Privacy and Confidentiality
A private legacy film exists because a family trusted filmmakers with its whole story. That trust is not a courtesy we extend. It is the condition that makes the work possible, and it is governed by standards we put in writing before anything is filmed. This page states them plainly.
The film is private by default
Every commission is confidential unless the family decides otherwise. The finished film, the raw material, and the fact of the commission itself are private. Nothing is shared, screened, referenced, or repurposed publicly without the family's written permission. A film can remain permanently private, seen only by the people the family chooses, for as long as the family chooses. Many are.
The films and photographs that appear on this site are here for one reason: the families involved granted that permission, deliberately and in writing.
Who sees the material
Raw material is seen by the working crew and editorial team, and no one else. Every person on a commission, from director to colorist, works under a confidentiality agreement that survives the project. Crews are small by design, and assembled for one film at a time.
Footage, archives, and interviews are stored on secured systems, not consumer platforms. Family archive materials entrusted to us for restoration are handled as originals: catalogued on receipt, digitized under supervision, and returned.
The family's approval is final
The family approves the finished film. Where a commission involves sensitive history, conflicting memories, or matters some family members would tell differently, we say so early and shape the treatment together. A documentary is honest or it is nothing, but honesty and exposure are not the same thing. Deciding what stays inside the family is part of the authorship, and that decision belongs to the family.
Delivery and afterwards
At delivery, the family receives the film and its archived materials in preservation formats, alongside a written record of who holds what. If the family requests it, our working copies are destroyed after archival delivery is confirmed. Public use of any excerpt, still, or description remains subject to written permission, indefinitely. There is no expiration on discretion.
In conversation
The same standard governs how we speak. We do not name clients, describe commissions, or confirm engagements. If you were referred to us by someone we have worked with, that introduction was theirs to make.
Questions about how any of this applies to a commission you are considering are welcome in the first conversation, before anything is agreed.