Questions we hear often.

01

Getting started

What actually happens in a consultation?

A 45-to-60-minute conversation — in person if you're in Auckland, New Zealand, video call otherwise. No slides, no pitch. We find out what you want to preserve and why. We preview any materials you've already gathered, and sketch out what a project might look like. You leave with a clearer picture whether it's right. There is no cost and no obligation.

Do I need to have everything organised before we talk?

No. Most people come to us with a shoebox, a hard drive, a few stories they can't stop thinking about, and no idea where to start. Part of what we do is help you see what's there. Organisation is great, but not an obligation.

Who is Bricolage for?

Three kinds of people tend to find their way to us. Families marking a generational turning point — a milestone birthday, a parent's retirement, a passing they want to honour properly. Individuals with creative work, correspondence, or travel that deserves a form. And organisations or institutions preserving a founding story or an era of their own history. If any of those sound like you, we're worth a conversation.

I'm not a “public” person. Is this for me?

Especially for you. Most of what we do is private — commissioned for a single family, a single inheritance, a single shelf. Nothing we make is published anywhere unless you explicitly ask for it to be.

02

The work

Can I combine more than one of your disciplines?

Almost every project does. A typical engagement might pair a cinematic film with a print book, or an oral history with a digital archive. Your project's structure emerges from the material, not the menu.

How involved do I need to be?

As involved as you want. The minimum is roughly four touch-points: the consultation, a scoping approval, a draft review, and a final sign-off. Some clients prefer that light cadence; others want to review more. Either works. We adapt.

I'm not comfortable on camera. Can you still tell my story?

Yes. Many of our projects never put the subject on screen. An oral history, a print biography, or a narrated archive can capture your voice, story and point of view without any camera time. We'll find the medium that fits how you actually want to communicate.

How much raw material do I need to have?

Less than you'd think. We've built meaningful projects from a single shoebox of photographs or a single conversation. We've also built them from countless boxes of letters and fifty years of film. The shape of the project scales to what you have — and we're skilled at surfacing material you didn't realise you still had.

03

Logistics & pricing

How long does a typical project take?

Most engagements run three to nine months. Shorter projects — a focused audio story or a limited print edition — can wrap in four to six weeks, depending on the scope. Larger archival projects or feature-length films may span a year. You'll have a clear timeline before you commit, and named milestones along the way.

How much does it cost?

Short answer, it depends on what you want. Long answer: Print & Audio Projects start from NZ$2,000, Film Projects start from NZ$8,000, and Digital Archives start from NZ$10,000. Every project is custom-scoped, so this is just a guide. Pricing reflects the breadth of material, the disciplines involved, the timeline, and the level of craft the final work deserves. After the consultation, we send a scoped proposal with a fixed quote — no surprises, no hidden line items. We'll be clear on the pricing after scoping your project.

Where do you work?

We're based in Auckland, New Zealand and most of our projects are based in NZ, but we travel. We've filmed abroad, conducted oral histories via video call, and shipped materials internationally for archival work. If your project needs us to come to you, we'll factor that into the scope.

What happens if we need to change direction mid-project?

Creative projects evolve. Small changes are part of the process — we build two full review rounds into every engagement. Larger pivots (new scope, new subjects, different deliverables) get a revised quote and timeline, agreed in writing before we proceed. Nothing happens by surprise.

04

Privacy & ownership

Who owns the final work?

You do. Full rights to the finished artefacts — the film, the book, the archive, the oral history — transfer to you on final delivery. We retain a limited right to show excerpts in a portfolio only with your written permission, never by default.

How do you handle sensitive material?

Carefully. Every engagement begins with a written confidentiality agreement. Materials you share are stored on encrypted drives, accessed only by the named project team, and returned or securely stored, or destroyed at the end of the engagement according to your instructions. By default, originals are returned on delivery and working digital copies are destroyed 12 months after sign-off — longer retention is available on request.

Will my project appear on your website or social media?

Only if you want it to. Every case study, testimonial, or excerpt you see on this site is published with explicit written consent from the subject. If you'd prefer your project remain entirely private, that's the default — not the exception.