Cadabra Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Hello everypony!I decided to start this thread for the sake of sharing some of my more memorable experiences in the field of weddings, and to show off some short wedding videos I have filmed. I have been filming weddings for the last four years, and I just love the job! It's a lively job, always changing and evolving, and no two weddings are ever the same. Usually it's amazing, though I do have some horror stories from time to time.Here's a list of some of what I've done already, along with a few stories to accompany each. Don't worry, this thread will evolve and grow as more videos are shared:Barber Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/28643542This was kind of an interesting case. You see, along with being a videographer for the company, I am also a trainer. The top trainer in the company to be exact. Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but that was a title I earned from working extra hard with my trainees. You see, I feel that a strong, supportive, constructive start will lead to several creative results, and that if one does not encourage even the most timid of trainees that they will burn out quickly. In this case came Harrison, a timid, fresh out of college editor who didn't have much experience behind a camera. I origionally did not train Harrison, and when he went out with me for his first time out of training he was completely clueless. His trainer clearly did not teach him how to use the camera properly, and he was visibly scared. I practucally had to set him up and tell him exactly what to do about 15 minutes before the wedding to ensure that I had a back up. After that, I had him come into the office on our own time and after a five hour one on one training meeting he was sooooooo much more confident. After that, I literally took him under my wing as my "Young Padawan." This trailer is the result of what my video Jedi training has accomplished. Half the footage is his and the other half is mine, and other than him forgetting to mic the groom for the ceremony I thought he showed massive potential. And he has continued to do so almost two years later.Tibbets Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/28947936Once again my Young Padawan shines! Only this time we had an issue with the bride. You see, this bride was rather sickly. Between the heat, her nerves, and the tightness of the dress, our bride kept getting sick all throughout the day. By the end of the night her dress was ruined. I helped salvage the situation because I always carry just about anything anyone can think of in my "Mary Poppins Bag," but even shout wipes and tide pens could not save that poor dress.Metz Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/29674186And again, I'm training a new person with this video, this time not the Padawan. We are filming the ceremony at one of the worst public attractions in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Gardens. While it's a neat place to visit, you do not want to have an organized event here. The staff consists mostly of volunteers who have no idea what they are talking about. I once filmed a ceremony here where the tornado sirens went off mid ceremony. (Not for this video, but for one about a year prior. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life!) Even in cooperative weather, I get a bunch of know nothings. It's like a publicly funded attraction run by a staff of Derpy's. The couple was nice enough, and my trainee learned a lot, but the staff at the Botanical Gardens was just as clueless as ever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Satkowski Cinematichttp://vimeo.com/33361095Satkowski Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/33360309Notice two videos here for the same client? That's because one is a short form video and one is a trailer for their long form video. I am especially proud of this one not only because it's the final training session for a newer videographer (yes, there is a training pattern going on here), but because the Cinematic video is being shown off to potential video clients and at wedding shows! Such a good feeling all around with this one, especially since a vast majority of the footage shot in both videos is mine!Before you watch the video I do need to add a warning: You will see groomsmen dancing around in their underwear. Nothing dirty, but this was at a winery, they had partaken in some of the winery's wares, and these guys were very comfortable around each other (and us videographers too... so yeah... girl with a camera somehow brings out the "best" in groomsmen at times.) The couple themselves were very fun to work with though, and they had the most adorable daughter.Belobrajdic Trailer (aka, the Antelope Wedding)http://vimeo.com/44955896This one was one of the most eventful shoots I have had to date, and this one without a trainee! Thank goodness, because boy howdy did this day turn out interesting. This happened when a very, VERY bad storm rolled through St. Louis. The reception was at the St. Louis Zoo, and not only did the tornado sirens go off, but we got golf ball sized hail. The hail scared an antelope out of it's encloseure, and the zoo was so scared of letting anyone leave for fear of further freaking it out that we were trapped. We were there waiting until after 2 in the morning waiting for them to catch that freaking thing! Thankfully I was working with one of my favorite DJs who kept the party happy while I worked on making sure he was in good shape. Wierd night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Jolly Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/45838350Working with another trainee, this one quitting on the spot right after the ceremony. Some guys just can't handle the pressure. The couple was super nice, even though the ceremony started an hour late because the church booked a baptism at the same time as the wedding. These folks had a great sense of humor though, and the groom was hilarous to film!Stewart Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/47015905I am the road warrior. Simply put, I drive all over the place for this company. This shoot was three hours away from home in Peoria, IL. I get sent all over the place because they know I'll do it without complaining and still give the client a fantastic video. And they pay me good travel pay, so win win.This couple, their parents, their wedding party, and their friends all just thought I was awesome. I not only gave out a butt ton of business cards that night, but had three brides to be just about book me that night! I took all the info I could on them so that my boss could make some easy peasy sales call the next day. Definately a "go me" scenario.Balling Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/48093275Proof that you are never too old to fall in love, this older couple decided to tie the knot, on the hottest day