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
