A Liverpool family business that has been keeping the "precious memories" of residents in the city alive for years is to close its doors after four decades.
Driving down Queens Drive, AVS (Amalgamated Video Services) Liverpool has been a familiar sight near the Rocket for locals and drivers passing through for years. Producing professional video productions for the commercial and corporate market since the 1980s, in later years the business expanded to also specialise in video to DVD conversion.
Today, many of us use our smartphones to film snippets of important moments in our lives. But years ago, video camcorders would capture hours of footage of family life - something Pat and Phil Denny have kept alive for many Merseyside families.
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Starting off as a hobby, Pat first filmed her son's school play on her cine camera in the 80s and after seeing the demand began filming other events like children's parties, weddings and more. Later branching into the corporate side, Pat's husband Phil also joined the business and from there they decided to start doing the likes of copies and transfers.
But after 38 years in the shop and over 40 years of experience, the couple have decided to close their doors for the final time next week. As part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we spoke to co-owner Pat, 71, about over four decades in business and how the industry and life in the city has changed.
Pat, who grew up in Kirkby, told the ECHO: "We've been in the shop for 38 years, but we first worked from home in a little corner of my living room for a couple of years and then the premises became available. My husband was a professional tradesman and then he joined me and since we've been here.
"We've got a really good name and quite a few of the big companies recommend us because we do a tailor-made service. It's transferring people's precious memories onto a format they can preserve and watch and show their grandchildren."
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In the last few decades, Pat and Phil have seen life in the city and inevitably how local families capture memories change with new trends and technology. Years ago, many of us would capture hours of footage on VHS, whereas today we can narrow down a wedding to a video lasting a few minutes or upload a TikTok showing highlights across a year that lasts a few seconds.
Pat said: "It is really important to both myself and my husband. I've got absolutely loads and loads of (videos of) my children and I've made them copies so they can start their own library, although things have changed dramatically with the mobile phones we all use.
"I use my phone but I've also still got a little camcorder at home to film my grandchildren when they come. It’s a nice Christmas present to give my children of their little ones that they didn't know existed."
Welcoming customers across Merseyside and beyond, AVS Liverpool transfers the likes of VHS to DVD or a hard drive - an industry Pat says is very rewarding. Pat told the ECHO: "We get people coming in saying you filmed my first Holy Communion and they're now in their 40s and have their own children.
"There was one couple, I'd filmed one of their parents' wedding and they came in and said I'm getting married at that same church, can you film it and do the same for us. Often when people come in they’ve lost someone and when they see the photos we print on the disc, seeing their faces when they see it, it’s as if we've done the video for them - and we've only transferred their home videos.
"They see it and they can't wait to go home and watch it and sometimes people ring to thank us. You get to know the people and we have the same customers coming back time after time. We have lots of happy memories - it's been a really rewarding industry, it really has."
The couple have decided to close the business to spend more time with their family, and after seeing a change in the industry, they thought it was the right time to do it. Since announcing their closure next week, many customers have been bringing in tonnes of home videos from their lofts to be transferred.
Pat said: "We're preparing to close the show now and you can imagine how much we’ve accumulated in the last 38 years. We have lots of equipment.
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"I'm only a Kirkby girl with no college experience or anything. I'm proud we've given so many people so many happy memories.
"When you see their faces when they come in and look at the discs and the cine, they're just really happy. We’ve been privileged to be in such an industry were we have been able to do something like that.
"And we’ve enjoyed it as well. It's given us a good living and you can't ask for anything more."
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