A short clip/teaser from Allison and Joel’s wedding at the Adolphus in downtown Dallas. I can’t help but tear up a little!
Music licensed through www.songfreedom.com
Allison and Joel’s Wedding Teaser
Stacy and Jason’s Wedding Highlight at Bass Hall
Stacy Reeves has been a key mentor in the development of my photography career, but more importantly, a great friend. I asked her if I could film her wedding at the historic Bass Hall and she happily obliged. Her and Jason’s Sunday wedding was filled with laughter, tears, and lots of personality.
Thanks to Vu and Linda for your help!
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Melissa and Ryan’s Vibiana Wedding Short Film
Here’s a short film edit for Melissa and Ryan’s wedding at the gorgeous Vibiana in downtown LA. Melissa and Ryan are an incredibly sweet couple, who complement each other perfectly. They’ve known each other for most of their lives, dating long distance for nearly 10 years. Ryan has been deployed to Iraq twice, earning a purple-freaking-heart for his service to our country. These two are a power couple for sure.
Their wedding was held at the historic Vibiana in downtown LA on a gorgeous southern California day. It was a little windy, but if it weren’t for the wind, that veil shot during their first look would have been impossible (in addition to the camera shake, haha). I had a great time hanging out with Melissa and Ryan’s friends throughout the day – but to cap off the sweet day, I was rewarded with some of the most incredible dancing I have ever seen. Not only was it amazing, it was so-dang-fun. As I went through the footage, I couldn’t help but smile, laugh, and wish I had the physical (and mental) capacity to move like them.
I had the pleasure of shooting alongside Kim Le Photography for this wedding and it’s so fun working together. We feed off each others’ energies and I feel we are always looking out for each others’ shots. It’s such a blessing (and relief!) to have this kind of work chemistry – for us and our couples – it just makes our day so much smoother.
Thanks Melissa and Ryan for the opportunity to capture your beautiful wedding. Best wishes to you!
And thanks to Ning Wong for helping film throughout the day!
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Geetu and Ning’s Same Day Edit
Geetu and Ning were gracious enough to hire me for one of Table8′s first Same Day Edit films. It was an incredible learning experience as I faced the challenges of planning, filming and editing in a short amount of time. All in all, it was a magical night and their wedding was perfect in more ways than one. Same Day Edits are edited and shown at the reception.
Thank you Ning and Geetu for allowing me to share this day with you! Congratulations on a beautiful wedding – wishing you a lifetime of happiness and superheroes.
And thanks to Marco and Serena for filming, encouraging, and covering the reception while I sweated out the edit!
Venue: Turnip Rose, Newport Beach
Photography: Kim Le Photography
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Short Film Contest
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to Stillmotion’s Deconstructing the Story workshop in Austin, TX. It was a 3 day classroom and hands on workshop that included a faux 24 hr film festival contest. Day 1 was spent in the classroom talking about the different components of video and days 2 and 3 were spent in teams putting what we learned into practice.
For the faux film contest, I was placed on a team with 4 other team members and we were each assigned a primary role: director, camera a, camera b, gaffer (sound), grip (lighting). We were tasked with writing a story, lighting, recording the audio, and filming it in about 12 hours. On day 3, we learned editing techniques/workflow and had about 4 hours to cut and edit the final film. I was assigned camera a and loved the ability to make decisions alongside the director as well as maintain creative control with the camera – which fit in with my background as a photographer.
We had Joyce from Stillmotion come along for the ride to help guide our decisions and give us shortcuts with the editing. She was an asset in getting our film made on time and with clarity. The story was based partially on our actor’s actual story (he’s really an artist/photographer) and he did an incredible job taking on the role. The part I was looking forward to the most was the hands on film contest and I couldn’t have been happier with the experience.
They toured 3 cities and from each city, the films were posted on their blog and a contest was held for the best overall short film. I’m happy to say that our team won the contest and each of us are receiving a new Kessler Crane pocket dolly!
Overall, I felt this workshop was such a valuable experience in furthering my abilities as a film maker and story teller. I’m looking forward to applying what I learned to future films and can’t wait to take on the challenge. Check out Stillmotion’s post for details about the actual premise for the short film contest.
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Melissa and Ryan’s Wedding Trailer
Melissa and Ryan’s wedding at the historic St. Vibiana (ex)cathedral in LA was nothing short of amazing. Two people, seemingly destined for each other, coming together despite a long distance relationship, two tours of duty, and 10+ years of dating. Here’s a short trailer of their wedding highlight film I’ll be putting together over the upcoming weeks. Special thanks to Ning Wong for helping film and to Kim Le Photography for the referral! Cassandra Santor and her team at Beautiful Day did an incredible job tying the whole day together.
