Molly and Jeff

Molly & Jeff from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

This was a wedding we filmed for Molly and Jeff in Anderson, IN. We also filmed their love story, which was shown at the reception. We love doing the interviews because it helps us get in touch with personalities and to observe the chemistry of the couple. The wedding was beautiful.

We worked alongside one of our favorite photographers, Matthew Gordon. We always enjoy seeing the work he places on his blog.

Experience the Difference - Wedding Cinematography

Photo by SB Childs Photography

It's hard to believe that 2009 is here. We had an outstanding year in 2008 and we met some of the greatest couples and worked with some of the best wedding professionals around. We have so many memorable stories and funny things happen. We keep saying that we need to keep a journal and write a book someday. When all 3 of us are working together the chemistry is so good and we really do enjoy the work we do. We made several trips to Chicago this year and we always enjoy filming there.

In 2008 we were voted Indiana's number one videographer by Channel 6. Setting the award aside, it was the heart felt comments that we received from current and former clients. We traveled to New Orleans as part of an elite group of wedding cinematographers called ReFrame, to network and discuss techniques and just have fun. In April we will be traveling to Austin for ReFrame again. But before that, John will be traveling to Haiti to film a short documentary on a school that has been built and a water well project. Stay tuned for that.

2009 is going to be yet another great year. We are very excited about some new collaborations that we have in the works. We will continue to film weddings in HD, explore some new technology and continue to push our work to the edge. We are always aware that the heart of your film rests with the story of the courtship, the proposal and the wedding day itself. Too often we get caught up in the technology and how great HD looks or the latest and greatest camera. We have been guilty of that ourselves. But our commitment is to focus on the relationships. The parents, the couple, family and friends. Wedding Cinematography is as much about the stories as it is the imagery. Our style is not to be invasive but to capture those candid moments. This is one of the most important days of your life and we take the responsibility of capturing those brief moments in time seriously.

Northernlight Filmworks produces highly customized films so that your wedding film will be tailored to your personality and to mirror the emotions of the day. What sets us apart from others is our ability to be true storytellers. We specialize in wedding cinematography. If you want your wedding to have a more vintage romantic feel, we are the only studio in Indiana that shoots Super 8 and 16mm film for weddings. All stock is purchased fresh and processed in California. (Super 8 sample) We also shoot with 35mm adapters to give the video a more film like appearance. Northernlight Filmworks also offers Same Day Edits. A Same Day Edit is a highlight of the day, which is shown during the reception. (Sample here)

As always, we look forward to meeting new couples and fostering a positive relationship from the day we meet and beyond. We have so many former clients that we feel are friends. Its always bitter sweet for us as we pack up our gear at the reception and say our goodbyes.

Give us a call or e-mail us and we would be glad to meet with you at our studio downtown Noblesville or wherever it is most convenient for you. We are rapidly booking dates for 2009 and we are looking forward to some fun places this year.

John, Jennifer & Steve Moon
Northernlight Filmworks

Schedule Consultation

ReFrame = Inspiration

We had an incredible time in New Orleans this week.  So many of the attendees and some of the speakers we have collaborated with over e-mail and different forums in an effort to improve the art of wedding cinematography.  We are proud members of ReFrame in an effort to raise the bar of the industry to bring to the front, a product that we are proud of and that all of our clients will cherish.  We are all about pushing ourselves to the very edge of profound creativity and ReFrame helps in that process.  

The French Quarter was fun and what seems to be a 24/7 party.  This was our first visit to Bourbon street and we had a late flight when we arrived.  We got into our room at the Royal Sonesta, which is very nice hotel, and we were hungry.  We ventured out into the streets of Bourbon Street and all I can say is the balcony's were full and the cross dressers were out in full force.  We ended up having a slice of pizza and watching all the action.  

