This wedding was truly a special one. You may recognize Veeral from some of my previous work on the blog. I've known him for about a year and a half and met him by doing video work for his company, J. Hilburn. So when he asked my company, Sandbox Love, to capture his wedding... I was VERY honored. And his wife, Priya, is such a perfect match for him. Beautiful, funny, and so warm. Like I said, this was a special one for us to film.
Vitalie, Shaun and I flew out to Rochester, NY for a couple days to be a part of all the Indian wedding traditions. I had never been to that part of New York, and loved it. During some of the off time, we went exploring. I loved all the bridges crossing the river, right through Rochester. Made for a great shot looking down them. Me and Shaun had to bust out a dance.
Also, I just gotta say. I totally dig the way he proposed. Unconventional, unexpected, and super cute. There's a reason why it's called a happy meal.
So happy to announce that my company, Sandbox Love, has turned 1 year old. It's still a baby, I know. But the more I learn as a business owner and the more experiences we have, the more mature we'll become. I can't wait for another year of amazing memories.
There are a lot of things I will be implementing in the business, such as hiring somebody to run the day to day operations as well as trying to find some more creative filmmakers to join the team. However, we will remain true to what we are... a boutique wedding filmmaking company. Which basically means you're going to see the same amount of attention to detail we've put into all of our films.
And to our fans, thank you so much for encouraging me. Seeing your comments, reading your emails, and seeing the "like" counter go up energizes me every time. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Here is the Signature Film we made for Kathryn and Ryan's beautiful wedding! We shot this in San Francisco and had the whole Sandbox Love team out for it.
Kathryn, as many of you know, is the founder of a fantastic wedding blog called Snippet and Ink. A while back, she saw a video that we made and decided she wanted us to make a film for her wedding.
We got some awesome coverage with this film, including having our film featured on Martha Stewart! And of course, being the big time blogger that Kathryn is, we got some great exposure from Snippet and Ink.
And most importantly, we've made another beautiful film for a beautiful couple. We've captured an incredibly important moment in their lives, and we're so proud to have been a part of it.
I shot this with Nick Markham a few weeks before Danielle and Dan's wedding. You may remember them from their Engagement Shoot from a while back. Here is the Love Story that we played at their wedding reception.
This was made for my freshly launched company, Sandbox Love. We went down to San Jose to film with Dan and Danielle and we had a pretty fun time. When Danielle first mentioned that one of her favorite memories of Dan was when they were eating ice cream on the hood of his car, I just HAD to have images of that.
I also did a lot of vintage cinematography for this piece, using my Digital Harinezumi. It's a toy camera that produces an image that looks similar to 8mm film. I'm siked with the vintage effect that I got with it.
I also think it is worth mentioning that my approach to editing this piece was to use the small moments of when Danielle and Dan speak to each other. I love how they speak with little pauses and in a volume that is really just for them. Super cute.
We shot this with Morgan and Charlie two weeks before their wedding. All of their wedding guests attended the rehearsal dinner at The Lodge in Sonoma, and we had the chance to play this film for everybody there. After a very kind introduction by Charlie, I hit play.
When the lights came up, I looked around and saw so many teary eyes. The applause we received was pretty moving, and I didn't really know what to do. It was great though, it definitely set the mood for a touching and fun wedding the following day. Many thanks to Nick and Vitalie, who shot the Love Story with me for Sandbox Love. It's so inspiring to shoot with those guys, since we all see the world in different shots. When it's all added up, it always comes out well.
Allison and Craig's wedding was such a fun event. Check it!
This was the video I wanted to launch my wedding film company with. The joy, playfulness, and cinematic opportunity at the wedding was exactly the feel I wanted to base Sandbox Love on. For more about the approach to my company, see below or click here.
Going into the day, Nick, Rob and I planned out how we wanted to do most of the shooting. I rolled around with the glidetrack and wide lenses mostly while Rob "rocked" the 85mm close ups. Nick (quickly earning the nickname "Iron Nick") was using the glidecam to get all of the great sweeping shots. The combination of all of this is a magic combo. We should give it a name.
While we were taking a break and restoring some of our brain's creativity, Cassie and Dan at Los Gatos DJ Company played that first song you heard in the video. I turned to the rest of the team and said, "we're using this."