in summer. Not only was I on filming duty, but I also did several water bottle runs for some of the elderly guests. The only down side is that the Piper Palm House has the most obnoxious planter cemented to the floor that you just can not film around to save your life. And due to the limited space the photographer kept hopping in my shots. All in all though, a very happy Mr. and Mrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Brown Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/51680560Oh look! I'm training again! Funny thing is, so was the DJ. The couple were very fun to work with though, and super understanding. Best of all, this trainee owns his own equipment and is going to be helping me with my zombie project that I'm writing. Behold, the power of networking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted October 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 Jones Trailerhttp://vimeo.com/51707912New trailer is new! This one is unusual since the mother of the bride did all the coordinating with me. In fact, she's not tipping me until she gets the final product. So I've been pouring all sorts of extra customer service into this one and keeping up on when the trailer went live. She loves the trailer, so here's hoping she shows it with a decent tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 [colour=#7C826E]Boy, have I been meaning to post this! [/colour][colour=#7C826E]I have an old college friend named Kate who I used to tutor in video back in my college days who was got married this year. As of the end of October, she is now Mrs. Mraz. And I was blessed with the honor of filming her very special day. [/colour][colour=#7C826E]Kate had a difficult trip to the alter due to her mother passing away from Leukemia last year. She decided that she didn't want the day to revolve around that, though there were moments that included her departed mother. Instead, she chose to focus on the love that she shared with her new husband and wonderful father. Her brother was going to put together a simple slide show for the father/daughter dance, but ducked out of the duty last minute due to a business trip. Good thing she knew somebody who knows how to edit! I was able to put this together last minute to commemorate the father/daughter dance:[/colour] [colour=#7C826E]And because I'm such a little booger, I decided that she just had to have some sort of video surprise wedding gift from the gal who spent so many late nights with her in the editing lab. This Same Day Edit video took about four hours to put together between ceremony and reception, but it knocked everyone's socks off right before they started up the spotlight dances. Considering an add on like this normally costs $300, I knew this would be quite the wedding present:[/colour] [colour=#7C826E]Kate's wedding day was AMAZING, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. Her coordinator was one of the best I've ever worked with, the venue was one of my all time favorites to work at (this being my fourth wedding at The Christy Banquet Center, and they love me there!), and her guests were so much fun. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out for Kate and Don. [/colour] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted December 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 Mercer Trailer:http://vimeo.com/55790584This one is... interesting. I say this because as soon as open dance started the groomsmen decided to gang up on me and dance against me and the camera tripod while pouring a whole pitcher of beer on my head. All that and no tip. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a woman in this industry. Never a dull moment though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Auer Trailer:http://vimeo.com/59598314These people were AWESOME! My poor bride had a few little hiccups before going down the isle, mainly her flower girl basket being not what she ordered. With the help of her bridesmaid and mum I was able to redesign it in about 15 minutes while they were all getting dressed thanks to me carrying wire and a sewing kit on these video shoots. I also ended up saving the bride's dress with a Tide pen after she got chocolatey fondue fountain goodness all over her dress. They ended up mailing me the nicest thank you card I have ever gotten in my career this week, which just made my day like you wouldn't believe. This has definitely been one of my favorite shoots this season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Kresca Trailer:http://vimeo.com/59571679Once again I am in Central Illinois! This bride was really sweet to work with, and impressed that I know the basics on how to fix jewelry. I did have to drive down an intimidating dirt road to get to the wedding reception in the dark, which was not fun since it had snowed and iced over the day before. I am so glad I have a dependable Subaru! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Wade Trailer:http://vimeo.com/54784187This is the most disorganized wedding I have seen in a LOOOOOOONG time. When line dances are the most organized part of your wedding day, you know you have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Grimm Cinematic: This was kind of a fun precall. Originally they ordered the long form video, which would have gotten them a trailer. The groom ordered the video, and when I called him they were both getting their hair trimmed. Considering the fact that you can't really think critically while someone else has their hands in your hair, I decided it might be best to email him everything we talked about so that they could have a hard copy to look over together. GOOD THING I DID THIS because the bride emailed me a Pintrest link to a style of video she loved. Turned out the style is similar to the Cinematic video we sell, and it wasn't too late to change their videos. Saved mine and my company's butts on this one, and made for a very happy bride and groom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted March 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 Avis Trailer:https://vimeo.com/61097568I got this one from another videographer who needed the day off. It was right after Christmas, but I was happy to take the work. And it was fun to film a dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadabra Posted April 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Harris Trailer:https://vimeo.com/63257958Check out these people's incredible smiles! This bride was amazing, and so was her groom and step-daughter. It's not everyday when a bride, a photographer, and a videographer all snort when they laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autumn Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 Please take these to your blog. (the lack of response responses might have been the hint) :"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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