Re:Frame

Barbi Chan and Jörg Friebel from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

Jessica Claire & Jeff Norwood’s Wine Country Wedding from Elysium Productions on Vimeo.

Belle & Daniel :: A Fairytale Love from bliss productions on Vimeo.

Veronica + Dominic from Cloud Nine Creative on Vimeo.

Re:Frame San Francisco : The Ending from Cristina Valdivieso + Jon Connor on Vimeo.

Re:Frame San Francisco – The Middle from Cristina Valdivieso + Jon Connor on Vimeo.

What a week, and it’s still going strong! We started off the morning with Jason and then headed to the Palace of Fine Arts with gorgeous models in tow draped in jewels from Haute Bride and designer gowns from Gabrielle’s Bridal. {Stay tuned for footage from the shootout} Philip Bloom has created another dazzling masterpiece capturing the tone of the week. He’s done so using the 7D in stills mode. The film below is shot entirely using still…. amazing!

“Lucky Lucky”: 7D and 5dmkII photo movie from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a week since Re:Frame San Francisco ended.  We’ve been absolutely overwhelmed with the positive response to the event and would like to thank everyone that helped make RF:SF such a huge success.

First of all, thank you to our attendees: Some of you came from far and wide to attend Re:Frame and for many of you it was a repeat trip after having attended Re:Frame New Orleans, Re:Frame Austin, or both. For others Re:Frame was a new experience for you so we appreciate you putting your trust in us to put on a worthwhile educational event for you.  Thank you so much for spending 4 days with us laughing and learning.  It was such a rewarding experience for us to welcome you to The Clift and work with you to try and help you improve your businesses and your craft.  We look forward to seeing you at our next Re:Frame event.

To our presenters: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to share your expertice.  You came from Moscow, NYC, Texas, Canada and even as far away as LA!  Our attendees truly appreciated hearing from you and the feedback from our attendee forms has been outstanding.  You helped make RF:SF a huge success!

Our presenters were: Oleg Kalyan, Kevin Shahinian, Joe Simon, Jason Magbanua, David Robin, Dennis Lennie, Philip Bloom, Jasmine Star, Leila Khalil, Alex Hill, Angela Desveaux, and Loyd Calomay

To our sponsors and press: Thank you for coming to San Francisco and showing your new gear and chatting with our attendees.  It’s always great for people to get hands on experience holding the products that you sell and having a representative there to explain things makes it all the better.  We realize it’s a big job setting up a booth and spending long hours at the show, but we really appreciate your support.

Our sponsors were: Canon, EventDV Magazine, Zacuto USA, SmugMug, Adobe, Glidecam, Red Giant, F-Stop Academy, and Americhip.

Our press were:  Scott Bourne from Photofocus , Ron Risman from Cameratown, and Syl Arena from Pixsylated

Thanks again everyone and we’re looking forward to seeing all of you at our next Re:Frame event. Below is a group pic at the shootout.  Until next time everyone!

~ The Collective

Hugo Boss recently hosted an event here in New Orleans that rewarded the top Nordstrom sales people for their efforts in boosting Hugo Boss revenues.  This 3 day event included training sessions, dining around New Orleans, a second line parade, and a dinner cruise on a river boat.  On the last day, attendees worked with Habitat for Humanity rebuilding homes destroyed by Katrina.

We were contracted to capture the 3 days of activities and create a 10 minute video highlight that included stills as well.  In order to better work with the photographer, we decided to BE the photographers for the first time ever.  Joe became our snappy photo taker and Terry operated the motion picture cam.

We aired the finished product during the closing session on Wednesday night.  While we received a standing ovation that evening, we received further validation of our success two days later in the form of a phone call from the Hugo Boss’ corporate office.  Because they were so proud of how we portrayed them, they notified us that they wanted us to cover 5 more events next year, 2 of which will be in Germany!!!

Equipment Used:

Since Joe was playing dual roles, photographer and editor, we decided to keep it simple.

Terry used the Sony VX 2000 on the Sony VCT870RM tripod – Sony 10/20 light and a couple of wireless mics, the Samson UHF Series One and the UM1 Micro Diversity

Joe photographed with the Canon 20D

Joe edited the project on FCP and burned a DVD with DVD Studio Pro…Hugo Boss set up the AV, so we don’t have the specs there.

Delivery: Final night’s presentation plus 55 DVD copies to the closing session on Wednesday.
——

If they loved this effort, the next one will exceed expectations since we will have upgraded our equipment by then.

Terry Taravella

10) 1st time around married my high school teacher.
9)Played 3 years semi pro football
8)  Was a Deputy with local sheriff’s office for 6 years
7)  Was homeless for approximately 6 months in my late 20’s
6)  Take at least two showers a day (not related to #7)
5)  Was an event planner for the largest pharmaceutical company in the world for 5 yrs
4)  When we’re in town I have the exact same meal for breakfast – at the same restaurant – 6 days a week and have done so for the past 5 yrs.
3)  Spend most of my day at the computer sitting on an exercise ball
2)  Attained celebrity status in the wedding industry while only shaving twice a week and wearing a baseball cap
1)  Met the woman of my dreams online 9 yrs ago and have lived happily ever after since!!