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INSPIRED: By Coco Chanel
Here’s a gorgeous, mysterious, and charming film from Coco Chanel, starring Keira Knightley.
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Why Films?
I’m sure I’ll get this question a lot more in the near future, especially when more than one reader finds this blog (Hi Kim Le!), so I figured I’d address it now.
So, why films?
First off, I’m in love with stories. I think we all are. We love being led from point A to point B, watching patiently with anticipation as the story unfolds. I think we all get easily mesmerized by the mystery of what’s ahead, even if we’re sure we know the outcome. And more often than not, we love stories that end with a clear and happy result, seemingly bringing more hope into our own lives.
Here’s J.J. Abrams talking about mystery and storytelling:
The thing about weddings is that 9.9 times out of 10, they do not start with conflict (often used to grab our attention). What they do start with are two individuals with a determined anticipation that by the end of the day, they are joyfully married and ready to spend forever together. In that couple’s one day, there’s anticipation, mystery, and charm. As a wedding photographer, I get to see these things, almost on a weekly basis. I get to see the nervous preparation rituals each side embraces, the careful attention to detail that goes into the small (and big!) things, and when two people, after acting individually from each other all day, finally see each other for the first time. It’s these moments that all wedding photographers strive to immortalize, one frame at a time.
Film is a way to take those individual frames and turn them into short clips that will further capture what I already see. From behind the camera, I’m the same person. I look for the same things, I anticipate the same moments, and I am filled with excitement when capturing and showing genuine emotion.
I’m a little nervous about the new opportunity, but I’m so excited about the possible outcomes.
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Betty and Ryan’s Short Film
This wedding was a 4 man operation. Table4 Weddings was hired for photography, which included myself and a second shooter (Kim Le).
Weeks before the wedding, I contacted the bride and groom and asked if I could bring a small videography crew to film their wedding as a trial for Table8. In return, we weren’t obligated to deliver any footage or be expected to capture anything specific. In other words, we would be allowed to film and edit whatever/however we chose. No pressure, and complete freedom.
We borrowed (and rented) a lot of the gear, so this was one of the first jobs any of us had used video specific tools in a real time environment. I was committed to taking photos but hired two additional staff to help with video. Throughout the day, I shot 20% video, 80% stills while my second shooter shot 100% stills and a dedicated videographer shot 100% video. The 4th person was primarily responsible for gear and assisting.
It was a crazy day running around and thinking about two different processes, but it was fun nonetheless. A lot of mistakes were made that I know will be corrected in the next one. There’s so much to learn but it’s incredibly exciting. So here’s Table8′s first wedding film, edited in FCP by me as well.
Special thanks to Kim Le P., Enoch L., Yvonne C., Joe S., Vu T., Marco W., and Joe C. Gear rented from Borrowlenses.com (my favorite!) and Lensrentals.com.
Betty and Ryan’s wedding images can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/3pf7xkc
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Limited Table8 wedding films now being offered
Weddings are something I love shooting. As a photographer who has spent the last 4 years of Saturdays with someone else’s families and friends genuinely loving and laughing with each other, I can say that it’s nothing short of amazing. I can also say that I know weddings. I know the character of weddings, large families, small families, grandparents who can’t stand in the sun for more than 10 minutes, the schedules, the other schedules (in case you run late), the crazy bridesmaid/groomsmen, when parents will cry, and when to anticipate unrehearsed moments of affection. This is why I am confident in my ability to not only understand, but capture and tell a unique story in your wedding film.
So between June 2011 and August 2011, I will be opening a limited number of dates for wedding film commissions.
This is what I offer:
- 2 videographers (including Jason)
- 10 hours of continuous coverage
- 3 camera ceremony coverage
- a 3-5 minute highlight film that recaps the day
- a basic documentary edit (ceremony, toasts)
- 2 DVD’s
In the near future, I’ll be adding these services:
- Same Day Edit Films (3-5 film edited and played at reception)
- Feature length wedding films (20-25 feature film)
- Bluray discs
- Time-lapse video
- (maybe one day) Vintage film stock
- HD downloadable films to multiple devices
- Portrait films
Here is my availability for June and July:
- Two weekends in June
- Two weekends in July
More 2011 dates will become available in the next 3 months. Please inquire if you’re interested. 2012 dates will be made available in August 2011.
And to give you an idea what I have done, here’s the first film I made with the generous help of Vu (yes, the guy in the video) and Kim Le. Seriously couldn’t have done it without their help. Kim Le and I did the filming while Vu did the editing.
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