I can not stress how important audio is in your wedding film. Here at Lifetime, we have a separate audio specialist who’s sole job is to capture audio at both the wedding and reception. We then come back here to our studio and re-mix it before adding it to the video footage we have shot. Adding your voices speaking to each other through either letters or just conversations on your wedding day adds a whole new level to your production. Meet Lisa and Brent. They both wrote letters to each other the night before their wedding. I then mixed different segments of both, having Brent’s opening and then let Lisa close. There was plenty of emotion during the entire day (which make our job easier).
The Lifetime team really enjoyed ourselves at this one and are looking forward to shooting Lisa’s sister Lindsay’s wedding in April.
So last night for like the 127th time in 5 or so years I got to work with one of the incredible make-up artists at Brideface. It was my personal favorite member of the team, the owner and founder Nancy Dawson. She and I had an adventure last night:
We were both part of this vendor all-star team that helped produce this amazing Gothic wedding on Halloween. The backdrop of the beautiful Dayton Art Institute playing host. The bride chose a black wedding gown and hired a professional lighting company to set the visual effect. Red and black were the theme colors. I can’t tell you how cool this was, it just rocked. I am already searching for the perfect music soundtrack. The entire Lifetime team is excited to start cutting (what should be) a jaw dropping wedding film. We’re scheduled to post a preview sometime after the first of the year.
Nancy had the women looking stunning. I love working together b/c she’s an artist, creating facial masterpieces with her brush. I think we have both devolped at style that really compliments each others work. I personally love being a “fly on the wall” in a room full of women capturing natural shots of conversation and facial expressions. Nancy is a master at engaging the bride, bridesmaids or anyone in the room so I can be “Stealth” like recording that nervous energy that’s in the air right before the wedding.
Notice how the camera in these shots is truly invisible, (nobody’s waving at cha). It really let’s me capture magic in time. Through all these years Nancy has helped me do my job better, I wanted to say thanks. After working so much together I decided I wanted to put together a promo for my friend. This is one we produced back in March. I added at the entire Brideface team though different weddings and a recent Brideface open house. Also notice how their finished product not only looks perfect, I also passes the “cry” test.
btw, special thanks to Tine Hofman of tmphotgraphy.net for the awesome photographs.
I spoke to a MOB last week that asked me “Why would you tape a rehearsal?” I said “tune in to the Lifecasting blog Sunday and I’ll show you”. This is really cool. There is so MUCH nervous energy at your rehearsal. People are wondering “Am I standing in the right place?” “I hope this goes well” ” OMG, what if I trip?” Just so you know 99% of what you worry about NEVER happens. Weddings really do run smoothly, with a few small (often very funny) bumps in the road.
This is Heather & Joe’s Rehearsal, and some of the footage we captured here, it’s just awesome .
The amazing Kristen and Rick Kloth from Tre’s Chic Event Planning were there to make sure everything did run smooth.
Couple more weeks Heather & Joe, I’ll be in touch.
What you’re about to see is a year in the making. It’s 38 weddings and one marriage proposal in 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Each year the Lifetime team produces a promo using some clips from the previous year. We did cheat a little and use Linds & Keith wedding from this past month along with some of my older favorites. But most of what you’ll see was shot in 2008.
This promo is somewhat like a roller coaster. I wanted to take you, the audience, on the emotional ride that happens on the day of a wedding. The biggest part of this promo coincides with the feel of the music. The opening drum beat is climbing up that first hill and then the break is that free falling moment in time all the way until the ride comes to an abrupt stop on the last beat.
Although I did edit this, it was a group effort as I was able to use shots from everyone on the Lifetime team.
You have hired us to do your wedding. You have spent the big money. You have waited many months for us to complete your film. You come to pick up your production at our studio. You are excited. I am happy to say for some lucky brides, you may get an even bigger surprise that you really didn’t expect. If we have the time and materiel from your wedding footage, you get a surprise:)
We LOVE to surprise brides.
It’s called Bonus Features and it’s part of your DVD menu:
If you have a insane bridal party and you happen to be crazy yourself, you may get a Blooper Reel. If you have spent the time to choreograph your first dance, we will have a completely uninterrupted version in the bonus feature section. But by far our favorite Bonus Feature to produce is the room flip. We set this up for the wedding that takes place in the same room as the reception. It’s called the flip it’s fun to watch time fly by.
This is the amazing Continental Room at the Cincinnati Netherland Hilton in downtown Cincinnati. The wedding has just ended and the guests have moved to the foyer for cocktails. What you’re about to witness took over 80 minutes to turn over and it’s incredible to see what this many people can do in that amount of time.
