The 2010 Clinton Christmas Parade

We received a last minute call from Annie at the Addicted Jeans Store on Main Street, Clinton around 12:30 pm Friday afternoon to video tape her mother in the Clinton Christmas parade at 6pm. Her mom, Mary, has been Santa's elf in the parade since 1987 when the parades began and she wanted a video of her mom riding on Santa's AND a video of the parade itself. Tracy and I covered the parade, her mom putting on makeup and getting dressed and all the characters getting ready at the nearby Presbyterian church... lots of " people getting ready" in the video, plus Saint Ann's of Hampton Bagpipers warming up...it was a wonderful night to be out with a camera.

click here to view video

Hunterdon Half Triathlon Feature COMPLETED

Round Valley reservoir was the site of this Half Iron distance Triathlon. It's a beautiful lake and we shot a lot of great scenic shots which were used in the scenic open of the film.

The race was staged by Mike Nusbaum and his paceracing.org and NJMultisport race event companies.

We also expanded the use of our HD Hero camera, mounting it on the top of a long pruning pole to get the tree shots around the transition area. We had one of the swimmers wear it for the beginning of the swim and we also placed it on a bicycle helmet as well. It was a very long day and quite a different vibe from the Olympic distance triathlon we shot in Oxford NJ the previous month...in the longer races, the athletes spread out a lot more and makes it harder to cover with just two cameras. Next year, we go to three cameras, the HD hero, an assistant and a motorcyclist for the road shots instead of our fat van.

To view video, click here

Kristin and Ben

I wasn't sure after coming home from this wedding whether I'd have enough good footage to make a 10 minute film, much less a 15 min film. Ben and Kristen opted out of the standard bridal and groom prep which meant cutting off several hours of shooting Kristin's makeup, hair, dress, flowers, rings etc...they also opted out of the traditional dances - the father daughter and son mother dances... plus, the bridal party lost me on their way to the photo shoot location after the ceremony... so I didn't have those shots either. Fortunately, the photographer, who was also a family friend, did shoot it and I've incorporated those shots instead. It works nicely, actually...so this film is an example of shooting just the ceremony and reception...fortunately, all those "technical" details didn't stop this gang from having a wonderful day...despite us not being everywhere...the reception typically is our favorite part of the day... everyone is well oiled and lets their hair down on the dance floor. It was quite a party.

You can see a 1:45 min version of the film by clicking here

Soccer is Cool

OK, Ok..it's not that kind of video...it's a highlight video for the North Hunterdon High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team. Thanks to the parents and the coaches, I was given the opportunity to shoot two games and two practices. The girls really wanted a video of the 2010 season and they got one. When I presented the video at their dinner banquet, they started howling from the second shot and didn't stop until it was completed, 12:38 later. ..congratulations to the 2010 girls varsity soccer team....and thanks for letting me share the end of your season.
Click here to view video

Bridal Show at the Holiday Inn

Bridal Shows are a hoot. A fashion show, great food, dancing, music and lots of brides. This was my first networking joint venture with Peter Gallotta from Infinity Soundz and Dana Lane of Dana Lane Photography. The idea was to create a video of us at the show and send it out to all the brides we met as an additional reminder of who we are. The concept is not new and works very well: offer brides one stop shopping with all the major services under one roof...what a handsome bunch of wedding pros...
View the video

Kelly and Mark

Here is a short wedding teaser which I call an NDE..or next day edit. Sometimes it takes months to turn around the full version of the film and this gives family and friends something to look at in the meantime. Even in this short 69 second video, you can see that these folks had a wonderful time.

2011 Pace Series Promo

Triathletes begin planning what races they're going to train for in 2011 as early as NOW. Here's a 76 second promo for Mike Nusbaum and his paceracing organization to email out to the hundreds of local athletes all over the area about his big, wildly popular 2011 races.

If you're a triathlete or thinking about trying a triathlon next year, go to paceracing.org and sign up for one of Mike's races. You'll be very glad you did. Of course, we shoot all of Mikes events and next year, every athlete who enters the race will get a video as part of the entry...who else does that?

I hope you like the promo..it rocks with the music of the Humble Brothers and was a lot of fun putting together.

