12.22.2010

Kerry + Steven | a Boston wedding film trailer

Kerry and Steven were married in early November at St. Leonard's church in the North End with their reception at the stunning Mandarin Oriental. They had an absolutely beautiful wedding and we had so much fun capturing their day!

We were also lucky to work with an all-star team of vendors for Kerry and Steven's wedding! We got to shoot alongside Ned Jackson again, who is undoubtably one of Boston's best wedding photographers and awesome to work with. Michelle Schaufeld, their day of coordinator was super helpful - as was Gina, the coordinator at the Mandarin. Their band was Eye to Eye who sounded amazing and kept everyone dancing all night! Winston Flowers was the floral designer and did an incredible job with the floral arrangements. Their lighting designer was Suzanne B. Lowel Lighting Design. We've also had the opportunity to work with them a couple times and their work is absolutely phenomenal.

Enjoy their cinematic feature film trailer...

jeff





12.01.2010

Christina + Mike | 33 floors over Boston (same day edit)

Christina + Mike were awesome to work with and their wedding was epic! They were married at the incredible Gate of Heaven church in Boston, and their reception was at the State Room, which sits on the 33rd floor overlooking Quincy Market far below and the nighttime cityscape through panoramic glass walls. Truly an incredible experience and what a fun place to shoot!

For Christina + Mike's wedding I was fortunate enough to shoot alongside a couple friends and incredibly talented cinematographers... Konrad Czystowski and Mark Klassen. These guys are ridiculously creative and masters of their tools... their work has always inspired me and it just keeps getting better. I've had several opportunities to learn from Konrad over the past couple years which has certainly been a big influence on our work. This past spring Mark assisted me with a corporate project in Boston and his work really brought it to the next level, just has it did here.

Mike's day started out the day playing with the dogs while Christina was getting ready in the Penthouse Suite at The Intercontinental. They also had trolleys to take them and their guests around Boston.

Enjoy their same day edit...


The State Room has a built in large projection screen and Erica (the event specialist) was very kind to let us use it for our same day edit presentation. It definitely brought the experience to a whole new level... Christina + Mike had the perfect view from the balcony above. Wicked awesome!!!

We really enjoyed working with their photographer Graham Marley, whose approach to shooting natural light, creative eye and stealthy maneuvering was a great match for us and helped us create an even better film. Their band The Manhatten Touch was so much fun and kept the dance floor packed all night long!

jeff

11.22.2010

Ruth + Dennis | 2pm in Hartford same day edit

Last weekend I filmed Ruth + Dennis' wedding with Mike and Kate in Hartford, CT. They were married at the beautiful Hartford Society Room - you may also recognize it if you've seen Kara + John's film in the archives.

Ruth + Dennis had a morning wedding and we had the same day edit scheduled to play for 2pm, which meant it had to be done at 1:30! Nonetheless we pulled it off. The soundtrack is "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional - buy it and other awesome Dashboard Confessional music here on iTunes. I'm personally a Dashboard fan from way back so I've had this song in mind, but waiting for the right couple. It was on Ruth's list and she said it was a top pick so the pressure was on. :)

Enjoy...

jeff

11.09.2010

Margaux + Paul | Gibbet Hill same day edit

As the wedding season slows down there are a few weddings that I have yet to share that were really incredible for us to be part of. One of those weddings was Margaux and Paul's on the 1st of October. Margaux and Paul connected with us through their photographer Ned Jackson. I actually just had the pleasure of working with Ned again this past weekend. Not only is Ned's work amongst the best you will find anywhere he is incredibly fun to work with and will make your day that much more enjoyable. Seriously if you are looking for a photographer you should check out Ned's blog and website right away, he may be just what you are looking for and his style complements what we do incredibly well... such a treat to work with someone so incredibly talented and passionate about what they do!

So back to Margaux and Paul - such a fun couple and despite a bit of wet weather their day was still amazing and things cleared up just before the reception so they could take advantage of the beautiful Gibbet Hill backdrop for some great photos with Ned. Margaux wanted to add a screen to show a photo slideshow during dinner. Despite finding my 17" MacBook Pro screen had smashed earlier in the day we still managed to piece together a same day edit to play towards the end of the evening as a surprise (using a smaller, less mighty MacBook). The reaction was absolutely amazing, one of our best ever, and it made the last minute rush to put it all together so incredibly worthwhile.

Paul was kind enough to leave a review for us online earlier today. It was really awesome for him to do that and here's what he had to say...

I cannot say enough about the outstanding job Jeff did and we have not even received the final cut yet. I am sure I will only be updating this review with more great things when we do, but Jeff was excellent. I was not crazy about the idea of spending $$ on a videographer, but my wife really wanted the day on video. I could not imagine watching a video of this day more than once or twice, but after seeing just a small clip I know we will enjoy this for many many years to come. Jeff surprised us with the same-day-edit at the end of our reception and the 3 minute clip had my wife and I laughing and sharing tears of joy. It was like the trailer to our Big Day, simple yet so amazing. We will treasure this forever and would clearly recommend Jeff to anyone and everyone out there that is contemplating a videographer.

Thank you Margaux and Paul for giving us the opportunity to capture your awesome wedding!

