Wedding videos and videography generally keep me pretty busy here in Olympia. Every once in a while I get to use my video production chops to tackle other projects, like video biographies, corporate business profiles, and one of my favorites – Music Videos.
The band VerleeRose and I recently created a video. The girls are out of Seattle, they came down to Olympia one sunny Saturday and we shot this in about 3 hours. Everyone is really happy with the way it turned out, myself included! I love the video! I would surely like to do more of this kind of stuff, and I’m looking forward to working with VerleeRose again.
There are two versions of the video here, one version with no added FX or filters, and the second “Dreamy” cut as I like to call it is inundated with filters. I really prefer the look of the “Dreamy” edit. Youtube’s services have come a long way recently. I recommend clicking the “HQ” option to watch the video in High Quality. Its worth it.
Sometimes this video production gig in Olympia keeps me so busy I don’t have time to post here as often as I’d like. Wedding videos represent a major tier of the work I do, and my first wedding of 2009 fell on the first day of spring. March 21st, a noteworthy date of significance to me, as I value dates that mark the changing of the seasons. The first day of spring, the first day of my wedding season, my first wedding of 2009, and the first time I’ve shot at two historic locations in Tacoma.
It was a beautiful wedding at Tacoma’s historic Holy Rosary Church. You know, that really big one you can see from I-5, on the hill overlooking the Tacoma Dome? Yeah, it was awesome. It’s pretty old too. Late 1800′s if I’m not mistaken. Finding intact structures that old in this state always impresses me, especially when they are still in operating condition, and still used on a regular basis. Okay, upon researching I find that the church was established in 1891, the current building was constructed in 1920. Still, it’s impressive, especially for a region lacking in old megalithic structures. Check out the video below and you’ll see the impressive exterior before the video follows Levi inside to the still excellent interior. (though I have to admit I didn’t much care for the blue)
Levi and Stephanie had a great wedding and a fun reception. I learned that when people go to Ohio State they sing the song “Sloopy” punctuated with chanting of O-H-I-O!!! Pretty interesting to say the least. The reception was at the historic Landmark Theater in downtown Tacoma, a fascinating building whose decor was riddled with masonic seals, egyptian flying discs, and other symbols of a masonic bearing.
Levi and Stephanie were very happy with their video, and said they would happily refer my services to anyone needing video production work or wedding documentation.
Congratulations Levi and Stephanie, it was great working with you!
When I first started this video production gig in Olympia, I always knew there was a certain type of wedding video I’d like to offer. A documentary style.
I also knew it would be a hard sell until I had at least one under my belt to show as a sample. Give people an idea of what it was they were going to be getting. I’ve got one completed, and would be all about pushing this particular package on my website kineticvisionmedia.com, except this whole economic situation has turned things around a little. Not as many people are going all out and spending excessive amounts of money all the time. Ah well, I think I will start promoting it anyway. I will posit that my documentary wedding video package is not a frivolous waste of money, it is a fantastic investment. A choice to have documentation of a wedding day in a style and manner that is as unique as the people getting married. Nothing in these videos will be forced or artificial. As with the rest of the wedding videos I do, I try and capture the natural essence of the way the couple acts together.
I could talk about this all day – but part of the reason I’m in video production is because I believe it is more effective to show than to tell. So here is a sample of my wedding video package “The Documentary.”
That 20 minutes of documentary establishes the video you get, immediately followed by the ceremony, reception, and other highlights and good stuff. Visit my website kineticvisionmedia.com for pricing and more information. Thanks!
Every morning my alarm clock goes off, waking me to the sound of Dave Ross’s voice on KIRO news radio. There have been times when I think I should change the station. It seems like every day I wake up to his voice rattling off the number of jobs that were lost that in the days before. I hear him talking about the stock market losses and the overall impression I’m left with is that things are not looking up. It’s depressing. Sometimes I think I should change the radio station.
It’s terrible to know that things are getting as bad as I hear they are. That’s just it though; I hear. Having not experienced any of this downturn personally, I consider myself very fortunate. In October, when it was big news, I remember hearing talk of it everywhere I went, never saw it though. My schedule in October was busier than it had ever been. Yellowbook shoots, the Sweet Adelines concert, and none of it showed any signs of slowing down. I even booked a wedding for November, something unprecedented for me. As bad as I heard things were getting, I still didn’t see it.
Toward the end of November and the beginning of December things slowed down. The Yellowbook shoots fizzled to non-existence. Weddings stopped. There were no gigs forthcoming. I was fine with that because I was prepared for the reality that November through March are my slowest months. Before December was out, I had booked two more weddings. January enters, and 2009 is upon us. I’m taking it slow, starting to crunch my numbers for taxes. I purchased my first print advertisement in The Olympian’s Bridal guide. With one purchase, ’09′s advertising budget had already surpassed ’08′s.
Going in to February, I’m getting e-mails and calls about doing weddings and other gigs. The yellowbook shoots came back; with a vengeance. All in one week! Things are seriously blowing up.
I know that economic downturns are a chance for new and innovative ideas to really make their marks, and I feel like I have some of this within that I want to bring to the table. Trouble is, what I thought was going to be a slow time is turning out to be much busier than anticipated. There are interesting new methods I’ve wanted to implement in my marketing strategy, along with updating my website. Apparently the time I was looking forward to resting on my laurels has come and gone.
Why? Quality? Pricing? I think both. The work I offer is on qualitative par with people charging double what I charge. I didn’t drop my prices for the depression, they’ve been set since spring ’08. I think my quality will show, and my prices will win major points. Because I’m not doing this out of greed. I’m not trying to pay off a Cadillac Escalade, or a similarly ridiculously large and overpriced house. I’m doing this because it’s really what I want to do.
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.