Click here to see the promo

Zion Lutheran Church is FINISHED

Bill, Feedback from the video is overwhelmingly positive from both pastors and the rest of the committee. Lots of "wows", "moving", "very powerful", and my sister cried when she saw it. -Colin Brokaw, Zion Lutheran Church


After shooting two services, one picnic, a vegetable garden, eight interviews, 30 minutes of packing up cars with food and supplies and an hour shooting the beautiful sanctuary and another hour shooting exterior scenery, we've finally completed the new Zion Lutheran Church "Come Home to Zion" film for the home page of their new revamped website. Final length is 6:07.

The film is in two parts. Part 1 was scored with music from the film "Letters from the Altar" by Colin O'Malley, a beautiful orchestral piece. Part 2 we used the cut "He Reigns" by the Newsboys to capture the life and spirit of the congregation at it's annual summer picnic.

The only sad event in the entire experience was the passing of one of the congregation who happened to be one of the featured interviews in the middle of the film. They asked us to do a re-edit, removing the interview out of respect for his family and friends.

To watch video click here

Oxford Olympic Triathlon Film is FINISHED!!

I haven't been posting too much lately..that's because we've been in triathlon mode. Sept 26th we shot an Olympic distance triathlon at Furnace Lake in Oxford New Jersey and we have a Half Ironman distance race THIS Sunday at Round Valley. This segment covers the part of the day from 6 am to roughly 8 am....just before the race begins...it shows the athletes pulling into the parking lot, unloading their gear, putting on wetsuits and getting ready to start the race. The music is entitled "Dazzle Me" from the Deja Vu soundtrack. You can see the video at:

http://vimeo.com/15743651

The Oxford Olympic Triathlon

Sunday September 26 we shot the Oxford Olympic Triathlon hosted by Mike Nusbaum at Paceracing.org ... by "we" I mean wife Tracy, son Doug and myself. I shot the swim start from a canoe, the bike race from the back of our van and placed a tiny HD camera on one of the athlete's bikes...we had a great time all day long. This video is a 70 second "teaser" for the full approximately 12 min video that's being edited this week and possibly next as well...it's a monster undertaking and the longest film we've done to date. We shoot a Half Iron Triathlon on October 10th at Round Valley reservoir.

http://vimeo.com/15415903

Stanhope House is Open For Business

Tonight, Saturday Sept 11 is the official opening of the Stanhope House...last Saturday night, we shot Carmen Cosentino and his band, Real Rock Drive. Here is one of the tunes that night as the sound track for this video and the night's festivities..it was owner, Jon Klein's birthday...another group of friends also celebrated a birthday as well...the meat of the evening boiled down to five minutes. It was fun.

http://vimeo.com/14884941

A Night at the Stanhope House

The one-time 19th-century roadhouse has been a music club since the 1960s, hosting primarily blues acts, including Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Tonight, we shot Carmen Cosentino and his band The "Real Rock Drive"... what a great night. The place really rocked. I'll have a video completed maybe by tonight...Special thanks to Richard Urmston and Jon Klein for putting together a great club.

Kindred Quilts Music Video

I loved the music on the Kindred Quilt video so much that I just cut a music only version... ..basically, I removed Toby's voiceover as well as the testimonials... tightened it up, changed a bunch of shots..and voila...a new video..it's the same..only different...

http://vimeo.com/14621212

Congratulations Travis and Becca

A beautiful wedding on a beautiful day. Outdoor weddings in August have a special feel to them...warm, sunny and comfortable. Big tents, an archway of balloons, good music, lots of great food and drink and a dance floor that took a beating..oh and lots and lots of tattoos.

Tracy and I really enjoyed making this wedding video and were made to feel like part of Becca and Travis's extended family the entire time. We started shooting at 10am and called it a night around 9:30pm...oh and was up and back at the Sunset Inn at 5:30am the next morning to catch the sunrise with the camera for a time lapse shot I just wanted to be in this.

We have a ton of great footage... most of which didn't make it into this short trailer but will sure to be in the 30 minute feature due sometime this fall. This short trailer is intended for family and friends who couldn't be there as well as a thank you to the guests as well.

Thanks to Becca and Travis for giving us the opportunity to capture this day for them.

