If I were going to pick my least favorite part of being a videographer in Olympia, it would be that most of the wedding videos and production work I do take me to Seattle. Well, it actually doesn’t bother me that much. It’s only an hour away, and I love what I do. Some people make longer commutes every day, so I really can’t complain. Though I would truly love to get more gigs in Olympia.
Most recently in the wedding videography realm of Kinetic Vision Media is the wedding of Randy and Athena. This is the second Greek Orthodox wedding I’ve shot, the first being for Basil at being MEdia. I’m always really impressed at setting foot in the Orthodox churches, and witnessing the orthodox ceremony, realizing that I’m watching pre-Catholic traditions that have remained unchanged for… oh, well, you know, a couple thousand years. Give or take.
Even more interesting to me was what happened after the ceremony, during the reception. The dancing was crazy and fun! Here I saw dancing to a live greek band that played traditional greek songs. The interesting thing about the dancing, is I got the impression it was even older than the Orthodoxy of their church. Certain elements of the dance seemed almost, dare I say… Dionysian. It was awesome to see the blending of different elements of their culture over thousands of years, all compiled into a days wedding festivity. I enjoyed every minute of it, and I thank Randy and Athena for the opportunity to document their wedding.
These yellowbook shoots! I sure do seem to do a lot of them! For anybody who hasn’t seen these on my blog before; I contract with a production company to shoot these 30-60 second web commercials for yellowbook.com. They’re a lot of fun, I enjoy doing them, they keep me very busy, and they’ve certainly expanded my portfolio! Even though I can’t actually embed the videos on my site, I can post links to the videos, which I recommend watching, as I’m fairly proud of each piece I’ve shot.
I’ve noticed recently that yellowbook has changed their embedded flash video player. The new video player seems to be quite glitchy, which is unfortunate, as the videos don’t look as smooth as they could while watching…
Auburn Muffler Brake and Radiator an automotive shop in Auburn (as the name clearly establishes!). This was shot in October, but only within the past few weeks did it make it up. I have no idea why! I don’t edit these, I just shoot them and send the tapes to LA for post.
D&D Recycling These guys don’t have anything to do with recycling old role-playing books. It’s mostly metal. Not the kind of metal you’d listen to while playing D&D… Interesting, this video was shot the same day as the Seattle Movers video, but this one didn’t post until a month later!
Others are in the pipes! A video shot in December has yet to be posted, I’ll be glad to see it when it does. 6 additional videos have been shot in the last 2 months, and I’m shooting one tomorrow. As much as the economy seems to be flailing, I get the impression the little guys are doing all the heavy lifting! These small businesses all seem to be doing well, and they’re keeping me busy. Thanks for reading!
A couple of updates here in the second week of January are needed.
Like that snow? Ridiculous. Glad it’s gone, really. When I plunged a yardstick in to the flattest area of my backyard it read 17 inches. Seriously. I’m so delighted that the rain is back, I’m thinking about putting on my dancing shoes and doing a tap number in the middle of my street.
Just a little footage captured during my boredom while snowed in on the 7th day. While it was surely driving me a little stir-crazy, I got a little cabin fever to be sure, it was also a great opportunity for productivity in the editing department.
Nick and Lois had wanted to know if I could get them their wedding video by Christmas. Well, it would be a little on the narrow side, I told them I couldn’t make any promises, but would do what I could.
Sunday December 21st, 1st day of winter, 5th or 6th consecutive snow day in our region; I agree to meet Nick and Lois to hand deliver their DVD’s, as I don’t know if the USPS could effectively deliver the package in 3 days, with the holiday, and the conditions.
My car being stuck, my friend John drives me to the Kinko’s where I print the DVD sleeves. Everything is looking good, we stop and buy tubes for sledding while we’re out and about. I need to get home, insert the sleeves into the DVD cases, with the DVD’s and make the package complete. Then to a local coffee joint for delivery.
Unfortunately, as we return to my house, John gets his car stuck on a pile of snow in what would be the only area he could really park. The plow has been piling it up for the last 4 or 5 days. John ends up staying on the couch that night, getting a ride to work in the morning. The next day after work, we dug him out and he got home.
Nick and Lois ended up meeting me at the bottom of my hill, where I ran through the snow piled up almost 2 feet high, while it was snowing, and hand delivered the DVD’s of their wedding to them, so that they could have them in time to give their parents for Christmas!
Merry Christmas Nick and Lois!
Their video turned out great, and though I like the Pre-Ceremony Montage a lot, I’m going to share the Post-Ceremony Montage here –
So here is what Nick and Lois had to say about their wedding video -
Ken,
WE LOVE IT!! It was just what I wanted… seriously!! I am picky and you pleased me very much.
It was last minute but it was soo needed to create our lifetime memory of that special day
Thank you,
Nick and Lois
Once again, I feel I should iterate that the emphasis in quotes from clients is always original, never added! I love it when a plan comes together! Seriously, not much makes me feel better than knowing a client is happy with the work I’ve provided.
Nick and Lois’s wedding also marks a kind of monumental occasion for me business-wise, in that for the 3 years I’ve been doing video production work professionally I’ve never booked a wedding after September. Theirs was November 15th. Another good thing is that ’09 is already starting to fill up. Good stuff!
Here is the Highlight Reel from Nick and Lois’s wedding.
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a blog here, since August 19th. Almost a month. Things have been busy!
I’d like to share a few clips of one of the more recent wedding videos I’ve done. Tim and Candice were married July 19th in Edmonds WA. The video is wonderful, I really like it anyways. It surely ranks among my best work, and marks the first implementation of my recently purchased Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless mics. These things are amazing. I’ll do a post dedicated to them when I get time.
Here is the pre-ceremony montage…
Candice and Tim chose a couple of Jack Johnson songs from their collection to use for two of the montages. I love Jack Johnson’s tunes, it’s hard to find happier more upbeat music. The songs really fit the vibe of Candice and Tim’s wedding. Everyone was so happy!
After the ceremony, this song isn’t Jack, but is equally as awesome in my humble opinion!
There were a lot of shots incorporated into the Highlight Reel that were geared toward the “Documentary” package I plan to start promoting next season. I’ll likely do a blog about that to, time permitting of course!
Here is Candice and Tim’s “Highlight Reel.”
Hearing from clients that they are happy with the work I have done is always a great feeling. Candice had this to say about her video -
“Yes, we received the DVD(s) and I absolutely love it! I am so extremely glad and thankful people were able to talk me into a professional videographer! It is definitely an investment that I will never regret and cherish forever! It scares me to think I was fine to go without a video! I watched them when they first got here with Tim and his parents. Everyone loved the montages and the highlight at the end! The music went perfectly like you said it would and I especially think the part where I was done putting on some lipstick was really neat as the music went “pop” as I smacked my lips! (I think you know what I am talking about).”
Sweet! To quote a famous Hannibal – “I love it when a plan comes together!”
Once again I’d like to offer my congratulations to Tim and Candice! They are great together and I wish them many happy years on whatever roads they travel.
Thanks for reading!