Enjoy the same day edit...

jeff

11.01.2010

Jeng + Al | same day edit

Most of us who grew up in New England have great memories of Hampton Beach in the summertime. Having made a quick trip this past summer it was great to experience the calmness of the beach in the off-season, which surely would have been jam packed with people just a short time ago. Jeng and Al were married this past Saturday and they held their reception and got ready at Ashworth by the Sea right on the ocean. They were married in nearby Exeter and their photo session took place in downtown Exeter and New Castle.

Jeng and Al were so much fun and we really enjoyed being part of their day. Although we didn't get a chance to meet ahead of time we still managed to incorporate many details that were important to them in their film, such as Jeng's mother's photo on her bouquet or Jeng putting on her earrings. Also Al's father, who is also a deacon, officiated the ceremony and gave the homily... which was absolutely incredible to hear.

Enjoy their same day edit...

jeff




10.16.2010

Kristy + Tony | 10.10.10 same day edit

Some of you may remember Kristy and Tony from their save the date a year ago. Its no doubt 10.10.10 was one of the hottest wedding dates of the season but to Kristy and Tony the date had more meaning - it was the 4 year anniversary of their 1st date at Old Sturbridge Village (also where we did their engagement/save the date shoot).

You couldn't have asked for a better day - it was an absolutely gorgeous fall day and I got to work with two of my absolute favorite wedding pros - Melissa Coe with Melissa Coe Photography and Anthony D'Elia with Revelation Productions (DJ & lighting). It made the day that much better for everyone. Its always a treat to work with Melissa - she did a surprise slideshow of some of their photos during dinner and they looked absolutely incredible! Her creative eye and incredible work blows me away every time we work together. Anthony did a great job with the music all night and the lighting looked awesome!

They were married at St. Patrick's church in Whitinsville with their reception at Lakeview Pavillion in Foxboro. That was my first time shooting at Lakeview and I loved the look of the ballroom and there were some great spots outside for some nighttime photos & cinema.

Enjoy their same day edit!

jeff



10.08.2010

Aimee + Juan | Amherst same day edit

Aimee + Juan were married last Saturday in Amherst on an absolutely gorgeous fall day. The live in Chicago and had family and friends join them from near and far. One of the coolest parts of the day had to be the trolley rides to the chapel and back. I captured the day along with Kate and Mike... although we never got a chance to meet before the wedding day Aimee and Juan were really awesome to work with and their wedding was a lot of fun! Here is their same day edit...

jeff


9.27.2010

Kim + Jeff | Mechanics Hall same day edit

It was really awesome to get to know Kim + Jeff and be part of their wedding. Amanda and I got to hang out with them at Armsby Abbey just a few weeks before the wedding and we knew right away that they were going to be a fun couple to work with. Amanda and Mike shot cinema along with me on their wedding day. They were married at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts - one of the world's great historic concert halls, ranked in the top 4 in North America. It was originally built in 1857 and restored in 1977 and an absolutely stunning building to be in, especially for a wedding!

We met Kim + Jeff through Addie + Dave, one of our awesome couples from last year. It was great to catch up with them as well. It was quite fitting given the venue that Kim and her bridesmaids got ready in the green room, and the ceremony on stage was something that was just incredible to experience. The party was amazing thanks a great group of guests and the Felix Brown Band who kept everyone on the dance floor all night and was absolutely one of my all time favorite bands. It was also really awesome to work with Jeff Newcum, an incredibly talented natural light photographer who was a lot of fun to work with. I'm always excited to work with photographers like Jeff who prefer to shoot with available light whenever possible. The florist was Jeff French of French Boquet Florist and they did a beautiful job with all the arrangements. That's a whole lot of Jeffs! (there was at least one guest named Jeff too!)

We filled in the band's break time with our same day edit presentation... enjoy!

jeff

soundtrack: "Mango Tree" by Angus & Julia Stone click here to buy it on iTunes

9.16.2010

Sperry Tents

A few weeks ago I headed a few hours north to a location near Castle in the Clouds in New Hampshire for a night to shoot a fusion promo piece for Sperry Tents Seacoast along with the incredibly talented Boston-area photographer Mark Davidson. Mark is he has an incredible eye for natural light, is really fun to work with, and most importantly his work is really outstanding.

This tent took the crew two full days to setup, if you look closely the ground slopes about 6' from one end of the tent to the other so the flooring had to be engineered specific to the location. The end result is something that is more like a meticulously constructed work of art then your ordinary tent. You can also see another Sperry tent in some of my films from The Willowdale Estate in the recent archives.

It was so cool to see this all come together. The team worked incredibly hard and despite how hard these guys work they all had a great attitude and made it fun. Enjoy...

The soundtrack for this piece is "Hopes" (instrumental) by Derby and was licensed through with etiquette. You can also check them out on iTunes.

8.29.2010

Allison + John | from a Tahoe blizzard to a destination wedding in Boston

Yesterday I filmed Allison and John's amazing wedding in Boston along with Kate and Mike. They live in San Francisco and friends and family joined them from near and far for an amazing celebration. Allison and John were a really awesome couple to get to know and you can tell as soon as you meet them they are absolutely a perfect fit for each other.