A huge shout out to Ashley Maxwell and her husband Jason who are incredible photographers, super warm people, and quickly becoming friends. We've shot with them before and can't wait to shoot alongside them again.
It's finally here! I've been building towards launching a wedding film company for the past year, and I've finally got everything up and running. Take a look!
I should say a few things about the company. When I first started working in the wedding video industry, I was a little ashamed of what I was doing. Coming from a top film school, I felt like I wasn't owning up to my full potential; that I should be in Hollywood somewhere making real movies. Then something changed. I had a realization that wedding filmmaking, when done my way, is exactly what I want to be doing.
I get to tell meaningful stories again and again. My films aren't just entertainment... they are memories. I make films that matter. It's inspiring to know that each little cut I make in a film will be there, playing on their screens, in twenty years. Sons and daughters of my clients will grow up seeing these movies, catching a glimpse of what their parents were like on the happiest day of their lives. That I get to use my creativity and passion for this purpose, is truly amazing.
Sandbox Love is a company that strives to hit two feelings. The first is Love. But we're not going for Enya style here, we're talkin the fun, playful side. The cute quirks that make couples unique. Weddings are fun, and we want to capture that energy. The second feeling is Nostalgia. We want there to be a degree of reflection in our films. An air of sweetness, and sensitivity. I believe that feeling to be often overlooked in wedding videos, and I want to see what happens if I can capture that emotion.
Above all else, this is what I want to do. I have found my purpose. Sandbox Love.
You read that right folks. My team and I have been following a week-long wedding event for Neda Rahimian and Sati Hillyer. My, what a week it has been. Take a look, I don't think this could be more epic...
I shot this with Rob Bagot and Nick Markham, an old buddy of mine from my Chapman days. The week began with a Persian Wedding, thrown by the bride's family in Beverly Hills. We had a great time filming with the family and I was very impressed by the beauty of the Persian ceremony. Up there we got a chance to meet Augie Chang, who absolutely rocked a photo shoot on Rodeo Drive.
That night we got to experience the meeting of different cultures. The reception had many elements of a traditional western ceremony, but with the energy and enthusiasm of the Persian and Indian families.
We then headed down to San Diego where it was the Groom's turn to host an event. Most of the guests were booked at the Westin in downtown San Diego, where my team also had the pleasure of staying. Because everybody was staying in the same hotel, both families had a chance to hang out all the time and really open up to each other. I felt like I was the luckiest wedding filmmaker in the world... seeing this occur over the week. What a story to tell!
On the day of the elephant parade, we pretty much choreographed exactly where our cameras would be and when we would reposition. I happened to be grabbing a shot while hoisting my monopod to Sati's level when a photographer snapped this picture of me. It just so happened that the picture made it onto the front page of the San Diego Tribune.
I chose the song because it had a very energized, but also sentimental, mood to it. I felt like, at the end of this week long experience for these families, something of a bittersweet mood would be appropriate.
There is so much to tell you guys about this wedding. I'm stoked to be a part of it. Major props to Jason Dean, the event planner, who really took care of use film guys and made sure we were able to get our shots. Here is an awesome article about the wedding.
A few months ago, Robby Bagot and I were commissioned to shoot the ultimate wedding. I mean...the ULTIMATE wedding. Neda and Sati are having a week long event in Southern California where they are flying in a bunch of family from all over the world. The first piece of Neda and Sati's wedding saga was to make a Love Story Film to show at their first wedding reception (they're having two weddings). Here is that love story, we're very proud of it.
Neda and Sati are an amazing couple. I'm actually blogging this from a hotel room in San Diego where I am staying to shoot the rest of their wedding week. They really are as beautiful, happy, and friendly as this film makes them out to be. Even more so. As we continue to work on their wedding film, I will continue to share my experience.
For the Love Story there were three shooters. Myself, Robby Bagot, and Vitalie Ungureanu. We met Neda and Sati in Marin at around 7AM and shot until about 1pm. The weather was absolutely spectacular... perfect for the look that Robby and I were going for. He and I had met a few times prior to the shoot to figure out how we were going to tell their story, and we also did a location scout for all of our locations.
For the camera fanatics who follow my blog, we used a huge assortment of equipment: 2 EOS 5DmkII's (Pre-Firmware) 1 EOS 7D Canon: 50mm f/1.4 (and 1.8), 85mm f/1.2, 20mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 Sigma: 10-20mm f/4-5.6, 105mm f/2.8 macro Glidetrack, Zacuto Z-Finder, Zacuto Quickdraw, Steadycam Merlin, 501 heads, and my favorite piece of equipment...the Manfratto 561BHDV Monopod.