1. I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
2. I’m trained as a teacher and taught Gr. 1 and 2 kids for 4 years. In my first year as a grade 1 teacher a parent thought I must gave been gay because she scheduled an interview with me to ask me how I was going to teach family life, so the next morning I brought in a framed picture of my girlfriend and I and put it on the corner of my desk. The first girl to come get her work checked was the daughter of the suspicious parent and I remember her asking “who’s that?”.
3. I’m left handed.
4. I used to work at the BBB as a complaint counsellor. I was the liaison between angry consumers and businesses and had to determine whether or not complaints were vaild or not. I could write a novel on some of the things people would say…trust me.
5. I used to own numerous low-rider cars, including a Honda Accord sedan that I lowered to approx. 2″ off the ground and had the hood painted with an airbrushed mural of a grim reaper. It would literally bottom out and spark as I drove along – coooool!
6. In the first wedding I filmed, I forgot to press record during the vows (ooops).
7. In Kindergarten my career goal was “to be a daddy” and I still don’t have any kids.
8. I used to literally work 24/7 on my business but now limit myself to no more than 40 hrs week and definitely not on weekends unless I’m shooting
9. In 1998 while travelling in France I followed-through on a “promise” and shaved my head because my girlfriend (now my wife) was shopping for too long.
10. Even though I would consider myself a creative person, my favorite flavor of ice cream is Vanilla.

1.  I actually shot a wedding w/Jason M. last year in the Philippines (hence why I used that photo above) and he actually used one of my shots in his Same Day Edit!  I was so excited!
2.  I actually have a Master Degree in education and taught for 8 years.  Sucks to not really know what you want to do in life until after you pay for 6 years at a private university!
3.  I come from a ginormous family and have 20 aunts and uncles (half by marriage of course) and 22 cousins.
4.  I met my awesome husband in a bar (no… NOT a pub) the first day I stepped foot in London (to visit my friend who was studying abroad there) – July 31st 1995.
5. I am an Apple evangelist.  Someday I am going to meet Steve Jobs!!!
6.  My sister, who is only 16 months younger than me has a PhD in Chemistry and teaches at Western Washington University.  What was my mother drinking during pregnancy that made us so different?
7.  I have three AWESOME dogs (King Charles Cavalier Spaniels) and a poor cat named Smokey who has to live within this zoo.
8.  Unlike many wedding videographers, I LOVE shooting and editing weddings.  I’m not that fond of corporate jobs (although sometimes they can be really fun) and don’t plan on being an independent filmmaker.  To me, weddings are eye candy and fit my editing style perfectly.
9.  I suck at math… I mean I REALLY suck at math.  I was in the Gifted and Talented program in school, but was still in the “math for finance class” while all my friends were taking calculus.
10.  I am obsessed with the show “How I Met Your Mother”.  Watch it… it’s freaking hilarious!

Jason Asked me to post his “Top 10 Things You Should Know” about him… let’s just say that I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing the “fro” in New Orleans!! And whether he likes it or not, I’m expecting at least one tune sung by Jason at the Cat’s Meow Karaoke Bar on Bourbon St! – Julie

1.  Jason Magbanua is a Lomographer.  It’s a fancy schmancy term for a person who uses plastic toy cameras.  – see here

2.  He lives in a country where divorce is prohibited.  Making return customers few and far between.

3.  He has been featured in both FHM and Maxim Magazines.  Fortunately for all of us, both had him in non-titillating poses.

4.  Jason married his student, Pang. His first career was a college instructor (for five years).  He claims that they got together AFTER the semester and in no way did it affect the A he gave her.

5.  He shoots a good deal of Catholic ceremonies and is no stranger to old surly church ladies, majestic structures and Nazi-like church policies and guidelines.

6.  Jason has been to four places in the United States.  LAX, Hartsfield-Jackson, The Orlando airport and the Wyndham.  Five if you count Hooters.

7.  Jason has curly hair.  Not the cutesy locks that Tom Welling has.  But a BIG BAD-ASS afro that would put Jimi Hendrix’s to shame.  The little said about this topic the better it is for everyone. So now you understand why his hair is kept to a minimum now.

8.  This must be said again.  Jason hires only female editors.  Amply compensated, well taken care of,  and fully clothed while editing.

9.  He eats SDEs for breakfast (and sometimes dinner too).  Ninety-nine percent of all his bookings come with Same Day Edits.  An average of 120 pressure-filled, coronary-inducing events a year.10. Jason will be the featured presenter for Re:Frame 08.  Know more about him, his craft, his art and big bad ‘fro in New Orleans come October.

 To find out more about Jason and to see some of his amazing work, check out his BLOG

1)      I was born in Vietnam and came to Detroit as a refugee.