Allison and John were married at the amazing historic Old South Church. Its one of those buildings that when you walk into your jaw just hits the floor. Their reception was just a couple blocks down Boylston Street at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental. They held their rehearsal on Thursday with a rehearsal dinner Friday evening at the Taj rooftop with stunning of the city views all around of the sunset over Boston. Amanda joined me for coverage of their rehearsal dinner and I also covered their rehearsal at the church the day before.

One thing that certainly makes for a great wedding is when you have the opportunity to work with a great planner. Heather Minicucci of Simply Inviting Weddings is one of a kind. She worked so well with Allison and John and her attention to all of the finest details was outstanding. All of her hard work made for a wedding I can say I will certainly never forget.

We were excited to meet and work with Christine + Andy with Bello Photography. They are a husband and wife team from the Cape that are not only incredibly talented but just so much fun to work with. The band Hush sounded incredible and provided the music for the evening. Boston Uplights designed the lighting and decor and took an amazing looking ballroom to a whole new level. Jason from Revelation Productions provided the projection system for us for this same day edit...

soundtrack: "Lay Your Head Down" by Keren Ann - click here to buy it on iTunes

jeff







8.23.2010

Sarah + Justin | Willowdale Estate same day edit

Sarah + Justin are one of those fun, laid back couples that just seem to click together so well. They were married at The Willowdale Estate in Topsfield, MA - which I've said before is one of my favorite venues outside of Boston and such a beautiful place to have a wedding. I felt more like I was at a friend's wedding then a vendor, and Kurt and I had so much fun throughout their day. They didn't let the wet weather get them down and there was enough of a break in the rain to get in some great photo time outdoors with their awesome photographer Elise Donoghue who was so much fun to work with and incredibly talented at shooting with natural light. We are both Canon shooters so I let her play with some new lenses. :)

I think their same day edit has a different feel to it then much of our work. This piece could have easily been 2 minutes longer - I had a lot of extra footage cut that didn't make the edit but it felt better short and sweet. I think it really reflects the two of them and their day as is, and they'll have plenty to look forward to in their feature film.

jeff


The soundtrack is "Somebody Loved" by The Weepies - you can click here to buy it on iTunes.

8.15.2010

Pam + Jeremy | same day edit

Yesterday I filmed Pam + Jeremy's wedding with Amanda and Kate at St. Patrick's church in Whitinsville and the ballroom at The Doubletree in Milford. Pam and Jeremy went to elementary school together and have known each other almost all their lives. They fell in love with each other after reconnecting a few years after they were done with school. They are also friends with Kristy + Tony - we'll be filming their wedding on 10.10.10 and you can find their Sturbridge Village save the date in the archives.


It was also great working with Revelation Productions again last night, who provided great music and lighting and kept everyone dancing all night.

Here is Pam + Jeremy's same day edit...


jeff

8.13.2010

Anastasiya + Anton | feature film teaser

We filmed Anastasiya + Anton's wedding last month at Butternut Farm Golf Club in Stow. I was really excited for their day and honored to be chosen to film their wedding as Anastasiya is a photographer. We started the day at the Pyara spa and salon in Burlington - that was quite an amazing place and a lot of fun to film in!

Here's something a bit different from us as a tease of what's to come:

jeff

8.11.2010

Deb + Ian | Willowdale Estate wedding feature film teaser

A few weeks ago we filmed Deb + Ian's wedding at the gorgeous Willowdale Estate in Topsfield. It is without question one of my favorite venues around Boston and it is so much fun to film there! The entire team is really great to work with and the location is spectacular.

We also got to work with Mark of Mark Davidson Photography... He has a really awesome approach and was great to work with. Mark presented a same day edit of some of his photos later in the evening which was done really well. He's also a great natural light shooter which I enjoy and certainly helps us make an even better film.

Most importantly Deb + Ian were really awesome and I knew from our first meeting they were going to have an amazing wedding and it would be so much fun to film their day. So here is a quick tease of their feature film...


iPad/mobile users click here
With the ceremony setup outside and only an hour to go, will the rain let up long enough?



jeff

8.09.2010

Quynh-Oanh + Nathan | a Vietnamese wedding same day edit

I booked Quynh-Oanh + Nathan's wedding though emails and phone conversations while on a family vacation in Disney World last November. I was really excited when talking to Nathan about what they had planned that day and knew that it would definitely be something unique for us. One of the things I really love about what I do is the chance to get to experience so many different cultures. This was my first Vietnamese wedding and it was so amazing to be a part of their day. The ceremony took place in Quynh-Oanh's family home in Boston and from the moment I walked through her front door I felt a lot more like a guest then a wedding vendor. As we wrapped up filming the first part of the day everyone kept asking if we ate... well a few minutes later we filled our plates and as you can probably tell in their film the food was fantastic! I think I ate a little of everything, and even got to try some of the amazing pork! :) mmmmm...

The reception was held at the 19th-century Milton-Hoosic CLVB in Milton, MA. The evening festivities featured an awesome first dance, even more amazing food and drinks, and lots of great karaoke!

