A Videographer's Valentine's Day Wish

I wanted to share with you all an excerpt from a Love Letter of sorts written by a fellow Wedding Filmmaker, Laura Moses of Vantage Point Productions of San Dimas, CA. I hope it touches your heart as much as it did mine.

Love, madness, obsession—this story has it all. It’s mostly about love. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.

We videographers suffer from back pain and backlog; and befitting the afflicted, as editors, we live the bulk of our lives in pajamas. We have oversized hearts. Together we congregate sharing moments captured through that extension of ourselves we call a camera, and we weep. We weep for the beauty, the loss, and the sheer life we experience through the portal of our lens, which takes us deep into the lives of others.

Brawny men with bulging, Glidecam biceps, break down like little boys.

And we laugh. We laugh at the antics of the inebriated, the fad-fashion faux pas, the disasters, and all the drama; these are the ingredients that coalesce to create the deliciously, quirky gumbo of humanity known as a wedding.

The lack of a perfect wedding never stops us from pursuing the creation of a perfect film. Neurotically, we obsess over thrilling our clients. Our goal: to prove—once and for all—that a wedding film is priceless.

We will not rest until we enlighten the macrocosm to the magnificent glory of a great video. It’s a long road we tread on this mission, finding success one client and one gig at a time.


We work with music, hearts, and dreams. We’re the keepers of the flame for future generations. After we’re gone there will be pieces of us—little bits of our hearts—scattered across the globe, telling stories about love.

Thank You Very Much

This is a copy of a Thank You card I just received from Ayana & David. It was so sweet, I wanted to share it.

"Hey Brian,

Just want to say that we truly enjoyed working with you. We are happy to know that we made the right choice in choosing a videographer. Your professional attention to detail and creative style shined through and sets you apart from all the rest. Thank you for capturing our love story and bringing it to life.

Take Care and God Bless,

Ayana & David Reid"

Photo by: Leigh Taylor

Wedding Vendor's Bad Day

Thanks to my friend Laurie P of Bliss Weddings and Events

Give this Dog a Bone and see Slumdog Millionaire

This is definitely one of the most amazing, inspiring movies I have seen in a long time. A beautifully filmed fable of love, friendship, family and self-realization -- I was left speechless. Give yourself a Christmas present and go see this movie.

Nariman & Hassane : Prep

Nariman and Hassane had the nicest family. I shot so much extra footage during the Prep at Nariman's house because they kept feeding me! Nariman gave me a really cool CD of some music and I used some of my favorites for her Prep. The first piece, Chambao has an old timey scratched record feel and I felt that the footage required a vintage look. Hope you like it. Now I am really itchy to shoot with my Super-8 camera.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Hey Everybody -- It's my birthday! Time for bed, but wanted to make a quick post.

Get Ready Early (for Girls)

Okay, I had to blog about this because I think it's one of the most important things that a Bride can do to ensure that they have a great wedding video (and photos, too).

GET READY EARLY! Now I'm not talking about being in your dress 3 hours before your ceremony, but I can't tell you how many brides and attendants wait until the last minute to get ready. I won't name names, but you know who you are. And it makes it really hard to give you the best coverage when you're running behind -- and I want to make sure you have absolutely the best coverage you can. That said, here are some suggestions (must-do's):

1. BRIDES GET YOUR HAIR AND MAKEUP DONE FIRST. Brides, you are the center of attention on your wedding day, yet so many of you wait until last to get hair and makeup. Why is that? Do yourself a favor and get your hair and makeup done before your attendants. If anyone has to rush, make it be them. They'll work it out and be fine, but YOU will be stressed and frustrated and it will show in your video. You can save final touch ups until the end, but having your hair in rollers 5 minutes before the ceremony (true story) is not the way to enjoy your special day. I like to get a few minutes of coverage when you're finishing your makeup -- when you are looking your best. By getting ready early you allow more time to get shots of you looking great. Same goes for hair. Plus, it will allow for more meaningful moments as you get into your dress. Except for final touches, you should plan to finish your hair and makeup an hour before leaving for your ceremony.

2. GET YOUR DRESS ON EARLY. Many brides wait until the last minute to put their dress on. This really limits the amount of video (and photos) we can get of you looking your best. Also, if you have a problem with your dress, having extra time will allow you to fix any issues without being rushed. There's nothing worse than spending your last few moments as a single girl fussing with a stuck zipper or cleaning a dirt spot. Start putting your dress on about 45 minutes before you depart for the ceremony. This will give you a good 30 minutes for photos/video and problem solving should you have any. And keep in mind that your videographer and photographer will quite often need to leave early to set up for your ceremony coverage, so the extra time is really not as much as you think.

3. ATTENDANTS -- GET IN YOUR DRESSES. Bridesmaids should get in their dresses as soon as their hair and makeup are completed. We can only take video of you while you're dressed, and too often we get shut out of a room while bridesmaids search for missing items and fumble with bows. This cuts into your coverage, so please encourage your attendants to get their dresses on sooner rather than later. It will also allow them to focus on you, the bride as you make your final preparations. There is nothing more moving than seeing a bride, surrounded by her attendants while she puts on her shoes or is laced into her gown.

So, do yourself a favor and GET READY EARLY. The few extra minutes you'll have will pay off big for video and photos that will last a lifetime.

Photo by:  Kevin Keelan Photography, www.KevinKeelan.com