You can link to this video with the followingurl: http://vimeo.com/14582439

Starting the Becka and Travis edit

I'm getting ready to edit the trailer for Becka and Travis's Saturday wedding. Just setup my second, 1 terabyte G-Raid video drive to edit on and took awhile to get that going....then had to transcode my selected shots..and THAT takes forever...

My goals is to get the trailer completed today, up on the blog and to the client by late afternoon. It's the best I can do and still am in awe as to how the SDE guys to it the day of the wedding....anyway... I'm going to use the song "I Wish" by Rascal Flatts, and employ an editing technique called 'time shifting' rather than show the day in linear fashion.... The main film - which will be in the neighborhood of 20-30 minutes - should hopefully be done by early October.

Airport Life at 5am

Orlando Airport. 5am. It beats hanging out at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in N YC but it's no way to start a day. The morning started with my alarm going off at 3am; check out from the Dolphin Hotel in Disneyworld; ( I'm always amazed at how the front desk people at hotels always have a smile on their face regardless of the ungodly hour. I wonder what their shrink bills are at the end of the month).... on the shuttle at 3:40am..met a very interesting russian videographer living in Canada on the way.

Any way, a 6:51 flight to Memphis, then a 12:13 pm arrival at Newark Airport ( in theory)... gotta scout a location this afternoon, recharge batteries, shoot a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight before the big wedding tomorrow. I need a nap...and a shave...too bad I don't drink joe.

Finally Met My Inspiration

About seven months ago, while scratching my head wondering what I was going to do next with my life, I came across the work of Jason Magbanua, the award winning wedding videographer from the Phillipines. It was after watching just one of his videos, I knew videography was what I wanted to do next...

Jason displays his amazing videos on his blog http://jasonmagbanua.com/blog/ that he updates regularly with his videos..which, by the way are called SDE's..or Same Day Edits. These amazing videos HE shoots and edits before the reception is half over..and plays the video at the reception.
Well, I not only attended his workshop here in Florida this week, but I met and spoke with him for awhile... as well as one of the shooters he used at a wedding in Florida last week, Loyd Calomay from Southern California http://www.loydcalomayfilms.com/ and learned a lot about how Jason does what he does...and Loyd is no slouch either......

I can't wait to get home and start shooting some more...oh and I'm sitting in my room at the Dolphin Hotel in Disneyworld and a massive fireworks display is going on outside my window...amazing...

Enjoying the WEVA convention

I'm in Florida this week at the WEVA ( Wedding Event Videographer Association) convention at the Dolphin Hotel in Disneyworld. Here's a shot taken by the lobby water fountain by my new friend Santos, who's a long time wedding videographer from Puerto Rico. We've been in workshops from 8am to 10 pm every day and it's been absolutely fantastic... so many talented people here..and they're all great at sharing all they know....my head is swimming right now...and today I actually won a $400 piece of gear at a raffle...and I never win anything...

The Hunterdon Half Triathlon Promo

I love anything to do with Triathlon. I mixed Triathlon TV specials for NBC sports and ESPN for 7 years and completed several sprint Triathlons, one half Ironman and the Lake Placid Ironman in 2002. So when the opportunity came along to do a promo for race director Mike Nusbaum and his upcoming race event, "The Hunterdon Half" in October, I couldn't resist. Very quick turnaround..shot it Saturday morning, finished editing Sunday afternoon...and the voice over is none other than my Poker playing son, Doug.

You can view it at: http://vimeo.com/14347237

Kindred Quilts Video Completed!

I think I video taped every single nook and cranny in this wonderful little quilt shop across the street from the Clinton Post Office. And I discovered what makes this little shop so special...and it's not the dozens and dozens of rolls of fabric lining the walls of its four rooms or the multitude of quilting and sewing classes. It's the people who work there. The joy they get from being around all that fabric is contagious...and I think it's 's the main reason so many women from all over the county make weekly ( and some daily) excursions to Kindred Quilts. It's like a big family and the staff is top notch.
It's my hope that I captured their vibe. There's a special energy that begins with owner Toby Preston and carries all the way to the store's mascot, Cody.