My brother Johnathan joined me for this one as well as a wedding we filmed the day before. Despite the fact that he lives in Texas we have had the opportunity to shoot plenty of weddings together lately and he is really awesome to work with and definitely has some pretty serious cinematography skills. :)

We premiered their same day edit after dinner.... it was a really cool way for the guests who weren't part of the morning's ceremonies to experience the whole day. Enjoy!

jeff






8.01.2010

Christina + Keith | a love story same day edit

Yesterday we filmed Christina + Keith's awesome wedding at The Colonial Hotel. A few weeks back we filmed a love story nearby to premiere for their guests during the reception. Originally they were going to see it first, but I had a different idea in mind and Christina was more then happy to wait until her wedding day to see the film.

Here is Christina + Keith's wedding story, which we premiered last night at the end of dinner...



Many thanks to Johnathan and Amanda who helped me film their wedding, and Amanda also helped me film the love story. We also got to work with some of our favorite vendors. Revelation Productions provided lighting, music, and projection and as always were super helpful throughout the setup and the evening. Alice Pepplow of The Imagery Studio is one of my favorite photographers in the area and it was really awesome working alongside her and her team. I can't wait to see what she captured for Christina + Keith.

jeff

7.28.2010

Wedding Film Theatre Premieres

Recently I did something really cool for two of our couples. For quite a while I've thought it would be really awesome to premiere wedding films for our couples in an actual movie theatre. Kate + Chris and Cait + Nick were happy to get together on a Sunday afternoon as I held private showings to premiere their feature films at The Strand Theatre in Clinton, MA. Kurt and Mike joined me who filmed both weddings with me. The Strand was built in 1924 and is one of the area's oldest movie theaters. They show movies six nights a week, offer casual meals and drinks and deliver an awesome movie experience at very reasonable prices. Despite the age of the theatre it certainly is up to date with a great projector and sound system that certainly brought out the best in the quality of our films.

the theatre right before Cait + Nick arrived with their friends and family...

enjoying Cait + Nick's feature film...


soon after the premiere Cait wrote this amazing review...
When we first starting planning our wedding, we were unsure whether we wanted to hire a videographer. We did some research and did not find ourselves overly excited or impressed by the wedding videos we were viewing. To be honest, we didn’t know if it was worth the additional expense and we were convinced that if we invested in a great photographer, a wedding video was not a necessity. We were wrong, capturing your wedding day on video is just as important as the photographs! ALL of our uncertainty and thoughts towards videography completed changed the minute we watched a sample of Jeff’s work. I realized the value of a wedding video when I was brought to tears while watching a sample video of complete strangers! We had to meet with Jeff immediately! It was refreshing to meet with a friendly and laid back vendor who had a no pressure approach to working with prospective clients. We felt at ease instantly and found that we had no doubts at all about booking Jeff as our videographer. Jeff’s professionalism is evident from the first inquiry as he promptly responds when contacted and shows that he cares about the details of your wedding day. He has a great personalized client website that made it easy to communicate, access all documents, share important wedding information, and stay organized. It wasn’t until we shared an incredible moment with each other and our guests as we watched our same day edit at the end of our reception, that we realized booking Jeff was the best decision we made while planning our wedding. His work is AMAZING!! His style of cinematography is so unique and incomparable! His team demonstrates a high level of expertise as they capture the special moments of your day at every angle. They were unobtrusive and made us feel comfortable, so much so, sometimes we didn’t even realize they were there. The same day edit was the perfect touch to our amazing day! We were in awe that Jeff could pull together such an incredible piece of work in only a few hours while maintaining coverage of our entire day! Our guests were blown away and they have not stopped raving about the same day edit played at our reception! We have received so many compliments about how much fun our wedding was and many claimed it to be the best wedding they have ever been to…we owe much of that credit to Jeff and his team. The same day edit brought a unique style to our wedding that proved to be a huge hit! We know we will be seeing Jeff and his team at many weddings in the future! Jeff also invited us to a private theatre screening to premiere our feature film! Watching our video in HD on the big screen with family and friends was an awesome experience! Again, we were thrilled with the outcome of our feature film! It far exceeded our expectations!! (And after seeing the same day edit, our expectations were pretty high!) Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, Jeff amazed us again! The film left me speechless, it is truly phenomenal! We love love love all of the final products – the same day edit, our guests’ video messages, and our feature film! We had a wonderful experience working with Jeff and we highly recommend him for his expertise in capturing the important moments of a wedding day and creating a priceless wedding film. Jeff has provided us with such an entertaining and touching film that will only be more precious and valuable with time! We could not be happier with our experience! Stop your search here – book Jeff Brouillet! You will experience wedding cinematography truly at its best!!



I can't even express how awesome it feels to hear such wonderful comments - I LOVE my "job" and it makes me so happy to hear how much our work is appreciated. Thank you! :)


We filmed Kate + Chris's wedding in Boston on January 30th. When I left my house it was 0℉ and upon our arrival in Boston it was a comfortable 6℉. Despite a little bit of chilly weather it was absolutely one of my favorite weddings. Kate was really into our work and we had about 15 hours of platinum coverage on her wedding day. There were so many highlights to the day - to begin with a winter wedding in Boston is unique in itself. The speeches during the reception were so beautiful and well said that it really brought together their story and some great insight into who they are. Their ceremony took place at a stunning catholic church in Charlestown and they had an awesome party at a private club - the historic Union Club of Boston.

Our wedding films capture the complete story of your day in a cinematic feature film that is something truly unique and meaningful to the couple. Kate + Chris were so awesome to work with and their amazing wedding certainly helped make a great wedding film.

