Russell + Myvan | New Traditions

Wow! That one word describes what a fun and exciting wedding season we’ve had. We’ve met so many new friends and have seen so many beautiful sites. Amidts all the new experiences we’ve had, we had the pleasure of filming Russ and Myvan’s wedding at the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara. Like many couples that come to us, Myvan and Russ wanted to emphasize their mixed heritage in their own unique way and wanted us to blend the traditional asian elements with the more contemporary western elements in their wedding video. We were up to the challenge and well…here’s the finished product…let us know what you think?

http://www.cinematictouch.com/screening_20070203.htm

Photos by Tyler Vu (www.tylervu.com)

Thank you Mr. Telly!

A majority of the time we, at CinematicTouch, do what we do because we greatly enjoy what we do.  The long hours of editing, lack of sunshine, lack of social life, and lack of sleep is overshadowed by the many thank you cards and emotional emails we get from our clients saying how they enjoyed watching their wedding video.  The satisfaction from our clients is what drives us to do more.

However, every once in a while, it is truly rewarding to be recognized within your industry for your creative work and we at CinematicTouch are truly honored to have garnered such recognition from the one and only Telly Awards.  It is an incredible feeling when holding the famous statue in my hands as I still can’t believe I am holding what is considered the equivalence of an Oscar but for the video production industry.  We thank the Telly Awards for their generous award and we will use it to remind us to continually improve our work as well as our videography industry.

 

So I Married An Ax Murderer – A Magical Event

I had the distinct pleasure of shooting Amanada and Stephen’s wedding last year in San Francisco at the famous St. John’s Presbyterian Church and then at the exclusive War Memorial Opera House for the reception.  Once a quaint little church only known by the locals, the church got it’s Hollywood notoriety soon after they filmed the 1993 comedy ”So I Married an Ax Murderer” starring Mike Myers and Nacy Travis.  The dark rich colors of the church’s wood interior made me realize how color can greatly enhance one’s visual experience.  I would later find myself utilizing some of the rich natural tones in the “wedding film” we produced for the couple (more on what a “wedding film” is later).  Another memorable moment I recall when we finally got to the Opera House was when Amanda and Stephen were just spending some quiet time together (with champagne glasses in hand) looking out the balcony of the opera house while motorists drove past.  I could clearly recall the congratulatory blarring of horns as these motorists greeted our newlyweded couple.  I was so foturnate to have been able to capture this moment for them on video.

A wedding film is essentially a short form (30-45 minutes) video recap of the wedding day.  Most of my clients prefer this concept over the traditional full length (1-2 hours) version of their wedding day.  The wedding film is much more refined and you basically end up with only the good parts of the day put together so that it maintains a level of interest from the viewer throughout the entire video clip.  Most of my clients say that they felt it was a movie they were watching because every scene led to the next and the story unfolded naturally.  Whatever dull moments like long sermons from the officiator get shortened so that only the important parts are used to tell the story.  Our goal is to make it so you’ll never have to feel like you want fast forward through any given segment of your video.  As you continue to watch the video sample below, play close attention to the vintage-style color schemes we utilized to give it the timeless feel.  Also, notice how one segment (ie. ceremony) naturally flows into the next (ie. reception) without any distinct breaks.  It may look easy and effortless when watching but let me assure you it takes plenty of planning, fine tuning, and thought to make sure the images flow with the underlying story. 

 Enjoy!

 Due to filesize limitations on YouTube.com, I am providing a direct link to my server instead:

http://www.cinematictouch.com/amanda_sample.htm