You can view the video with this link: http://vimeo.com/14256838

Elena and Oscar

There's something about a backyard wedding that's just plain down to earth. Fifteen to twenty guests, chicken and beef on the grill, pot luck side dishes, beer, sangria, picnic tables, balloons and a neighbor as the DJ. It's all very familiar on any weekend during the summer. The one thing that was a bit different in this particular backyard is that these folks were originally from Costa Rica.

Having said that, as a videographer, your shot selection is very limited. In a conventional style wedding, one generates"content" to make a compelling film from shots of the bride and groom getting ready..the shoes...the dress... shots inside the church during the ceremony, the photo shoot at a beautiful location and finally the reception at a fancy hall.

I had no such content producing opportunities...and I didn't have a bunch of fancy locations to work the camera. The decision to shoot this wedding was VERY last minute. No pre-planning. No scouting. One camera and a monopod.

There are two fundamental styles a videographer can go for when putting together a wedding film. Documentary style and cinematic Style. I chose the latter for this film. I stayed away from any Latin American musical cliches or references.

Instead, I crafted the affair as a love story. One of family, friends, neighbors, children and a cute puppy. I really enjoyed shooting this. It stretched my creative muscle and hopefully will touch all that watch it.

It reminds me that getting married can be a very simple affair... and is just as much fun and you're just as 'married' at the end of the day.

You can view the video at:

http://vimeo.com/13978092

Infinity Soundz Project Completed

This video unquestionably stands apart from any other DJ video currently on the web. The problem with DJ demo's is that either they try to use their audio from a wedding reception - which sounds lousy because it's not recorded well and the music is mixed with their voice - making it impossible to edit... OR they run a lot of wedding photos with music and you never hear the DJ. If you're getting married, would you want to hire a DJ without hearing or seeing him in action?

In this video, we overcame all the typical obstacles. When a potential wedding couple client plays this video, they'll hear and see the DJ perform everything from the Bridal Party Introduction through the Cutting of the Cake. They'll hear his voice as he narrates the video and talks about the services he offers. You see the DJ, hear the DJ and get to know the DJ at a level rarely seen or heard of before.

The music rocks...the crowd goes crazy... the special effects lighting is gorgeous and Master DJ Peter Gallotta demonstrates his mastery of the microphone - regardless of whether it's a wedding, a party, or any kind of promotional event. After watching Peter in action, it almost makes you want to get married again...just for the fun of it...

You can view the video by clicking this link http://vimeo.com/13786760

Keith And Tara

We had our screening of Keith and Tara's wedding video this afternoon. They came over to the house along with their celebrant, Ruthann and we all watched the DVD on our 65" HD TV. I told my wife Tracy a while back that my goal with every video I create is to make the client cry...but in a good way. I succeeded once again as the video brought tears to both Keith and Tara. Theirs was a fairy tale wedding with the whole town of Clinton having a hand in seeing that these two finally came together. This video..well really, it's three videos, are but a small part of what had become a huge effort by many. Congratulations you two.
Their final Wedding video can be watched by clicking this link
http://vimeo.com/13630250

Zion Lutheran Church

This morning, we were up early and off to Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick, NJ to get in our first of two days of shooting. Our second day is next Sunday when the congregation dresses up in early American garb to re-enact a church service from the 18th century.
The church is updating it's web site and wants a video capturing it's history, the strength of the congregation and the pastor's message to any and all newcomers. After next week's Sunday service, they'll be a church picnic alongside the Christian Center down the block.

This morning was basically a dress rehearsal for us
and an opportunity to shoot some B-roll we might
now be able to shoot next week. All in all, it was
a pretty good morning.

Heading to Florida...in August??

That's right...Florida in August...Orlando no less. WEVA, the Wedding Event Videographer Association has a monster four day convention every year and it will be a great opportunity to rub elbows, ask questions and even hang out with best wedding shooters in the world. They'll be non stop, all day seminars, checking out all the latest gear and awards ceremonies. Should be great.

Kindred Quilts: Testimonial Shoot

Our third shoot at Kindred Quilts this afternoon had us shooting testimonials from four loyal and steady customers who love to spend so much time at the shop, that they're husbands always know where they are. How funny is that? One more shoot, a narration record and we'll be ready to edit. I'm absolutely delighted with the footage we've gotten so far.