Kate was kind enough to leave an awesome review after premiering her feature film...
There is nothing I can say, other then Jeff and his team are INCREDIBLE. They take the moments of the most important day of your life and turn them into a beautifully cinematic story. At some points while watching our film, I asked myself “Is that really us? We look like movie stars.” He is so professional and attentive to each brides needs and really wants to get to know each couple instead of just showing up on your big day hoping that everything goes according to plan. He exceeded our expectations beyond what I thought was possible. I’ve refereed all of my friends who are getting married to Jeff—I think he’s booked quite a few weddings because I scream his praises so loudly. Anyone can it “record” on a video camera. But no one in New England can tell a story through the lens of his video equipment like Jeff can.


If you would are interested in viewing one of our feature films get in touch and we'd love to share one.

jeff

7.15.2010

Kara + John | a fourth of July same day edit

I filmed Kara + John's wedding for my friend Mike Murray - he's filmed a few weddings with me so I wanted to tag along with one of his and this was a fantastic wedding to be a part of! I edited the same day edit, which includes some really awesome touches from Mike such as a shot of the day's newspaper from Las Vegas and locally, and some fireworks at the end he filmed the night before. The reception took place at The Society Room of Hartford -which is one of the most spectacular venues I've been to!

7.11.2010

Brittany + Craig | same day edit

We were lucky to be part of Brittany + Craig's awesome wedding yesterday in Ashland. They were married at The Warren Conference Center & Inn... such a cool spot for a wedding! It has a great New England feel to it and it was an absolutely beautiful place to be - especially with the wet weather that came through in the afternoon!

Brittany actually went to high school with my sister, and come to find out also knows Kate + Chris as well who had a same day edit with us in January and coincidentally will be premiering their feature film a couple hours after I write this - small world!

We had the opportunity to work with some other awesome wedding vendors yesterday. Their photographer was Jeff Turner of Black Thumb Studio and he and his team were really awesome to work with... you can tell when people really love what they do and Jeff and his team definitely do! Their DJ was Greg Capozzi of C-zone music who certainly kept everyone on the dance floor and was super helpful with our audio hookups and same day edit planning. He mixed the music perfectly all night and it sounded awesome!

Enjoy!

jeff



6.14.2010

Natalie + Robert | a double feature - love story + same day edit

I was really excited for Natalie and Rob's wedding for quite some time. The story of a couple and their wedding carries well beyond the wedding day itself. I filmed a love story for Natalie and Rob on Cape Cod a couple months back with the assistance of my amazing ladyfriend Amanda... who did a wonderful job and some of her shots are in the film. The love story addition to the same day edit is a really awesome way to share your story with your guests, and the same day edit (which we typically keep as a surprise for the guests) never fails to amaze the couple and the guests. I've been anxious to show their love story film, we got really lucky with a perfect day to shoot this one. :)

Natalie and Rob were married in an absolutley beautiful Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell with their reception at the beautiful ballroom at Tewksbury Country Club. They are one of those couples that when you meet they just seem like the perfect fit. They were so fun to work with and we even attended their rehearsal, which we just had to tie into the same day edit!

I'm pretty sure Natalie and Rob weren't even going to have video coverage of their wedding until they stumbled across our work. Natalie actually requested a Hans Zimmer masterpiece from the soundtrack to "The Holiday" which may sound familiar if you dig back into the archives a bit. It turned out to be a perfect fit and I am sure glad we had the opportunity to be part of their awesome wedding day. Enjoy the double feature!


their love story

same day edit

photographer:

band:

reception venue:

florist:

cake artist:


6.10.2010

Jess + Darryl | save the date

A few weeks back I met up with Jess and Darryl at the Old Stone Church in West Boylston. I shot a save the date for them alongside their photographer, Rick Bern. We will be filming their wedding in September at The Colonial Hotel in Gardner.

Here is their story...


jeff


6.01.2010

Caitlyn + Nick | a surprise same day edit

We had an awesome time filming Cait and Nick's wedding on Sunday. Cait had expressed interest in a same day edit but they booked us for a feature film. When I met with them a week before the wedding I was thinking that their wedding was the perfect recipe for a great same day edit and they are such awesome people and had been so great to work with that I decided to surprise them with one.
the fine print: Please don't expect a surprise same day edit for your wedding too! I've only done this once before and it was our first same day edit. :)
The same day edit process starts early in the day but somehow Cait didn't expect it even as I was uploading and editing some clips in the same hotel suite earlier in the day. We played it during the band's break and the reaction was really awesome. Same day edits may be taking years off my life (just ask Kurt who has shot alongside me for most of them!) but the three or four minutes that the film plays for everyone on the big screen make it all worthwhile.

jeff



ceremony: St. John's church in Clinton, MA - An absolutely amazing church as you will see!

reception: Devens Common - A great venue in Devens, MA, and they got ready at the hotel next door earlier in the day.

photography: Scott Zuehlke Photography - Scott was really fun to work with and an incredibly talented artist. He certainly really enjoyed our style of cinematography which I certainly appreciate.

entertainment: World Premier Band from Boston - They are incredibly talented and were a ton of fun. They certainly kept the dance floor full until the end of the night and sounded great all night.






5.11.2010

It's Better in The Bahamas!