I'm so excited to be a part of such a wonderful wedding. Above are some shots of our video playing on the screen for an audience of over 400 at the Beverly Hills Wilshire.
I really couldn't resit posting this wedding highlights video. It's a piece I edited for Metmedia last week and it is just way cute. Oh and as a bonus, you get to hear the best pick up line ever used.
Ok say it with me... 1, 2, 3, "Awwwwww!" I know. Adorable. Meredith and John were married at Piedmont Community Church and their reception was at the Claremont Country Club. I picked a playful song because I wanted their sense of humor and easy going attitude to come through. I really enjoyed editing their full wedding and had some fun with time-shifting. 71HUGO!
The results are back from the Ava Awards and apparently they like fusion! Metmedia submitted two projects that I edited to the judges. The first project was Laura and Scott's wedding which was a full length wedding film that was edited completely in fusion style. This film won the Ava Platinum Award, the highest honor in the Weddings and Events Category. I've always been very proud of my work on that film. The clips online show some of the quality, but the film in it's entirety is a very well produced piece. Here are some of the clips from that...
Earlier this year we also took home a Videographer Awards 2009 "Award of Distinction" for my fusion editing in Laura and Scott. I don't think I ever blogged about it.
We also received an Ava Gold award for the Yosemite Love Story I edited for Christy and Jared. While it's not a platinum, I am still proud of the achievement and speaks to the power of fusion style editing.
2010 should be a good year for some more awards. With the new DSLR setup, I think there are some very good projects on the horizon. It's about time I gunned for Weva Gold.
Morgan and Charlie's story is really quite amazing. The two of them first met in elementary school, and have grown up together. I'm talking elementary school, middle school, high school, and yes... college. When I talked to them about their relationship, they emphasized the idea that no matter what's going on, there is always something that is pulling them back together.
When we were shooting their Save the Date, we talked about TV shows that we both liked. I was happy to hear that they both really liked Friday Night Lights, a show with a style I love. When I started editing, my goal was to give it the same kind of vibe as the tv show.
We were also EXTREMELY lucky with the weather. The forecast was rain ALL week. On the drive up, I was absolutely astonished at how beautiful the day was. It was a sunny day with extremely defined patches of clouds; very crisp. It really could not have been better.
By request: here is the gear I used. Canon EOS 7d with a canon 50mm f/1.8, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 with a polarizer. I'm pretty sure those are the only lenses I used. I also used my Glidetrack SD 1m and a 501 Fluid Head. For audio I used a Rode Videomic. In my opinion, the production value comes from the Glidetrack and the polarizer on my wide lens. Color grading was done in Magic Bullet, making good use of gradient exposures.
Here is a special piece I edited for Metmedia. We've been talking about doing proposals for a while now and this was the company's first opportunity to do it. We created this piece in collaboration with Vince Tarry Studios, a company whose photography I love. Jeff (remember the J's?) from VTP was there with Jonathan to capture this enormous moment in Celeste and Anwar's relationship.
Both Jonathan and Jeff sat at a table near where the proposal would be. They hid their camera's under jackets or peaking out of camera bags. Anwar was also mic'd with a wireless lav so that we could hear some of the most important words of his life. After the proposal the couple went around Union Square to shoot some engagement photos with Jeff. They will be getting married in Hawaii where Celeste is from.
In editing this fusion piece I was dying to edit a fast paced video. However, since I only had one camera worth of video, I didn't have enough footage to do fast cross cutting. The song is one that Anwar suggested we use, and since we really want this video to be about the moment he planned for months, I figured it was appropriate to use it. I did only a little bit of color grading to the video. I didn't want to over stylize the moment and I wanted to keep the footage close to the reality of the moment, since it is something they will likely be showing their children and grand children.
To edit it, I went for a very composed and thoughtful feel. To achieve this I tried to only use soundbites where Jared or Christy had a special conviction in their voice, aside from all the funny bits. I then put in a music track that also had a very cool and collected feel to it, with different movements that builds and builds into an explosion of feeling.