2)      I love to eat duck eggs, I won’t describe it, but it ain’t anything like a chicken egg!! If you’re curious….come and ask me.

3)      Jumped off a cliff while white water rafting, even though I have a fear of heights.

4)      I was a huge fan of a famous Chinese singer named Theresa Tang. I would drive all the way to Toronto and back just to buy her album.

5)      I first learned English from watching “Under Dog” and “The Three Stoogees”.

6)      I have nick names of “Dr. No”, “The Phaminator”.

7)      In college I had a band called MISC….which stood for Miscellaneous.  I played the bass and keyboard.

8)      I hate cats!!

9)      I use to own and drive a ’68 Mustang called “California Special”, only 5000 were made.

10)   My family means the world to me.  And most importantly, my faith and relationship with God has anchored my life and led me to where I am today.

Hey Gang,

We thought it would be fun to start doing a “Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About ???” to give you more insight into the Collective and others in the industry. They’ve designated me, the newbie blogger to start it out. So Wacker get ready…. secrets are about to be exposed

1) I’ve been called the “Cake Nazi” for hiding one of the last remaining pieces of cake from a guest so I could eat it.

2) I’m a vegetarian.

3) I was a former competitive figure skater for 15yrs and would sometimes practice with Kristi Yamaguchi, Rudy Galindo, Peggy Flemming and Brian Boitano.

4) I’m getting married this summer (and the Re:Frame crew refer to me as Bridezilla).

5) I’m petrified of sharks and pictures of dorsal fins.

6) I love mermaids.

7) I was once know in LA as “the pink-haired videographer”.

I worked briefly as a weapons wrangler on a couple feature films.

9) My very first wedding I heard a groomsman talking about my female parts through the grooms mic, walked right up to him and said “thanks for the compliments but I’m taken”.

10) I still don’t know how to upload a video to my website.

I found this useful article on building your brand through email and thought I’d share. The author, Janine Popick is the CEO of Vertical Response, one of the leading self-service email marketing companies. Here at Elysium we’ve used Vertical Response and Constant Contact to create and send email campaigns and it’s proved to be a very successful marketing ploy to disseminate our latest news and happenings. Taking the time to build and manage your database of current clients, past clients, and industry contacts (photographers, coordinators, catering managers, florists, DJs, etc) and then communicating effectively with them through email or a periodic newsletter is worth its weight in gold and it will bring you more business, I promise!

I’ll be contributing here regularly with business articles and inspirational tips so keep checking back often.

Enjoy the article!

I love reading business books and articles.  Here’s a collection of great quotes and inspiration I put together.  Happy reading!

EXPECT THE BEST!!!

“It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”

W. Somerset Maughn.

A Law That Will Change Your Life and Our Industry!

A Native American boy was talking with his grandfather. “What do you think about the world situation?” he asked. His grandfather replied, “I feel like the wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred; the other is full of love, forgiveness, and peace”. “Which one will win?” asked the boy. “The one I feed.” replied his grandfather. (Origin Unknown)

This simple story illustrates the life changing universal law that ‘you become what you think about’. For our industry to change it’s widely viewed perception and for each of us to do that at an individual studio level we have to understand the meaning of this life changing law and forever harness the power of a positive attitude.

Simply stated, if we choose to think positive thoughts about our businesses and our industry we’ll get positive results; if we think negative thoughts, we’ll get negative results. As a wise man once said, “if you plant crabapples, don’t expect to harvest Golden Delicious”. You will reap the fruit of the thoughts that you sow.

The Reframe Collective came together out of a desire to enhance the stature of our industry to the world at large and promote the best that the wedding and event filmmaking community has to offer. We encourage our readers to check back regularly for tips, motivation and inspiration in the hope that we can contribute to raising standards and the profile of our fine profession. What we do is pretty damn cool…. don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

In the words of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale in his best selling classic:

“Learn to expect, not to doubt. In doing so you bring everything into the realm of possibility…It is amazing how a sustained expectation of the best sets the forces in motion which cause the best to materialize”.

Perhaps Henry Ford said it most succinctly:

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t…you’re right.”

So I don’t know about you, but when I’m shooting a reception w/a light, I hate how it creates a dark vignette on the edges, and the center is almost blown-out.  It really bugs!  Especially when using a fisheye lens.  Of course you need to use a light in order to create much more attractive shots w/lots of saturation and contrast, but what to do about those edges?  This 7 minute tutorial shows a quick way to improve the situation in post.  I’m using FCP6 in this tutorial but I’m sure you can apply the concept in any editing app.  Oh and by the way… this is pretty rough.  I couldn’t get SnapzPro to work very well.  If any of you have tips on this… I’d appreciate it!  Re:Frame is all about sharing knowledge!  So here’s the video… and BTW… you can even watch it in HD!  Pretty dang cool. 

 Peace until next time!

Blinded by the Light from ReFrame Collective on Vimeo.