Amanda and I just got back from an amazing vacation in The Bahamas...

4.15.2010

Domineca + Santiago | Houston same day edit

Last fall we had the opportunity to shoot an incredibly fun save the date with Domineca and Santiago at the Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, Texas (you can find it in the archives). This past Sunday we shot their wedding and below you will find the same day edit. The great thing about shooting a save the date is the opportunity to spend some time with the couple before the wedding - and in this case I spent about half a day hanging out and getting to know them.

For this wedding I was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to shoot alongside Jamie Honce of Jamie Honce Productions from Rochester, Michigan and my brother Johnathan assisted us as well. Typically I shoot a lot of Steadicam throughout various parts of the wedding but this time Jamie took care of that and I had the opportunity to see things differently then normally, which was really cool. Although it is important for us to see each wedding differently I certainly broke any routine this time and went through the entire day without touching a Steadicam for the first time since we started using Steadicam in 2008. Another big switch we made last fall was progressing to HD-SLR filmmaking and this is the first wedding we shot 100% with HD-SLRs - using 4 Canon 7D cameras and a variety of lenses. The last few weddings we shot almost entirely with those cameras but rolled tape through the ceremonies as well - but it was refreshing to not rely on a conventional video camera at all and the creative and visual limitations associated with traditional video.

Their DJ Jose Avitia was incredibly helpful and did a nice job throughout the day. He kept us well informed of the timing of all the important events and went out of his way to ensure we were completely ready for everything well before it happened. It is great to work with other vendors who really love what they do and care about the couple - it makes all the difference in the couple's experience and helps us create a better film.

Jamie and I went to the NAB show in Las Vegas the next morning and that could be an extensive blog post in itself, but now as I settle in L.A. for a couple of days of corporate work I've finally had the opportunity to get online and share this piece. Domineca and Santiago were married at the beautiful Pelazzio ballroom in Houston and it was an honor to travel to be part of their special day. There are so many storied that each couple has on their wedding day - for Domineca and Santiago's same day edit we paid attention to the obvious, but kept a close eye on some of the smaller details such as the family gathering early in the day at a nearby hotel where the couple got ready, the significance of the wedding rings and the ceremonial exchange of rings, and a special temporary tattoo that Domineca had placed on her neck. Enjoy!

jeff




3.16.2010

Attention Brides & Grooms! 2010 wedding film collections almost sold out!

I've been getting a lot of calls for last minute wedding films lately, many of which I've sadly had to turn down because we already were booked with another great couple. I can only take on a limited number of weddings each year so we can provide every couple with an incredible wedding film. Currently we are within a few weddings of capacity for 2010. With the level of attention to detail and post-production that goes into creating each wedding film it would be impossible to book every date every weekend, so the good news is I do still have several dates available, but once we have booked our limit we will stop booking for 2010. Most Saturdays are booked throughout the summer but if you are interested it certainly doesn't hurt to send a quick email with your date!

Planning a wedding for 2011? 2011 is filling up even faster then 2010 so get in touch soon if you love our work!


Happy wedding planning! :)

jeff

3.05.2010

Janah + LeMarcus part 2 - the highlights

We had such a great time shooting Janah + LeMarcus's wedding in Houston. Not only was it great to escape the winter weather for a bit but these two were so much fun to be around and you can really feel the love they have for each other.


They were going to be married in the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, which was damaged severely during hurricane Ike in 2008 and for a while they weren't sure if it was going to be ready in time for their wedding. About a month before the wedding Janah told me that the ceremony was going to be at The Houston Club - their reception venue. I could sense the disappointment in her voice since the church renovations wouldn't be completed in time, but then they soon got the great news that the church would be ready in time and they were the first couple to be married their since it opened back up.

One of the most incredible moments of the day was an amazing performance of Beyoncé's "Smash Into You" during the processional, and Janah took over singing as she walked down the aisle with her amazing beautiful voice. I used the original piece for their highlights, but rest assured the live performance will be part of their feature film.


If you haven't seen it, check out their love story which I posted a couple weeks back. We premiered their love story film before Janah and LeMarcus were introduced as they watched from the balcony.


Enjoy the highlights...


jeff





2.26.2010

Yama Zakura - Worcester's Best Chef

To say I love sushi may be a bit of an understatement. I eat a lot of it and I've had it from countless restaurants in many different cities. Chef Anna from Yama Zakura in Northborough, MA makes the best sushi dishes I have ever had. Its no surprise that she won the Worcester's Best Chef Judges Choices Award in 2008 and 2009. On January 31st, 2010 she won the 2010 People's Choice Award and I was fortunate enough to be there to capture it all and sneak in a few samples as well. :)

jeff


The booth uplighting, GOBO and video display were done by Anthony of Revelation Productions. RP also DJ'd the entire event and the YZ animation at the end of the video was also done by RP.

music: "If Ever There's a Reason" by Derby licensed through with etiquette

2.24.2010

Janah + LeMarcus | a show stopper & a drum major love story

I just got back from Texas and on Saturday we were so lucky to have the opportunity to film Janah + LeMarcus's wedding in Houston. About a month ago I flew down to film their love story, which we premiered just before they were introduced Saturday night. I love how we get to know so much about our couples so quickly.