Infinity Soundz Shoot #3

After two shoots at receptions featuring master DJ, Peter Gallotta, it's become painfully clear that the sound is completely unusable if you want to create a top knotch demo. The music is constantly changing, the DJ's mic is mixed with the music, waiters and waitresses with trays of fruit cups and drinks from the bar constantly cutting in front of the camera at the wrong time..so today we shot Peter performing the bride and groom intro, the dance introductions, the toast...all the main events at the reception in a quiet insert shoot stage at 8am this morning...just after a huge thunderstorm.... We recreated a live reception hall with satin fabric backdrop and his terrific up lighting arrays of LEDs. Tomorrow we record his narration..then it's edit time.

Ben and Kristen

This wedding was a long time coming. Ben and Kristen are both graduates of North Hunterdon High School and stayed on each other's radar for four years at different colleges.
This wedding crowd had a lot of energy. Especially on the dance floor and the two families really enjoyed the day. Despite their original reluctance about "being the center of attention" the bride and groom couldn't stop smiling.
The ceremony was held at the Gazebo at Peddler's Village in New Hope, PA with the reception a short walk to the Cock and Bull Restaurant. The sun and heat were pretty brutal and threw some harsh shadows on faces on occasion... but all in all, we got some damn good footage ready to start editing with.
I just finished cutting the 'Thank You NDE..or next day edit.....it's a short 60 sec trailer that I turn around within 24 hours, that gets emailed out to everyone in the wedding party as a thank you...and stokes anticipation for the full feature that won't be completed for another few weeks.

You can view the 60 teaser at http://vimeo.com/13437264

A Workshop With Ray Roman

Ray Roman, an award winning wedding cinematographer from South Florida, was in New Jersey today at the request of the New Jersey Videography Association to put on an all day workshop for wedding videographers in the area. There were about thirty of us cramped in a hotel room looking for techniques that could make us better at our craft. I always come away with a half dozen or so good ideas. We spent the morning watching how Ray shoots bridal and groom prep and how and when he uses his steadicam and slider.

In the afternoon, he edited together what he had shot in the morning, lectured and presented several of his completed films. I, of course, video taped the entire workshop to review it all over again at a later date. There's always something new to learn... and why not learn from one of the best.

Talk Radio...Look Out!!

Tonight, I was interviewed at radio station WDVR - 89.7 in Hunterdon/Somerset Counties, 91.9 in Morris County, which was also streamed live at www.wdvrfm.org. The show, hosted by Rich Kazimir, is educational in nature so I couldn't really use it to market my services heavily, but did manage to get my website and blog address over the air a couple times. The "theme" of this particular radio show was centered around the technology of event videography... making it mostly about camera's, hard drives and software...techie stuff....but we did manage to get phone calls from two people into the program who had questions for me...they were probably from the only two people listening at that time... and no, one of them wasn't my mother....but no matter, I had a ball.

Kindred Quilts Shoot Day 2

The Quilt Shop was closed today and gave us the perfect opportunity to get in there and shoot every nook and cranny all morning long...3 hrs later we had shot every quilt, bolt of fabric and cute nick knack you could find...and then some. Now that I've had a close look at the inside of the shop, I'm rather awed by all the neat stuff in every corner...adorable punch needle work and all kinds of stuff my wife loves...the place comes alive even when no one is there...amazing.....one more shoot for customer testimonials and shots of the staff and I'll be able to start editing and wrap this puppy up. I'm looking forward to the final edit.

Kindred Quilts Shoot Day 1

Had our first shoot for Kindred Quilts today and we got a ton of great footage. The chemistry between Mary and Toby, who teach what they call the "Saturday Sampler" class, was very contagious. Every 30 minutes, they repeat the class as a new group of eager quilting students from all over the area arrive. There was more laughter and fun going on in those classes then you would see at any college party....everyone had a ball... and learned a lot at the same time.
The finished video is going to center around the chemistry and energy I saw today. Who knew quilting could be such fun...it almost makes me want to stitch a couple squares together myself.... oh, and can you find what's missing in the picture??

Cigar Anyone?