Our second day, I was working on our laptop in the lounge area of the hotel.  Jen was sitting with me and then I realized she was gone for quite a while.  I heard music on the streets but this was not out of the ordinary but it sounded like a parade.  I walked out to see if that was where Jen was and as I walk out the door, what seemed to be in slow motion, beads were flying through the air.  Turning to my right there was Jen, laughing and having a great time.  But...I see that she has this award winning collection of beads around her neck.  I have never been to Bourbon Street but I know exactly how those beads are obtained :)   I said, "So....how did you get all those beads?"  She started laughing and then I noticed that they were throwing beads to everyone, even me.  

We met so many people who have become good friends and really enjoyed sharing information with each other so as to improve our craft.  The ReFrame Collective did a great job in organizing this workshop.  While we were there,  we attended a dinner / party in a combined event with ImageX.  We got to see one of my Photographer idols John Michael Cooper.  Jessica Claire and Marc Eric were also there.

You come away from an event like this with tons of ideas.  Some of these ideas will encourage us to go deeper into some techniques we already employ and others are completely new and emerging.

We will be going to Austin for another ReFrame event in April and hope to be able to show some of our work on the big screen there.

John and Jennifer

www.northernlightfilmworks.com

ReFrame

We just moved into our new studio this week and we are loving it. When we return from ReFrame, we will get some photos up.

We will be flying out on Saturday for New Orleans to attend ReFrame. ReFrame is an exclusive and intensive workshop learning new trends and techniques. We were one of 50 participants selected to attend. There will be cinematographers from around the world and the U.S. and we can't wait to meet some that we have only talked with on the phone, over e-mail or on forums. We will be shooting some Super 8 film in the French Quarter.

Stay tuned as we will try and update our blog daily on some of the sites and sounds of ReFrame. Image X will also be conducting a workshop and I am going to try and stop by and meet John Michael Cooper.

We will try and respond to any e-mails and phone calls but we will have limited access.

Thanks...and stay tuned.

John and Jennifer

www.northernlightfilmworks.com

Same Day Edit - Scott + Jessica

Scott & Jessica - Same Day Edit from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

View in HD (recommended)

This was a Same Day Edit (SDE) we produced for Scott and Jessica on Saturday. The wedding was at the beautiful Trinity United Methodist Church in Lafayette, IN.

We enjoyed working with Scott and Jessica and they both have a great personality and this was quite evident when we shot their engagement video (link below). We first met the couple when they visited our studio in Noblesville and when they left, we knew they would be fun.

For those not familiar with a Same Day Edit, we take the footage obtained during the day and produce a short video highlight of the days events. These command organization skills and the ability to stay on task under lots of pressure. The reward, however, is priceless in watching the reaction of the couple as we help them relive the days events and to see things they were not able to see.

After we shot the wedding, we pulled up to the Holiday Inn Select in Lafayette and we decided to do a Same Day Edit. These are a little more manageable when we have an assistant and when we know for sure we are going to do one. Well we didn't have an assistant and we were not planning on doing a SDE to show the couple. That's when the stress kicks in...but we thrive on it. Nobody knew but us so that took some of the stress away but we were logging footage while keeping another eye on the events taking place. After the first dance and father / daughter and mother / son dances we hit the editing hard pulling footage for the song and making very quick exposure corrections. We surprised Scott and Jessica with this and we were very happy that they liked it.

We have a scheduled SDE coming up in October at Notre Dame.


Scott and Jessica's Engagement Video View in HD Here

John and Jennifer
www.northernlightfilmworks.com

Northernlight Filmworks Featured

Northernlight Filmworks was recently featured on a cool wedding resource website. There are many blogs out there that provide cool trendy info and Elizabeth Anne Designs is one of those blogs you should frequent to get some wedding planning ideas.