"This is a great story..."



wedding film coming soon :)

jeff

2.01.2010

Kate + Chris | a Boston winter wedding same day edit

Kate and Chris met at the Cask'n Flagon in Boston three years ago. Chris's best man was there with Kate and several mutual friends when he thought he had the perfect match for her and called Chris to come on out, which he of course did. Their friends and family knew early on they were a great match for each other and would probably soon be married. Sure enough this past Saturday Kate and Chris were married at St. Mary's church in Charlestown with their reception and the Union Club in Boston. Both of these venues were gorgeous historic 1800s buildings with an incredible amount of character, breathtaking details and New England charm.

I knew when I first met Kate that I was going to love filming her wedding. She truly connected with the type of work we do... when I asked what attracted her to us and our cinematography she said, "I love that you're not, what I've found to be... an east coast videographer. You tell a story with your movies. We want our film to be less of a rolling reel of events, and more like a movie." I couldn't have said it any better myself. :)

So when the day finally arrived on Saturday I was super excited - not only did I get to experience a beautiful wedding with an amazing couple but it was our first wedding shooting entirely with HD DSLRs to give that beautiful filmic look you can achieve with Canon photography lenses. We also shot at 24 frames per second (the speed of film) for the first time at a wedding - again to ensure even further that their wedding film had the look and feel of a movie. Kurt and I were joined by another local wedding cinematographer Mike Murray who was excited to try out a new toy he won in Austin at the recent workshop we both attended.

We worked alongside the amazingly talented destination photography Shyla Dalirifar and had some great help with their DJ Greg Hodges of 5 Star Events. It always feels great to work amongst other vendors who are passionate about what they do and I knew how excited Kate was to work with Shyla so it was awesome to see her in action. You can check out her blog to see how fantastic her work is.

So when we played their same day edit I was completely blown away by everyone's reaction and how into it all their guests were. I think its tough to convey this experience to someone who has never seen one, but taking a few minutes on your wedding day to share something unique with your guests and soak in the events of the day can be an amazing moment and something I hope stands out as one of the many highlights of the wedding day. Out of everything I do, those few minutes are what I enjoy the most, and this one was really special and I'm so happy for what my team and I were able to do for Kate and Chris. Enjoy!

jeff

1.28.2010

in pursuit of my passion | from Long Island to Ontario to Austin, Texas

I have been blessed to be a part of some incredible experiences lately in an effort to better my skills and quench my thirst for knowledge in the world of wedding and event filmmaking. Last October I made a four hour drive each way to attend a workshop in Long Island, followed a couple weeks later by the three-day evolution experience with the StillMotion family in Ontario and most recently a three day "gathering" last week at IN[FOCUS] 2010 in Austin. Along the way I've met many new friends and gotten to know several of the world's most talented wedding cinematographers. I sought out these opportunities with a goal to simply become better at what I do and came home with so much more then that. The knowledge I've gained and the friendships I've made are absolutely priceless and I'm looking forward to many more opportunities like this in the future.

Here are a couple of videos others have made to give a behind the scenes look at what these events are all about. If you look closely you will actually see me in front of the camera a couple of times, very unusual (although I'm not afraid of the lens!). First is StillMotion's behind the scenes film from their third evolution experience which I was so lucky to be a part of. These guys have done stuff that has literally changed the way wedding films are made, and they have been a huge inspiration for me for quite some time...


I met Kaipo from NYC's 15 Minutes of Frame in Long Island, was pleasantly surprised to see him in Ontario as a last minute addition to the evo experience, and he was also one of the 130 or so video geeks at IN[FOCUS] in Austin. Here's his take on the IN[FOCUS] 2010 experience...

While I am already looking forward to IN[FOCUS] 2011 I'm sure there will be other opportunities in the meantime. One of my greatest fears is to become stagnant in my work. I can honestly look back at everything I've done and see a steady progression in the quality of work we produce. With all the ideas crammed into my head for this year I couldn't be more excited for 2010 and I am more confident then ever that we are going to produce some kick-ass, personal, emotional and beautiful wedding films for our couples and their families. Every day I think about how lucky I am to get to do what I do, but I believe the greatest reward has been in getting to know so many incredible people, the relationships I've built, and all the little experiences and great moments that have come along with it. It truly is an incredible blessing and I absolutely love my life!

jeff

1.12.2010

Ilanna + Noam | trailer

Here is a small taste of what's to come... On November 22nd Kurt and I filmed Ilanna and Noam's wedding at the beautiful Boston Park Plaza. This was our first Jewish wedding and knowing this Ilanna and Noam certainly put a lot of trust in us... that is something I really appreciated. So once I reviewed the day's itinerary I offered to extend the coverage a couple hours so we could get some great shots of Ilanna getting ready and truly capture her wedding day. I'm sure glad I did because Ilanna got ready in the presidential suite which was breathtaking with great views of Boston from every window on an absolutely gorgeous fall day. Despite this wedding being a bit different for us I'd say the day went really smooth from a filmmaking perspective, and thanks to all the information and a DVD she shared with us ahead of time we were well prepared.