The Center Street Cigar and Tobacco House has become quite the man cave on lower center street in Clinton, New Jersey. On Friday night, owner Kyle Reilly supplies beer and burgers to a large crowd of stoggie smokers from all over the county who come to enjoy each others company, talk politics and have a great time. Here's a 3 minute webcommercial for his website (and mine) that was just completed this week that captures the smoke and the comraderie at Kyle's cigar shop.
I actually brought the video down to the shop to show Kyle and his rather large crowd tonight...and everyone seemed to like it especially the guys IN the video...of course, they tried to get me to smoke an Oliva...ah...no thanks...

Congratulations Keith and Tara

Quite the day. The worst part was the 92 degree heat and unrelenting sun whose effects were doubled from shooting in the parking lot of a bank in the middle of an antique car show. The good news is that the thunderstorms never materialized as the weatherman had warned and the happy couple looked terrific.

Other than Tara arriving a little late and the groom melting in the sun, the ceremony got underway 20 minutes late...around 1:50 pm. This was not a full length wedding...a 20 min ceremony under a canopy, then the traditional dance, the champagne and cutting of the cake...all within an hour's time...then a few minutes for family time and fun before the official wedding pictures..but taken in the back of beautiful white convertible.

As with previous event coverage, we learned a lot from this day...especially about what to expect when shooting in the bright sun ..how exposures can change very quickly; how the surrounding sounds can compete with what you're trying to get; that there are no do-overs and that ANYTHING can suddenly happen and de-rail the best laid out plans.

I'll say one thing, the sun and the stress knocked the two of out for the rest of the day... two cold beers later and we were down for the count.

So now we begin working on the final video. It will take weeks to complete this but it's going to be special. We shot over 6 hrs of video and 200 photos. It's going to take awhile... and when we're done, we're going to invite Keith, Tara, Ruthann and their families over to the house for a first time viewing.

Best of luck you two.

Shoot'n a DJ

Tonight I helped out friend and DJ extraordinaire...Peter Gallotta of "INFINITY SOUNDZ" with shooting him in action at a wedding reception at the Beaverbrook Country Club in Clinton Township. What a great time everyone had and Peter made sure every guest had fun dancing until the wee hours. He also provided amazing "up lighting" - all kinds of interesting LED lights and strobes - which really added to the overall look and feel of the party. If you are looking for a DJ, Peter's the guy. I worked alongside the hired videographer and we had a great time together shooting the party-crazed guests...it was quite a night.

Ben and Kristen

Had my first meeting with Ben and Kristen tonight. I know Ben's mother from a group we're in together. Their wedding day is July 17th and will held at Peddler's Village in Pennsylvania. They've decided they want the full package minus the pre-ceremony bride and groom segments AND they've cut out the special bride feature. I always try to adapt and mold the package to meet the wants and needs of the couple..it's their day after all.

The event will be covered a little more documentary style than cinematic style meaning they want us invisible and not to stage any of the shots. That's fine with us...it's fun to shoot a wedding that way too. So an outdoor wedding in a gazebo, horse and carriage ride to the park for photos and a big party at 7pm afterward. They look so young.....was I ever that young looking?

UPS Love

Here's a teaser for this upcoming Sunday wedding....I've gone to over a dozen of Keith's fans at various businesses in the town of Clinton and gotten "shout outs" from each of them to Keith and Tara...this video is just a quickly thrown together sampler....the full "shout outs" will be included in the final wedding video...and some of them are priceless.

Kindred Quilts

Tracy and I just returned from a meeting with Toby Preston of Kindred Quilts, Clinton's gathering spot for everything and anything quilts, sewing, embroidery ....you name it. We're going to be shooting a 2-3 min web commercial for the website and I was struck by all the amazing colors and fabrics throughout the four room store. Rumor has it that this is quite the place for women all over the area who love to be creative and make things with their hands...tons of classes to choose from, you can buy fabric online as well...Right now, we're in the script development phase - planning exactly what we want to say in the video and the first shoot sometime after the script is pretty much completed....if nothing else...it's going to be a very colorful video ..that's for sure.

