Case Study 1 - Trish Rechichi (Special Occasion Mini-Documentary)

Trish Was Having a Party

Trish was turning 40. She was planning a party for over 120 people and wanted to do something special for the big event. Trish wanted a video taken of her birthday “bash” – the way wedding videographers often film the guests at a reception. We don’t do that at Remembering When.  We do tell stories though. 

The Special Occasion DVD we eventually chose to do for this event is a hybrid of what Trish wanted and what we "normally" do.

Trish supplied several key people in her life for us to interview. We interviewed her Mum and Dad, brother and sister, mother-in-law, friend, work colleague, husband, Angelo and some members of his family.

Each was sent a preparation sheet prior to the interview. It gave them some guidelines about what time period and aspect of Trish’s life to talk about. They also received a phonecall from the interviewer to discuss how the process would work, as well as to confirm times for the interview.

Several of the contributors provided photographs of Trish prior to shooting the interviews although most provided them on the day. These were scanned and returned within two days of the shoot.  

Trish provided some ideas about what music to use in the video. Those who know Trish describe her as a “go-getter” or the “Energizer battery”. This trait was reflected in her musical selection. Being a child of the 80s, Trish loved the Tina Turner classic Simply the Best as well as Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.  She also loved Bob Sinclar’s contemporary hit Love Generation, for it’s up-tempo beat.  The only slow song chosen was Everything I Do I Do It For You by Bryan Adams which was the song Trish and Angelo danced to at their wedding.   

On the day of filming, Remembering When visited all of the contributors. Each interview took about 45 minutes to conduct - including the time taken to set up the camera.  Remembering When helped the interviews to go smoothly by asking the questions. Some people got a little nervous – it didn’t matter though; we simply shot the footage until we got it right. The travel, set-up and filming of everybody contributing to Trish's story took a day to complete.

From there the footage was delivered to the Remembering When editor who pieced the interviews together with the photos and music.

There were two distinct parts to the video.

The first was Trish's "story." The contributors each discussed different parts of Trish’s life so that a person who did not know her – could get a very good understanding of the people and events that have shaped her into the person she is today.    

The second was the birthday wishes. Each of the contributors wished her well for her 40^th birthday. Some thanked her – others sang to her. All were edited together to ensure a fitting finale to the DVD.

Toward the end of the process, the photos to be used on the DVD cover were discussed with Angelo and Trish.  A portrait shot of Trish was chosen for the DVD cover (and disk face) and several shots of the Trish as a girl and young adult, as well as a family shot, were included on the back of the cover.  

After the video was completed, it was sent to Trish’s husband, Angelo for approval. He made a few minor suggestions; particularly concerning some changes to the sub-titles we used when Trish’s mother (who speaks Italian) was talking about Trish as a “bambino.”

After making these changes and getting Angelo’s approval, the disk was sent to be printed. Three days before the big event – Angelo had the copy of the DVD ready to play at the party.   

Angelo had organized for a big screen to be available at the restaurant where they were holding the function. After speeches, the DVD was put on and Trish got to watch it for the first time.  To see what Trish felt about the whole experience,  click here. Or, you can read an excerpt from a letter we received from Trish several days later:

“Sitting amongst a crowd ...and watching a DVD that encompasses...life photos, achievements and intimate words from the people closest to me was an emotional and commemorative experience that will remain with me forever. Your demeanor, lovely disposition and character are amazing and certainly recognised by all.  Neil, thank you for doing such a superb job with the DVD – loved by all of our guests.”