Here is the link: Northernlight Filmworks on Elizabeth Anne Designs

Wedding Film - Be Yourself

It’s your film – What to expect

I’m a sucker for movies that hit all the emotions, happy, sad, funny, etc… I think many people like this genre of movies because it pulls you into the experience. If you notice, many of the award winning movies has one or two characters that you, in some way, identify with. It doesn’t mean you are just like them but on some level you identify with something about them. Maybe it is how they interact with someone they have a relationship with, a parent, husband, wife, grandparent, etc.

Since being a wedding cinematographer, I watch movies a little differently. Ever since I was a child I was always interested in photography, so composition is something that I inherently look for. How the camera moves on a dolly shot and the placement of cameras and their angles are all things I look for and study while watching a movie. If a particular scene made me move into the action, I ask myself, why? Why did that particular scene move me? Was it the dialog, the music, the cinematography? Usually it’s not just one thing it is the sum of the parts.

Wedding cinematography is a little different than shooting a movie. Ok it’s a lot different. But our approach is to somehow transfer what you experienced on the wedding day into a film that will help you experience the day again. We like to include dialog where appropriate. The music and camera angles compliment the dialog.

What makes a great wedding film? First it requires the Bride and Groom to just relax and be you around the cameras. If you like photojournalistic photography style, you will like our style. We NEVER put anything in a video that might embarrass someone or get someone in trouble. We once did a love story shoot and the Bride said the proposal was at one restaurant and the Groom said it was at another. In all honesty, the Bride was probably right. Why are women so much better at details? I digress. So the point here is to just relax and let the candidness of the day define the film.

Second, the camera or cameras need to be with you just about everywhere you go. With the exception of a few places (you know what I mean). Just think of us as your bodyguard. The best moments are really captured this way. We always run audio but again, we never want to include something that would embarrass you. We had a Bride once that and she received her wedding day gift from her soon to be husband and said, “I don’t like it”. I found out later that she was concerned we would put that into the film. No way would we ever include that in our finished product.

Third, a timeline really helps us coordinate logistically where and when things are happening and what equipment we will need. This is one of the reasons we like working with wedding coordinators. They tend to keep things well organized and if there are any changes, everyone knows about them.

This next item is so critical to a great wedding film. Lighting. First, we love warm candle lit wedding ceremonies but if that’s all the light there is, you will have a dark, grainy wedding film. This can also have a negative effect on the photographer too. Remember that the photographer needs to focus and to focus you need some light. Be sure to check that you will have some overhead lighting or window lighting. Any ambient light will help. We don’t need a lot but dark is bad for both the videographer and photographer. There are some things we can do ‘in camera’ to help with the lighting like changing the format to a slower frame rate. One of the advantages to outdoor ceremonies is the lighting is usually great to work with. During the reception, we like to use off camera lighting especially for the first dance and father / daughter and mother / son dances. We usually kill these lights when the guest dancing starts.

I guess the bottom line in all of this is that you should have fun, be authentic, keep us and your photographer involved in your day and you will be happy with the end result.



John
www.northernlightfilmworks.com

Indianapolis Wedding Video Teaser - David + LeAnn

Indianapolis Wedding - David and LeAnn from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

Recommend to watch in HD : Click Here

This is a little movie like trailer we did for David and LeAnn. This was a beautiful wedding held at St. Lukes United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, IN. The reception was held at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. One of the things we remember about this wedding was the heartfelt speech given by the Brides father. I have 4 daughters and the thought of going through that 4 times is going to kill me...I think.

We are looking forward to editing the Highlight and main video.

We shot alongside Andrew Scalini and the wedding was coordinated by Casey Scott of Etcetera.

Chicago Wedding - Kimberly & Adam - Trailer

Click To Play

Here is a trailer for Kimberly and Adam's wedding we shot near Chicago last weekend. We had so much fun filming their wedding. We also shot some Super 8 that we can't wait to get back from processing in California. The ceremony was so beautiful and reflected how much they truly love each other. They wrote their own vows which brought many to tears. The reception was also beautiful. Adam and Kimberly are such a cute couple.

