Edisonian Studios Blog

My good friends Matthew and Sharon got married at the Turcs and...

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:48:46 -0400

My good friends Matthew and Sharon got married at the Turcs and Caicos this past summer. I’d like to show this simple photo I took in order to educate my brides on the importance of composition in wedding videography. Notice I intentionally cropped out certain key elements of the main subjects; the eyes and the rest of their bodies. By cropping out certain visual information, the viewer automatically engages with the picture, imagining what their eyes look like, if they’re posing or dancing, etc. There is no right or wrong answer to this picture. The composition has given us enough information with the smiles, the body language, and the mood as conveyed through the environment and lighting. Now imagine this picture in motion and you can begin to see how much more powerful your visual story becomes!

Just completed is my winter art project of a car hood ornament....

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:56:39 -0500

Just completed is my winter art project of a car hood ornament. It’s inspired by the clawfoots you find on the bottom of antique bathtubs. Exercising 3 dimensional sculptures helps me to advance my motion graphics further into 3D space as well.

Standard Video Production

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:21:57 -0500

Standard Video Production

I just got married this past January in Mexico. Being a wedding...

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:37:21 -0500

I just got married this past January in Mexico. Being a wedding videographer, I really wanted to have an awesome video but was limited to mounting my camera to a tripod, and having the assistance of a generous friend shoot the B-roll. Despite the limitation of angles, this was my opportunity to go wild with a Freudian theme, since no one was there to hold me back except for my new boss and wife.

Here’s a little promotional video I’ve been hired to...

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:24:20 -0500

Here’s a little promotional video I’ve been hired to put together for a wedding DJ. My assignment consisted of showcasing the three main parts of his services; the MC’s, lighting and visual services. The video had to be quick but visually educational as well for the first time customer.

Why Edisonian over other videographers?

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:20:01 -0500

For as long as wedding videography does not par up to feature Hollywood film calliber, and graphical concepts fall short of award winning multimedia studios, we can always strive to improve the product. Sometimes I get church coordinators wondering why I show up so early, or reception hall managers questioning my thorough setups. This tells me something about the videographers they’re used to seeing. Edisonian Studios is not better than other companies because we distance ourselves from the competition. Rather, we are better because we are always learning from other videographers, novice or experts. We thrive on learning and improving our game.

What's video journalism?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:40:44 -0400

Video journalism is not making people wave at the camera. Video journalism is not asking the couple to re-enact a scene from the ceremony, or asking guests to hold their drinks to the camera at the reception. We don’t interfere with the environment and we are as discreet as possible. For starters, I’m only 5’6”, so I like to find a corner in the room and let people be themselves. Couples walk up to us at the end of the night and ask where I’ve been for a good part of the day!

How many weddings do you cover in a day?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:30:19 -0400

Two. Edisonian Studios invests months and even a year in training its camera operators and editors so you can be assured your wedding will be handled by professionals, and not substitues hired off the Internet.

I’ve been rock climbing for 10 years, and my climbing gym...

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:46:00 -0400

I’ve been rock climbing for 10 years, and my climbing gym has been my escape from the gears of life. Last week when I took a break from work, I decided to paint a “day in the life of”.

How long will my video be?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:25:00 -0400

Typically we keep the length of video to approximately an hour in length, plus or minus 10 minutes. If there are additional special events of the day such as performances or dual faith weddings, the length will increase. Our job is to deliver a video with an energetic pace and keep the couple engaged. All couples also receive the raw footage off the original media, or identical duplicates.

My run in with Patty Smith

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:10:00 -0400

I once shot this celebrity wedding where a bunch of musical artists showed up and sang at the reception. Hermit me, I didn't recognize any of them. Amongst the celebrity guests, Patty Smith shows up at the stage and does a few numbers. At the end of the wedding day, as I'm leaving the door, Patty is holding the door open for me.

Edison: "Thank you very much. I gotta tell you, you have quite some talent."

Patty: "Thank you."

Edison: "Listen, I think you should be in the industry. I think..."

Patty: (Disappointingly) "Well, I..."

Edison: "No seriously, you have an impeccable voice! (As I leave) Consider it. Have a great day!"

A couple of weeks later I see her picture on iTunes and then wish I lived in a cave. The devil's path is paved with good intentions!

The importance of videography

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:35:00 -0400

You have one chance to decide. It’s one of the biggest events of your life that will run like the 100 meter dash in the Olympics after months of preparation. Videography is a long term investment and will accrue in sentimental value over time, after the cake’s been eaten and the music has stopped playing. In 15 years your story will never rival the actual footage of uncle Joe’s funny dance move or the precious look on the ring bearer’s face when he was being coaxed to walk down the aisle of a thousand eyes. And in this age of information, video had never been easier to carry with you. Did your grandmother from London miss your wedding due to a cold? Send her a DVD. Are you waiting for an hour at the local restaurant for your steak? Load your video on an iPod and show your friends he first dance you’ve been rehearsing months for. Thanksgiving with the family? Just push play! Many of us can agree how fast time flies, especially the good times. Let Edisonian Studios capture those priceless days for you.

Choosing songs for your movie

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:10:00 -0400

I always encourage brides to send me a cd with their choice of songs. Generally, I ask for about 15 songs, half of them more upbeat and half of them more mellow. The set of songs should be sent in ideally before the wedding day, as things get very hectic after the wedding day (honeymoon, moving in together, etc). What I discourage brides from doing is choosing the latest release single from the pop artist you swear you will love forever. Do you know that for a fact? Edisonian Studios works hard to keep your movie classy and fun to reminisce upon 10 years down the road, but a “so last year” song will work against all the love we’ve poured out to make your movie look great. So 60’s, 70’s, 80’s all good. Just make sure the song will withstand the test of time.

Why do you have preferred photographers?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:42:00 -0400

Aside from issues of personality, perhaps the most important reason I can work better with some photographers than others is lighting. We prefer to light up “the set”, setting up stationary lights that can create dramatic moods which camera mount lights will never achieve. Photographers have different styles of lighting their subjects as well, and the ones who either match my style of lighting or can work with it as accessory to whatever they do are my photographers of choice.

Edison, do you shoot in HD?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:14:00 -0400

Yes we do! My definition formats steer towards what demand calls for, and some brides still opt for SD. But yes, we do HD.