LifeBooth - Mark Davies Content - Keele University

Lifebooth - Mark Davies

Lifebooth - Mark Davies PhD Sociology (2011)

Summary:

LifeBooth is best described as a ‘family media company’. I make biographical films (or ‘digital biographies’) for families and individuals in order to preserve and communicate the essence and fabric of their lives. The films are created by weaving family photographs and home movies with filmed interviews in order to create a tangible connection between the past, present, and future.

About me:

I recently completed my PhD at Keele, which explored the symbolic importance of family photographs and how they connect to family relationships and identity. It is a subject I am passionate about and so LifeBooth is a natural progression of this. As I approached the end of my studies last year, I saw an advert for the SPEEDWM/EFS business startup programme through Keele University’s Research and Enterprise Services. I received a substantial grant of £7200 which has helped me to take my business to a new level in terms of quality of service and promotional capabilities.

About the business:

The strap line of LifeBooth is “everyone has a story worth telling”. The nature of my business is very unusual as there are only a handful of companies that actually do this and only one that stands as a serious competitor. I am personally responsible for every single aspect of the productions - from research and filming, to post-production and client care. I also offer a ‘Moving Portraits’ service – beautiful filmed portraits celebrating the bonds people share.

Lifebooth Logo How Student Enterprise has helped me:

SpeedWM and EFS have been a huge help in pushing my business forward; not only in terms of the incredible knowledge and insights gained on the course and through the mentoring sessions, but also through the funding which has enabled me to purchase items that have raised the quality of my services.

I have used the funding to incorporate my business, to pay for PR services and to purchase technical equipment that is vital to the long-term development of the business.

Future plans:

Since setting up LifeBooth I have also ventured into a partnership for corporate films with The Online Video Company (OVC) which I will continue to develop. LifeBooth remains my priority and is being strengthened through this partnership.

Website: www.lifebooth.co.uk

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