We had the pleasure of working with an incredible wedding coordinator, Donna Mason with Two Becoming One, in Tinley Park, IL. Donna had a handle on everything, which make the whole day run smooth. We also had a blast working with Dawn and Stacy with QT Photography, who did an outstanding job. You can reach Dawn at dawn@qtphotography.net

Thank you to Kimberly and Adam and their families for making us feel welcome.

John and Jennifer Moon
www.northernlightfilmworks.com

Juan + Lori

Click To Play

We had a fun time shooting this with Juan and Lori alongside Kevin and Alicia Monahan with Kevin Monahan Photography. This was a 3 location shoot: Chateau Thomas Winery, Downtown Plainfield and Friendship Gardens, also in Plainfield. The light that evening was really good and this is one of the best times to shoot. Juan and Lori's wedding is rapidly approaching and we are looking forward to it. They had a really cool idea and are having some Salsa instructors at the reception to teach the guests how to bust a move. I might just have to put my camera down and give it a go.

Thanks Juan and Lori for being such fun subjects. See you soon!

John
www.northernlightfilmworks.com

Wedding Planning Tip

The Importance of Timelines

Every great coordinator prepares a timeline to put her clients’ nerves at ease, calm the vendors, and conduct an organized event. A timeline is the bloodline of any event. Its purpose is to eliminate stress of the vendors, bride, family members and all the team players. Almost anyone can mock a timeline, but an expert takes into consideration two main things: vendors and flexibility.

Assertiveness is an important characteristic of a coordinator, however, being flexible and going with the flow is crucial when in the moment. Anything can happen behind the scenes, so by taking the basics of the timeline and adjusting throughout the event takes experience, and lots of it!

Here are a few tips when creating your own timeline:

1. Be flexible. The day will not run minute by minute as planned. Knowing that at the end of the day you will be married is all that matters.
2. Communicate. The importance of communicating with your vendors is key. Certain vendors like to load in particular times to fit their schedule. Just ask.
3. Meet with your coordinator and photographer/videographer the week of your wedding. You have to love your coordinator and photographer/videographer. This team will be with you all day. Their personalities have to click and match your style. They will be key players throughout the event.
4. Include everyone. Double check that you have included every vendor and family member on the timeline (including each person’s name). You may know everyone involved but your mom might have never met your groom’s grandmother. Don’t forget to put the bridal party line-up, including first and last name. This helps your DJ and keeps the bridal party organized. It’s a nice touch to list the title of all songs played (first dance, etc.).
5. List emergency phone numbers. Delivery crews and cell phone numbers are a must the day of the wedding. If the limo driver doesn’t show up, you will have their number right there at your fingertips. If you cannot afford a professional, it is important to send out your timeline to your vendors 3-4 weeks prior to your event. The night of the rehearsal plan on 15-20 copies for your bridal party and family. And hire a professional, so you can relax and enjoy your wedding day.

Everyone will be impressed with your organization for a smooth day. Relax, stay calm, and enjoy your well-planned day.


Tonya J. Shadoan
Circle City Planners
Owner
317-716-7643
www.circlecityplanners.com
Check our weekly blog for more wedding tips.

Voted Indianapolis Best Wedding Videographer

We found out today that we won Channel 6 A-List as Indy's Best Wedding Videographer!

Business has been great in 2008 and we are looking at 2009 as being an even better year. We have had a blast getting to know new people, meeting new collegues and seeing new places and there is more to come.

We never want to be comfortable with were we are at and we are always looking for opportunities to improve our cinematography and editing, whether in the form of new tools or just working on our shooting skills. We will be attending ReFrame in New Orleans in October and then again in April we will be in Austin, Texas. As important it is to invest in good equipment, we believe it is equally important to invest in yourself as well.

Thanks to everyone that voted for us. View the comments here: Northernlight Filmworks A-List

John and Jennifer Moon
www.northernlightfilmworks.com