So, who is this guy behind My Video Memoir?
My name is Chuck Kent. I have worked with video storytelling as a writer, creative director, interviewer, videographer and editor for over four decades. I’ve worked at a major ad agency (BBDO, on GE, Wrigley, Gillette) a small ad agency (my own), and more recently as a consultant working directly with C-Suite types (just look me up on LinkedIn.)
Today I live in Orange County, California, with my wife, and near my oldest daughter (but too far from my youngest, on the east coast). In semi-retirement, I have found great satisfaction in interviewing people on video, whether they be industry leaders discussing key issues or individuals and couples telling their life stories.
But years ago, I sat my own parents down for five hours of interviews. Five! That’s a great video record for our family to have — but honestly, nobody goes back through all five hours, save to dip in and out to see and hear Mom and Dad again. Still, that experience taught me two important lessons:
First
It’s powerful thing to be able to see your loved ones again, hear them laugh, and watch them kid and love each other, long after they’re gone.
Second
A concise memoir that people will actually watch is better than an exhaustive video biography that is, well, exhausting.