The value add for me would be if I felt the content was really going to last "forever", but after navigating the site, I'm not offered any evidence that would increase my confidence in this happening. How can you make sure that the content will survive my (the surviving friend) lifetime?

Absolutely beautiful, and done in the most tasteful way. This is how you communicate your product, especially for a potentially sensitive cultural issue such as death.

Nicely done. The tone seems just right for this kind of service: a combination of celebration and reverence.

Thanks, we spent a lot of time working on getting the tone right. There are multiple elements - voice over, music, color, illustration, script - so the trickiest part was bringing them all together in a way that felt genuine and honest.

Did you do the production in-house, or hire someone? Definitely well done, and a good tone.

We started by writing (and re-writing) the script in-house. Then we hired a very talented friend in Portland to do the illustration and he recommended we hire a local animation house that he liked and had worked with previously. The voice over was chosen after auditioning/recording 5 of our friends and my brother composed the sound design. It was a very collaborative process with a great group of people. We built slowly, allowing for feedback and brainstorming at each phase of the process. It really helps to work with people you like and whose tastes you trust.

That was a great effort...how long did it take to put everything in place

We started writing the script mid-December. Launched today. So about 5-6 weeks.

Nice video. How do they/will they make money? Printed versions of their pages?

This answer was unsatisfactory: http://1000memories.com/forum/22-how-do-you-pay-for-the-site...

The only thing better than the video was the fact that they are using OLARK for customer support. I've seen that YC-funded company popping up in a lot of websites, and every time it continues to amaze me. So far I've only written people to complement them on something, but this truly seems to be a powerful tool that will companies the upper edge against competitors. I'm really looking forward to see how successful 1000Memories, along with OLARK, will become to be.

Man, just looking at that site makes me think. I'm not scared of dying; I'm scared of other people dying.

How do people know to look for an obituary?

They don't -- that's why my grandmother looks at every one.

This has to have one of the highest production values of a YC video I've seen. Well done.

Best product video I've seen, short and sweet yet tells exactly what you do in a very life is celebratory way (the humor with the newspaper bit is brilliant).

Is the voice over a founder, and can you share more about behind the scenes?

The voice over is a former colleague. We love his voice because a) he sounds like Jeff Bridges and b) he has a slight lisp that is really endearing. We tried younger voices but they just didn't feel as right. We felt it needed an older, wiser narrator.

Did you go down the route of hiring pros first and then just decided to go with friends for the voice talent?

We never thought about hiring VO talent. We just thought about people we know that might have the right tone.

That video was 72 seconds.

Yes, the title just didn't have the same ring to it

So will you sell memory related products to those who lost a loved one?

Edit: It appears you'll be taking donations for good causes. Maybe the culture in America is different, but I don't see this work for anything except helping to pay for the funeral. Most funerals are a moment of self-reflection on one's own happiness, not so much the world's.

Great job of communicating what the service is in an easy enough fashion that my mother would understand.

Fortunately, I don't have a use for the service right now, but I will definitely keep it in mind for the future.

This is a pretty amazing video. I like the tone it gives. It's respectful, yet informative. There's so many subtle things that makes it just perfect for the service. Huge props, you guys rock.

Looks great! Classy feel to the video. Is this something you plan on making money with or just something to help people remember their loved ones (or both)?

That was really, really good. I hope you guys run this on TV at some point (in some shortened fashion - there are 60 second slots, though)

Well done, guys!