When I talked to Jared about the piece, he told me he wanted Christy to get the last word in all of their playful bantering. This speaks to Jared's character so well in that as cool as he is, he wants Christy to shine even brighter. I also used mostly video elements rather than pack it with photos because I wanted to have movement that progressed forward.
Again, I need to credit Jeffrey Neal from JNP Studios for his fantastic photo work. I'd also like to thank Jared and Christy for the fantastic opportunity to make a special piece that really hits the type of film I am most passionate about. Please leave any comments you have. Thanks!
Well. The first video of the Yosemite engagement shoot is here! This is a video I made for Jeffrey Neal of JNP Studios. Enjoy it. My approach to editing it is below.
In editing the video, I asked Jeffrey what kind of vibe he wanted the viewer to leave with. I had two ideas in mind. The first mood would be an excited, upbeat, energetic call to action. The second treatment would be more inspiring, airy, and insightful, leaving the viewer with a pensive/hopeful mindset.
Of course, Jeffrey wanted to do a mix. I actually secretly wanted to do a mix also, so I was ready for it. To create the inspired mood I picked a song that felt "cool" with some electronic elements. I then paced it out so that the video builds momentum in an energetic way. Using fast cuts and flashy transitions, I wanted to give it a modern feel. Jeffrey is a very hip, modern guy so getting this across in the video was essential.
The video is about how he runs his shoots. How does Jeffrey act on location? How does he interact with his clients? As you can see, he does everything in a fun way which makes for better photographs.
Stay tuned for the cut I created for Jared and Christy!
Here is another excerpt from Laura and Scott's wedding down in Southern California. The full wedding video has been completed and delivered, but Laura asked me to upload this section so that she could post it on her blog.
Here is what she wrote about her video. "Thank you so much for all the obvious time, thought, and care you put into making our video so truly wonderful. It far exceeded any expectations we ever had. Your work is amazing!"
Laura and Scott's wedding was not only a beautiful occasion, but it brought together quite a few very talented professionals. Since the wedding, Metmedia and Jeffrey Neal from JNP Studios have been working together and are planning to do a fusion shoot in Yosemite later this month. Design Visage also did a fantastic job with Laura's makeup and hair. She truly looks stunning!
Here is a video I shot and edited for Vince Tarry Photography. They'll be using it as a marketing piece and selling a Fusion Video as an add-on to their photography business.
With the advent of the Canon 5d Mark II, Fusion seems to be the next big thing hitting the wedding industry. It allows photographers to collaborate with videographers to offer a sweet product that has a very polished feel to it. I'm very excited to be at the forefront of this movement. I'm also excited to work with so many different photographers. I love being on shoots where I can hang out with other professionals who have a fantastic eye for images. With Fusion, it's not a competition to see who can get the best shot. We're all working together to make the best possible product that we can.
After months of work, we finally launched the new MetMedia website. We still have some minor tweaks we want to make to some of the text, but the layout and videos are pretty much all lined up.
We actually did a whole re-branding of the company. Along with the website, we have new business cards, demo kits, and a new confidence in the company. Now that our marketing is up to par, we're look forward to great things.
This is the final segment for Laura and Scott's wedding. Laura and Scott came out of their reception to talk with us about the day which was a fantastic opportunity build some emotion for the end of the video. I inter-cut their interviews with highlight footage from the day, as well as photos, to turn it into a nostalgic piece that I'm sure they will remember for a long time.
When we talked to Laura and asked her about music she wanted to use in her wedding, one of the songs was Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie. I've always liked that song, but had never through about putting it into a wedding video.
Laura and Scott's wedding was such a beautiful day. The happiness and love in their eyes was such an inspiration for me. The venue, Rancho Las Lomas,was absolutely stunning. Their photographer, Jeffrey Neal of JNP Studios, was a fantastic photographer to work with. Not only was his eye sharp and creative, but he helped us immensely when creating the Fusion piece by giving us his photos and feedback.
I was in the studio yesterday and realized that I never posted this video. It is the first fusion love story we made at metmedia. I approached this one without a song in mind because I really wanted to get an idea of the couple before creating a look and feel for the piece. After spending some time with them, I got the feeling that they had a real sturdy kind of love. So I wanted to convey that through a timeless song and through light camera moves rather than an action packed 1.5 shot per second video.
I shot most of the video in this piece. The photography was done by Curtis Myers of Perfect Circle Photography. It's always a pleasure to work with him and his images.
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