Florida Convention

We were gone all last week to the Video 08 Convention in Orlando Florida. Doesn't the site of the palm trees just make you want warmer weather? The weather was fantastic and the temp was 70 to 75 degrees! Windows down, sunroof open and the radio on.

We had a great time honing our skills and learned from some of the best in the business. The likes of Joshua Smith of Cinematic Bride, and Jason Magbanua of Jason Magbanua Films,
and Chris Jones of Mason Jar Films.

It was so inspiring to talk with these guys and share ideas and to learn from each other in order to stay on the cutting edge of wedding cinematography. We discussed not only the technical issues but the personal side of what we do and how we are given one of the most important jobs of documenting the wedding day. Joshua Smith shared that he was in Mexico on a shoot and for the Bride and Groom it was a very trying day. It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding and it rained and then during the reception it was discovered that many of the guests rooms had been broken into and over $200,000 in jewelry had been stolen. There were some tense moments as some of the workers had threatened to throw the guests in jail because they were lying about what happened. Things calmed down and everyone returned home safely. The Bride was later interviewed by news media in the States and she said that they stole thousands of dollars in jewelry but they did not steal the memories we have on video and in photos.

We were already excited about what is ahead of us for 2008 but we are even more pumped and have so many things in the works to share with you. We can hardly stand it. Every day Jen and I meet and discuss idea after idea of shots we want to get for a certain couple and specific music scores for another couple and concept videos for another couple...we lay awake at night thinking of ideas as well.

We will introduce you to something we are doing this year and it is really kind of edgy but it will push the envelope of creativity.



Here is Jen just thinking about the 15 degree temps back home.



John getting some editing done poolside.

We flew back to Indy on Friday to find that the Earth was a frosty white! The conference was very valuable for us and we met some great friends but it is good to be home.

We had a shoot downtown today for an engagement shoot. We will get that and some other videos posted soon.

John and Jennifer

Saks Fifth Avenue

I had the pleasure of meeting with Lisa Holderead, who is a Bridal Coordinator with the exclusive Saks Fifth Avenue Weddings.  Stay tuned to the our Blog because we will be announcing something special that is in the works and Lisa will be a part of this.  Something that involves Life, Style and Weddings. Mmmm.   I got a brief look at some of the dresses that were on display and they really are works of art.  Lisa explained that any of the dresses can be modified to the Bride's liking.   We have been in business for a period of time now and we realize that people really want high quality service, high quality products and someone that they can comfortably talk to and develop a local relationship with.  Lisa has such a warm personality and you can tell that she loves her job and puts every ounce of energy into it.   We were discussing videography and some of the things that we do in order to stand out in the Indianapolis market and Lisa mentioned that they will actually help you, at no charge, get fitted into your dress on your wedding day.  There is so much going on during the wedding day and that type of commitment helps Saks stand out.  She explained that this type of service is only for local area and anything outside of that would be serviced at their discretion.  

We will be meeting with Lisa in a few weeks to get some tips on dress selection and to learn more from her.

You can reach Lisa in person at the Saks Fifth Avenue store at the Fashion Mall at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis or by phone at 317-816-0171 and of course e-mail LISA_HOLDEREAD@S5A.com

2008

It is hard to believe that another year has passed...it sure went quick.  Jennifer and I are really looking forward to some interesting shoots this year.  We recently invested in some additional cameras that we are excited to use.  We purchased the new Canon HD cameras that have incredible image quality. Reinvesting in your business is so important, whether it be upgrading equipment or improving your skills.  

Jennifer and I sat down over a lunch in downtown Noblesville to put a punch list of goals that we would like to attain this year. Some of the goals are to continue to improve our skills by attending workshops and seminars.  You can never stop learning.  We will be producing some "Spotlight" videos for several photographers to help introduce themselves to potential clients.   Our first shoot starts in February with Anne Ruthmann who is a blast to work with. 

 We are also introducing Same Day Edits (SDE's) or Wedding Day Edits.  This really puts the pressure on us.  But that makes it exciting.  SDE's are a short highlight of the wedding, which is then shown at the reception.  SDE's require precise planning and quick responsive creativity.  We have a SDE scheduled for a wedding at the Notre Dame Basilica in South Bend.  We will get that posted as soon as we get that one done.

Every year it is interesting to see new and the not so ordinary places that we sometimes get to shoot.  We have a wedding in Kentucky and the reception is going to be at a restored building that used to be a prison camp during WW II.  The prisoners were German and Japanese.  The building sat vacant for years and during the restoration process they removed some wallpaper to discover some artwork that the prisoners had drawn on the wall.   We have another wedding that will be held at a private winery in southern Indiana.   Jennifer and I are amazed at how we always get the greatest clients and they always have an interesting story for us.

Every year we try and use our god given skills and abilities to help a charity promote itself through the use of video.  Last year we worked with the Jeff George Foundation.  God will point us in the direction we need to go this year.

We are working on developing another website, you will have to stay tuned to find out more about this concept.  It involves Life, some Style and of course Weddings.

*Photo courtesy of Kevin Monahan Photography at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

~John

Old but new

We had a fun and rewarding project that we worked on just before Christmas. A client contacted us and said she found some old 8mm film that had been in her family dating back to the 1940's. Her mother is in poor health and she wanted to archive the footage and have us compose something on DVD that her mother and family members would enjoy watching. Of particular interest to us was a 1945 wedding captured on 8mm. Here we are 62 years later watching the beginning of this couples journey as Husband and Wife. After the footage was digitized I could not wait to take a peak into this families past. There was the 1945 wedding, Christmas at the farm in 1945, train shots of a vacation the family took, a cat that seemed to appear in the footage from 1945 to the 60's (maybe it just looked like the same cat) and family reunions and other get togethers. One thing that really hit me was (1) Life is very short and how time does fly by and (2) Families are very important and creating memories is far more treasured than any tangible thing you can buy. I think about the things I received as gifts as a child....mmm....can't think of any. But I do remember special trips with Mom and Dad and the time my Dad took off of work early to take me to the Indianapolis 500. I guess this is one of the reasons I feel we are blessed to get to do the work we do in documenting weddings and the reason why it is so very important to us.

Here is the comment we received today from our client:

Dear John,

"I wanted to thank-you and your wife for the great job you did in creating the DVD from my old 8mm family films. I really appreciated getting it in time for Christmas and it was a big hit with my family. We liked the composition/editing and the music. All in all it achieved a "priceless" rating from my family.
Thanks again"

Nancy