So here is something a bit different... I used the audio from the band and the introductions to open up the trailer, and since this is just the preview I didn't want to give away too much so this is more of a tease of what's to come. Enjoy!

jeff

1.04.2010

Mandy + Chris | highlights

Mandy and Chris were married on a beautiful September day at The Colonial Hotel in Gardner, MA. You can check out their same day edit in the archives. Mandy loved her sister Michelle's wedding film which we shot almost exactly a year prior. Mandy was Michelle's maid of honor and Chris was Ian's best man, so it was quite fitting that the roles were reversed this time around.

I try to bring something fresh to each piece - a same day edit is essentially a highlights film in itself that you can share with your guests during your reception. It typically focuses more on the early preparations so the groom can see his bride getting ready and vice-versa... and it typically ends with the ceremony or perhaps first dance. I wanted to tell more of the story with this piece rather then just simply re-creating their SDE with some extra shots. So the end result is a piece that has more of a cinematic feel to it and there are many more layers of the story. I wanted it to feel upbeat and happy while capturing their personalities and the experience of an amazing group of friends and family coming together for such an incredible day and how much fun it was. This film not only stands apart from their SDE but also from their feature film, yet I think they all complement each other nicely. Enjoy!

jeff


1.01.2010

Happy New Year! | looking back to 2009 + looking ahead to 2010

As we wrap up another year... and another decade... I figured I'd take a minute to reflect on 2009 and what's coming up for 2010. This is probably my first post without a photo or video but since you can view a gallery on my regular website now I plan to add more miscellaneous content here going forward.

I feel incredibly blessed for so many reasons and 2009 was a phenomenal year. I've had a lifelong dream of working for myself full time and that dream came true last April. After 12 or so years in retail I was lucky enough to get the corporate ax from Toys R Us when my management position was "eliminated." Truth be told I wasn't very passionate about that type of work anymore, although I really enjoyed the nine years I worked in the home theatre industry. Now at this point I had been shooting weddings on the side for quite some time and my goal was to take the business full time in 2010, but the opportunity was staring me straight in the face and about two hours after I got the ax I was completely over it and knew exactly what I was going to do.

I already had a small number of weddings booked throughout the year... actually I got laid off the day after we shot Kerry + Andy's wedding... but I was able to pickup quite a few more and shot at 14 weddings throughout 2009 and quite a bit of commercial work. I'm very excited that our calendar is quite full already for 2010 and I have no doubt we'll book to capacity. We have plenty of same day edits and save the dates coming up, which are two of my favorite offerings. We also have a couple of weddings booked in Texas which will get me out of the cold New England weather.

I absolutely love to travel and I had the opportunity to shoot corporate projects in Miami and San Francisco last year as well as a week at an amazing hotel in Portsmouth, NH. I made several trips to Texas and most recently shot Domineca + Santiago's save the date in Kemah which was so much fun! I also attended a workshop in Long Island and most recently an incredible three-day workshop - "the evolution experience" with StillMotion in Toronto, which has really molded me into a much better filmmaker and was just an absolutely amazing experience. In a couple of weeks I'll be in Austin for IN[FOCUS] which is a three-day featuring an amazing list of the most talented wedding cinematographers on the planet. Even better then the experience of these events was the opportunity to make new friends and meet so many people.

I can honestly say I wouldn't be where I am right now if it wasn't for some of the people in the wedding industry I have met over the past year and what they have done to help me out as well as the referrals they've sent my way. Its been great to connect with other vendors who are also passionate about what they do and do amazing work. Most notably I teamed up with a 15-year wedding industry veteran - Anthony D'Elia - and I became part of the Revelation Productions team, taking care of the video side of the business while working together on many of our marketing initiatives and the wedding expos.

Outside of my business life my personal life has been great too in 2009. My beautiful niece Rachel was born last January and we all took a family vacation to Disney World in November... something we did quite regularly when I was growing up. I turned the big 3-0 this year which really isn't as scary as I thought it would be, although I often think about how fast the time has gone by and I'm sure 40 will come before I know it... but I'm in no rush for that! The highlight of the year though was re-meeting Amanda during Holly and Joe's wedding in May - she was a bridesmaid along with my sister Nicole and they had been friends back in middle school, although I hadn't seen Amanda since '98 or so. I can still remember how much I admired her back then and I'm so happy to say we have been dating since Memorial Day when we hiked up Mt. Wachusett with her lovely dog/child Winston. We are currently planning a trip to Iceland which is someplace I have wanted to visit for quite some time.

So given the excitement of the past year I'm not sure how 2010 can top it, but I am incredibly excited and optimistic about what the next year will bring. We will kick off our wedding season on January 30th in Boston with Kate + Chris. My goal for 2010 is simply to make people happy... most notably the brides and grooms I am so lucky to work with. I strive to get better at what I do each time I shoot or sit down to edit, and looking back at my work I can certainly see a steady improvement over the years. The technology has evolved in a way that gives a whole new level of possibilities to the work we do and the production value that can be achieved while filming a wedding. Although we are equipped with some of the best gear available today the tools don't make a great film - the vision, creativity and the know-how that my team and I brings to each wedding is what makes our work as good as it is and I know it will only get better from here.

The wedding video industry is plagued with bad stereotypes and awful work, but our refusal to accept mediocrity and willingness to always try something new is what makes our work stand out... but above everything else it comes down to passion. Are you passionate about what you do? I certainly am and I can't wait for what the future brings!

Happy New Year + all the best for 2010!!!

jeff