We’ve just returned from our trip to Sydney where we photographed Courtney and Jason for their engagement shoot. Can’t wait to share the photos!
Our 4th wedding anniversary is in a couple of days (December 3) so while in Sydney we lived it up at the Sebel Pier One, and Katie was wined and dined at Wildfires. We also spent a day and half at Courtney’s parent’s horse farm a little south of Sydney and had such a wonderful time with all the family.
Last night we were suffering a bit of excitement deprivation so we spontaneously recorded this video. I mean, what else is there to do on a boring Monday night in Toowoomba? ;)
A bit of background … Katie absolutely loves Glee but Matt, not so much. But, there’s one song he just can’t get enough of :)
Happy 1st of December everyone! And remember, don’t stop believing … and life is better when you don’t take yourself too seriously :)
A few weeks ago, a very good friend of mine, Glen Wilson, was tasked with creating a wedding invitation video for Josh and Amy.
I helped Glen brainstorm the concept and plan out some of the shots plus I did the editing on this clip. Glen did all the filming and running around with Josh and Amy.
Glen does have a background in video and photography but it was actually his first time using the Canon 5D Mark II. I spent a bit of time with him demonstrating how the 5DII works but most of our time was spent pre-planning the shots. To enhance the production value of the clip I also gave Glen some lessons on using the the Cinevate DSLR Rig and the Cinevate Pegasus Heavy Lifter, both of which he hadn’t used before either.
There’s so much buzz in the photo and video industries about cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 7D. But, I feel that this clip would have been just as effective regardless of the type of camera it was shot with. The gorgeous footage from the 5DII only enhances the production value, it doesn’t create that value from nothing.
It’s a good reminder that the gear we use is nothing more than a tool, like a hammer or a screwdriver. The best camera in the world can’t replace a creative eye and some good, solid planning.
Awesome work Glen, can’t wait to photograph Josh and Amy’s wedding with you next month.
A very good friend of ours, Glen Wilson, put together this cute ‘Save the Date’ video for Josh and Amy. My involvement was fairly minor. I had the job of standing behind the camera to make sure it was in focus and recording. Well … maybe not so minor considering the amount of trouble I’d be in if I forgot to hit record.
Glen, Emmalee and Katie had very important jobs to do as well, as you’ll see in the video.
In December, Glen and I will be photographing Josh and Amy’s wedding. Stay tuned for their totally awesome wedding invitation video which I’ll post soon.
After excitedly opening the box, then shooting some stills with the Canon 7D, I dragged my gorgeous wife across to the little park near our house to shoot some quick test footage. I can safely say that Katie isn’t always as excited as me when I get a new camera.
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Over the weekend, on Saturday 8th of August, 2009 – my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
This ‘love story’ clip was played at their anniversary party and is made up of recent interviews with my parents plus some old and new photographs.
It was a great honour to witness Mum and Dad renewing their vows. As a relative newlywed, I found listening to those promises all the more powerful in the light of the 50 years they have spent together. I know that my parents have lived through each and every promise they made to each other on their wedding day. Ok, maybe not the richer part in a material sense, but definitely all the others :)
These days the traditional wedding vows can seem old fashioned and out of date. But, I’m not sure that there’s a better description of successful marriage to be found. We can write our own vows or dress up the traditional ones, but surely the underlying promises remain the same …
for better for worse
for richer for poorer
in sickness and in health
to love, honour, and cherish
’til death do us part.
Something that also struck me as I put together this video, is the importance of documenting our life’s memories. I would say the true value of wedding photography is not realised only when one receives the photos a month or so after the wedding. The true value, in my parent’s case, comes 50 years later, not only as a document of their wedding day but also as a heritage to their children, celebrating two lives spent together as one, for better … for worse.
While visiting America in April/May of this year I attended the NAB2009 convention (National Association of Broadcasters) in Las Vegas. NAB is video nerd heaven, it’s similar to WPPI but a hundred times bigger ’cause it brings together the entire video production community.
In the week leading up to NAB2009, a few studios were approached with the brief to create a short, interesting ad for Cinevate to be played at their NAB booth.
Other studios involved were Mind|Castle Studios, StillMotion, Ray Roman Films and Joe Simon Productions.
Due to limited resources and time, my ad was very simple in its concept and execution. You might recognise the star of my ad. Some of the other ads were elaborate to say the least!
It was so awesome to see the different concepts that everyone came up with from the same brief.
This post features the ads from some of the studios involved in the project.
While overseas I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding with StillMotion and to also visit their studio just outside of Toronto, Canada. Not only are StillMotion the ultimate wedding film-making dream-team but all of them (Patrick, Michael and Konrad) are top blokes as well.
In early 2010 the StillMotion gang are hosting three workshops in Australia. Without a doubt these workshops will be the biggest thing to hit the Australian wedding videography industry ever!
You might notice a wild-haired Aussie in this video! It’s me! I’m excited to announce that I’ll be on hand at all the Aussie workshops and I’ll be doing a bit of guest speaking as well.
I truly believe that the studios and wedding film-makers that attend these workshops will become the leaders of the Aussie wedding videography industry. If you’re interested yourself or know of a videographer who wants to up their game then it’s time to get cracking, there’s only a few spaces left.
More information can be found at the StillMotion Experience website. Or shoot me an e-mail if you want to know more.
Back in February Katie and I travelled to New Zealand to film a music video for Lydia Cole. Well, the video has now been officially released so we can safely show it here on our blog.
Thanks to Lydia for believing in us enough to fly us over to your home country, and thanks for your hospitality as well. A highlight of the trip (for me anyway) was the opportunity to film in Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios. As a big Crowded House fan it was a real buzz!
We had a fantastic time in New Zealand and we definitely want to go back again one day. Next time we’d love to visit the south island.
Please visit Lydia’s website – www.lydiacole.com – and buy her music, it is truly gorgeous.
Roger and Hayley are a super sweet couple. They’ve been best friends with each other since primary school, so the song I chose for this little clip couldn’t be more fitting.
During Roger and Hayley’s engagement shoot I shot a little bit of video on the 5D, in between shooting stills with Katie. The main purpose of the shoot was taking photos but I wanted to test out my new Cinevate DSLR rig.
I love this clip and couldn’t wait to share it with Roger and Hayley, and everyone else! For the video ‘nerds’ I’ve included a few photos of the rig after the video.
Easterfest (formerly AGMF) is a massive 3 day festival held in Queen’s Park in Toowoomba each year. Matt has done the promo videos for Easterfest for the last 5 years running and I have been covering the event – doing photography – for the same amount of time.
I thought I’d share some photos taken over the weekend. I hope you all had a lovely Easter Break :)
