Oral histories & documentary films People, families, companies, bands

Your story,
in your own words.

Every life has a story worth keeping. We record it in the voice of the person who lived it, organize it chapter by chapter, and finish it to broadcast standards.

Start a conversation Life histories

The problem

The story lives in a few people

Most stories are never written down and never recorded. They get told at the dinner table, a little differently each time, until the person who lived them is no longer there to tell them.

Parents & grandparents

They are happy to talk, but nobody wants to write a memoir. The stories stay in their memory and nowhere else.

Scattered pieces

Photos, letters, and old tapes end up spread across phones, hard drives, boxes, and closets, with no one sure what is what.

Moments that pass

Founders step back, bands break up, and milestones get a post and a plaque. Then the moment is gone.

You don't have to be famous to have a story worth keeping.

Oral history used to mean archives, historians, and people in the history books. It should also mean your grandmother, your dad, the neighbor who ran the corner store for forty years.

There is nothing to write and nothing to learn. They just talk, one chapter at a time, and we keep their real voice, the way they actually tell it.

What we make

Three kinds of story, one way of working

Real interviews and real archive material. No script, no actors, no stock footage standing in for anyone's history.

For people & familiesOral history

Life histories

An oral history of one person's life, told in their own voice and organized into chapters your family can keep, share, and come back to.

For the parent or grandparent who is willing to talk but would never write a memoir. Short, relaxed sessions built around simple questions. No script, no pressure, and no technology for them to learn.

ParentsGrandparentsVeteransImmigrants & first generationsCouplesAnyone with a story

Life story sessionStart here. One 60 to 90 minute guided conversation, recorded remotely and edited into an audio keepsake with a music intro.
Life story filmYour session recording paired with family photos and cut into a short film. A session you already paid for counts toward it.
Full life story filmSeveral remote conversations built on a chapter list, plus your family archive, finished as a documentary of one life, with family members adding their part of the story.

Every session is kept in full, with transcripts, so the original voice stays with your family. Sessions are remote by default, and on-location recording is available as an add-on.

For companiesFounders, leaders, staff

Company films

Documentary films about the founders, the people, and the history behind your company, told by the people who built it.

Founder or anniversary filmThe founder's story or a milestone year, told through interviews and archive material.
Remote executive sessionA leader tells their story in a conversation filmed remotely, with no travel and no crew on site.
Company history filmA multi-chapter film on the full history of the company, told by the people who lived it.

Any of these can start as a single film and grow into a larger project.

For bands & musiciansYour story, your sound

Band biography films

A short, cinematic film that replaces the press-kit bio nobody reads. Not a music video and not a livestream clip. Your story, in your words, cut with your sound.

3 to 5 minutes Your voice, on camera Live & rehearsal footage Built for your EPK & socials

Band bio filmThe short film you release, sized for labels, blogs, booking agents, and fans.
Social cut packThree to five short pieces from the same interviews, sized for where your fans already are.
Extended band filmThe full history, from the first rehearsal to wherever the band is now, told in chapters.

The interviews and the archive stay yours, ready for a longer film later. On-location filming is available as an add-on.

How it works

How the work gets done

Step 01

Talk

Recorded interviews, on site or remote, built around a chapter list we make with you. No script.

Step 02

Gather

Photos, documents, flyers, phone clips, and old tape from your archive. Unsorted is fine.

Step 03

Organize

Everything sorted by chapter, person, and place, and handed back to you labeled.

Step 04

Finish

Edit, color, sound, music, and captions, with a cut you review before release.

Chapters first

Nobody tells a whole history in one sitting

We break the story into chapters and work through them one at a time. The list is built with you before anything is recorded, and every client's list is different.

CH 01Where I grew up
CH 02My parents and grandparents
CH 03School, friends, and first jobs
CH 04Leaving home
CH 05Meeting the love of my life
CH 06Raising a family
CH 07The hard years
CH 08What I want you to know

Examples only. Every chapter list is built with you.

The delivery

What you end up with

Not just a film. Everything that went into it, handed back in usable shape. An organized archive is worth more than a pile of the same material, and it makes an anniversary cut or a reissue piece easy to do later.

The film

The finished film, cut to length.

Short cuts

Shorter versions to share with family, fans, or your team.

The interviews

Every full session, unedited.

Transcripts

Written, searchable text of every session.

The archive

All media labeled by chapter, person, and place.

Master files

High quality files you keep and can export.

Intro pricing

Estimate your project

Pick the kind of story and the film that fits. You will see a starting price right away. These are introductory rates for our first clients, and every project gets a written scope and a fixed quote before any work begins.

1. Whose story is it?

A life story A company A band

2. Choose where to start

3. How many?

For example, one for each grandparent.

4. Extras

On-location recording with travelWe come to you instead of recording remotelyQuoted separately

Included with every film

A chapter list built with you before anything is recorded. A review cut before it is final. Every full interview, unedited, with transcripts. Your archive, labeled by chapter, person, and place. Master files you keep.

Introductory rates are for a limited number of early clients. Films run 30 minutes or less.

Ownership

You own all of it

There is no version of this where we hold on to your history.

Trust is part of the work, not a form you sign at the end.

The recordings, transcripts, photos you send, and the finished film are yours.
You can export all of it in formats that stay usable for years.
We tell you in plain language who can see what, how long material is kept, and exactly how and whether AI is used on it.
Your material is never sold, licensed, or handed to anyone outside your project.
We may ask to use a short excerpt in our own reel. That only happens with your written approval, and saying no costs you nothing.

When to start

Most clients come to this around a moment

A milestone birthday or a wedding anniversary

Mother's Day, Father's Day, or the holidays

A family reunion, or a new grandchild

A company anniversary or a milestone year

A founder or long-time leader stepping back

An anniversary of a record or a first show

A reunion, a final tour, or a lineup that will not last

A retirement, or a move out of the family home

One person who alone remembers the early years

Most of this gets harder to gather with time, not easier.

The studio

Who does the work

Tony Pacheco

Founder, director, and editor

History has always been my first love, and media has been my career. I earned degrees in both journalism and history, then spent years producing and editing at CBS Interactive and Kentucky Educational Television, learning how to draw out a story and shape it into something people want to watch.

Firsthand Legacy Studio is where those two passions finally meet, and it is something I have wanted to build for years. We make documentary-style films that preserve personal and family histories, along with the stories behind companies and bands, in the voices of the people who lived them.

The studio is small on purpose. The person who interviews you is the person who edits your film, with no rotating crew and no handoffs.

Background

Video Production ManagerEZsolutions
Video EditorKentucky Educational Television
Camera Operator, live simulcastsChurchill Downs
Associate Video ProducerCBS Interactive
MA, Television, Radio and FilmSyracuse University
BS, Multimedia JournalismIndiana University Southeast
BS, HistoryIndiana University Southeast

Jen McNelly

Audio director and producer

I have always believed in the power of human connection, and that everyone has a story worth sharing. My passion for storytelling, communication, and connecting with people has shaped both my personal and professional life. After earning a degree in psychology, I spent time doing missionary work with the Hispanic community and only grew more in love with learning about people and their personal stories. I went on to complete graduate work in digital media, and have interviewed, written, and edited for local publications and media companies while also working in marketing.

My own family history journey has taught me how much we can lose when we don't ask the questions, share the memories, and preserve the stories of the people we love. That is why helping build Firsthand Legacy Studio is more than a business to me. It is a mission at the core of what I value most.