Jonah Weiss

I make documentaries for a living, mostly for public television, and for years I filmed strangers telling the most important stories of their lives. Then my grandfather died, and I realized I had never once pointed a camera at him. That is how this work started.

I bring a small video camera, two soft lights and a good microphone, and I set up in your living room in about fifteen minutes. We talk for an hour with old photos close by, and I ask the questions a grandkid would want answered. After a few visits I edit the footage into a short film, usually ten to fifteen minutes, with the photos woven in. Families tell me it gets played at every holiday. You also get the full raw recordings so nothing is lost.

I live in Montclair near Watchung Plaza with my wife and our two girls. I travel farther for this work, so homes 20 miles or more away add a small travel fee.