L36 Stories

It starts with a planning call. We learn who the film is about, set your event date, and build a timeline that works backward from it.

Next, your L36 recording kit arrives at your door with a microphone, a phone stand and printed interview questions. Your family records long interviews from a phone using the L36 app. While you record, our AI interview coach reviews the questions with you and points out stories you haven’t covered yet. Relatives anywhere can add their own recordings, photos and home movies.

Our concierge team helps you organize photos across the decades and coordinate who records what. They also keep everything on schedule. Our editors then shape it all into your film.

You’ll receive the finished film before the party, with time for one round of changes, along with a photo archive organized by decade. Larger packages add a printed keepsake book.

Prefer that we handle everything? Our Full Production service brings an L36 videographer on site, from the interviews at home to filming the celebration itself.

L36 Stories is a boutique documentary studio led by founder Steven Pearce, whose documentary Love Evolved aired on PBS. We make cinematic films about the people you love, timed to premiere at the moments that matter: a 50th anniversary, an 80th or 90th birthday, a retirement or a family reunion.

Most families have decades of stories that have never been recorded and photos scattered across phones, albums and shoeboxes. We gather all of it into a short documentary-style film with real interviews, a real story arc, licensed music and a cinematic finish. The result is a film your family will watch together at the party and keep for generations.

We’re based in Austin and serve San Marcos, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country in person, with remote production for families anywhere.

Films are delivered as high-resolution digital files, ready to play on a TV, projector or big screen. Every film includes licensed music, so you can screen it at your event and share it with family without copyright issues. The Portrait film runs 7 to 8 minutes, and the Signature film runs 15 to 20 minutes. Each film gets two rounds of revisions. For the smoothest experience, book as early as possible, since the timeline depends on how quickly interviews and photos come in.