- Professional audio and lighting
- Up to two filming locations
- Intro and outro
- Up to 40 selected photos included
- Music and light graphics
- Downloadable final file
- One round of revisions
Cost: $8,500
faq
How long will my final film be?
Final film length varies by project. Each package includes one hourlong guided interview session, or two sessions for the Deluxe Story Film, and the finished film is shaped from the strongest, clearest moments from those conversations.
Some interviews result in a longer final piece, while others are more focused after editing. The purpose of the planning conversation is to help you prepare for the on-camera session, think through the stories or themes you may want to include, and feel more comfortable before filming begins.
The goal is not to hit a specific runtime. It is to create a film that feels clear, meaningful, and natural to watch.
Archiving services
Families and organizations alike have priceless materials tucked away in different places, waiting to be lost or damaged.
Photos. Albums. VHS tapes. Camcorder footage. Audio cassettes. Slides. Negatives. Letters. Newspaper clippings. Small pieces of a larger story.
We help digitize, organize, and care for those materials so they are easier to find, enjoy, and share when you need them.
Services may include:
- Photo scanning
- VHS and home movie transfer
- Slide and negative digitization
- Audio cassette transfer
- Album and bound media scanning
- Basic folder organization
- USB and digital delivery
- Archive planning and guidance
About
How it started
Story Orchard grew out of a personal project.
For several years, I would stop by my grandmother’s house before work every Tuesday morning for coffee and conversation. Eventually, I asked if I could start bringing a camera to record some of her stories — about growing up poor in Kentucky, starting a family in Indiana, and the memories she had carried with her for a lifetime.
Those informal kitchen table interviews became the foundation for Story Orchard: a way to help people record meaningful stories, memories, and milestones in the voices of the people who lived them.
Today, that personal beginning is paired with nearly two decades of professional media production experience, from documentary-style interviews and video storytelling to award-winning campaigns and brand work. Story Orchard brings those skills to personal stories with the same care, craft, and attention they deserve.
What story do you want to tell?
Locations
Madison, WI | Indianapolis, IN
derek @ storyorchard.media