A "Keith" sighting

I got my first footage for the Keith and Tara wedding this Sunday. Keith is the town's UPS driver and I got him driving his truck across the beloved Clinton bridge by the waterfall and Red Mill. Stood there 40 minutes baking in the sun to grab this 4-5 sec shot....the video just wouldn't be the same without it

Becka and Travis Update

We're scheduled to shoot interviews with Becka's mom and Travis's mom next Wednesday at the Sunset Inn - the location for the ceremony and reception - along with the best man. The night before, we'll be taping Becka's sister who is the maid of honor As part of the feature video, I plan to weave in some of the commentary depending on how good it comes out. You never know when taping interviews with family members if it will be great or not-so-great.

Keith and Tara Update

So much about Kieth and Tara's wedding on Sunday is still up in the air. I get the feeling that whatever preparation we try to put in place beforehand will probably go right out the window once things get rolling. The "I Do's" will be under a small tent in a bank parking lot full of antique cars...and not in a church. We don't even know the layout yet..where the DJ will be, where the antique autos will be located in relation to the ceremony...there WILL be a cake cutting and a traditional dance....and the "photos" will be taken in one of the convertible antique cars...but we don't have a handle on what's REALLY happening sequentially....all we know is that it kicks off at 1:30, the ceremony will be conducted by the amazing Ruthann Disotell, the Minister of Ceremonies....and will all be over in about 45 minutes...so we'll grab as much footage as we can with two cameras.... as it happens... and hope it all comes together as a video at the end of the edit...If you're in the area on Sunday, come on down.

The Garden Gourmet

The Garden Gourmet is a wonderful eatery and hidden gem in Clinton New Jersey. Owner and Chef Briellen Wolchik is truly a Garden Gourmet. We shot this web commercial for her website and to expand into videos for business websites. There's nothing like a tasty video on the homepage to tempt the palate of potential customers...

Clinton Business Group Awards Banquet

Every year, the Clinton Business Group holds the J. Staats Brokaw Award Banquet for a high school student that has demonstrated a strong entrepreneurial spirit. This year's winner was Bradley Mount and his company "BuckBeGone". The Clinton Business Group is a very active organization with plenty of personality to go around. I think we captured the essence of the breakfast banquet pretty well.

Jaymes and Rene

What do you do with a hundreds of photos sitting in boxes from of your marriage that's been lying untouched in your closet for years?...and you have a young daughter that you want to watch your wedding and have it as a keepsake for years to come?....you make a video of it...and that's what we did for Rene. We sifted through hundreds of photos and put together a chronology of the perfect shots.The final result: This five minute Wedding Video that her daughter will have forever.

Avid Upgrade

We've recently upgraded to AVID editing software. AVID is the most stable editorial software used by more professional post production facilities than any other software. It was the first professional non-linear system in the world and had it's first big debut when used to cut the athlete features for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. In any event, it's added wonderful flexibility to our wedding and event video productions and will be used to cut the Travis and Tara video next week.

Keith and Tara

Keith is the local UPS driver. Tara is is bride to be and many of us are donating our services to help bring their wedding dream come true. The ceremony is being performed at the Annual Antique Car Show Sunday, June 27th at 1:30pm in Clinton, NJ. They're expecting a huge crowd at the show and shooting video surrounded by a sea of humanity is going to be a huge challenge for us. It won't be like a standard wedding at all..the ceremony will be short and sweet under a tent, then the couple and the crowd will move to one of the Antique cars to have their wedding photos taken ( by us) then everyone will move over to the DJ booth to be serenaded by a singer, dance their first dance and cut of the cake...at least that's what we THINK it's going to go.... It's very difficult to plan and prepare for this kind of event since none of it is structured. Shooting it will be very documentary-like since we won't be able to use our cinematic tools like the glide cam or the slider.
We're hoping to have more information and some kind of game plan by the time Sunday comes rolling around....

Becka and Travis

Met with Becka and Travis tonight to discuss their August 28th wedding. Gonna do the full package, shooting the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, bride and groom getting ready, the ceremony, the photo shoot at Spruce Run Lake, the reception, interviews with the parents and a special feature of just the bride. The whole affair - ceremony and reception are going to be under huge tents in the back yard of the Sunset Inn. Rain or shine, this wedding is on.