My dear friend Steph Carson (who I know simply as “Carson”) opened her brand new incredible studio located at 39 (what were the odds) Court Street in Cincinnati last Sunday. This also happened to be her 39th birthday. She served food, had purple “Cold Duck” champagne and invited friends, family and past couples with their children & pets to celebrate. We all have our picture taken on this HUGE awesome purple couch. I was lucky enough to be invited with my camera along with some of Cincinnati’s best wedding vendors:
Nancy from Brideface
Katie from Katie Elfers Inspired Floral Design
Steve from Glass Eye Video
Alison From Aviva Events
Laura from Alchemy Albums
Heather and Joe, a wonderful couple that Carson, Katie, Nancy and I are working with in March were in town from New York. I LOVED spending some time with them before the big day. BTW, Heather I got some great stuff of you guys and Joe’s mom Mary as you’ll see.
Carson, thank you so much for being my partner at weddings, my mentor and a critic on my work. But most of all thank you for teaching me how to see the world a litte bit differently through a lens.
So, when Dan and I got done shooting this one we both looked at each other and we had tears in our eyes. This is something every man should do: HAVE YOUR WEDDING PROPOSAL VIDEO TAPED. This was a blast to not only shoot, but also edit.
Meet the most romantic man on the planet, Sean Corcoran. He first went to Lindsay’s parents and got the blessing.Then Lindsay’s mom Carol (one of our biggest fans) says “OK, let’s have Lifetime shoot it”. Carol had booked us for her other daughter Lisa’s wedding in December ‘09 and knew what we can do with emotions on film.
Sean was an absolute master at planning to get Lindsay alone and unaware of what was about to happen (she thought he was in Chicago). He then choreographed the entire event like a beautiful ballet set to music and wait til you hear what he says.
Grab a tissue before hitting play, you might be getting a little vaklempt.
If you think about it: the day of your wedding is probably the only time everyone (aunts, uncles and cousins) on both sides of your families will be in one place. Events will occur, toasts will be made, people will laugh and be happy in one location. You’ll also meet some new and wonderful people one time that you will never want to forget, they’re just one of a kind.
I received a phone call 2 weeks ago from one of my favorite couples, Mark & Genine Fallon. Genine told me the sad news that Mark’s dear Uncle Billy had passed away July 10th. This gentleman was one of the hightlights from their wedding in December of 2005 at the Hall of Mirrors. She asked me to put together a few clips from that evening to remember him by.
Thanks for stopping by. We decided to start a blog to communicate with you, the clients, the potential clients, colleagues, and friends, about the happenings here at Lifetime Video. But first, let’s get to know a little about the company.
Lifetime Video is a group of three teams of highly skilled and experienced videographers providing bride & grooms and their families and friends with artistic and creative video memories of their biggest and most exciting day to date. This is our passion… to take the frenzy and blur of your wedding day and turn it into a absolute Masterpiece you’ll actually want to watch. And we’re not the only ones that think that! Not only do our brides rave about our work, but we have been voted “Best Wedding Videographer in Cincinnati” by The Knot Magazine for both 2007 and 2008… no other Cincinnati wedding videography studio can match that!
Now, about the three team leaders. Let’s start with Matt Pine (the guy on the left in the photo), the owner, founder and creator of all things Lifetime. He started the company in 1991 once the video-bug bit him and hasn’t stopped since. And if I say so myself, he’s incredibly talented and loves what his work! He runs the day to day operations of the business and meets regularly with clients, potential clients and colleagues, in addition to regularly shooting weddings. He also keeps his hands dipped into editing to keep himself fresh and to express and expand his creativity and skills. You can see some of his work in our Screening Room (once the page loads, click ‘Screening Room’ in the main navigation). Matt’s fort-ay is working with and recommending some on Cincinnati top wedding photographers, but also helping brides and moms with absolutely anything wedding related. Matt says he loves seeing the stress of the day disappear off the bride’s face as she realizes how perfect her day is coming together. “This isn’t a job, it getting to witness and document the greatest day of a young couple lives..is that cool or what? After nearly 20 years I never grow tired of the fun.”
Let’s move on to the other team leaders, Mark Fortner and myself, Dan Shallenberger (the guy on the right). Mark’s been with Lifetime Video since 1995 shooting and editing the whole time, and is practically a legend among his clients. I’ve been with Lifetime Video since 2003 and I’m still working on the whole “legendary” status thing. Mark and I do the bulk of the shooting, editing and authoring, while I do most of the online work, creating and managing all things web. We’re both tech geeks. Yep, geeks… it’s ok, my wife calls me that all the time and I’m used to it. We can talk tech (particularly Apple) throughout an entire ceremony. Except that we don’t. But we could. Anyhow, some may think that geeks can’t be creative. Well, they’re wrong. Our right-brains are so exercised and tuned that creativity sometimes leaks out. Yeah, kinda messy, but it makes for a wedding DVD that’s not only technically well-done, but emotional, beautiful, fresh and creative as well. And it’s all because we love what we do.
Well, that’s about it. If you have any questions, praise, problems, praise, comments, or even maybe some praise for this blog and/or our main website, feel free to contact me at dan@lifetime-video.com.
Anyhow, now that you know Lifetime Video a bit better, feel free to browse around and check us out. Be sure to not only browse this blog site, but also our main site at www.lifetime-video.com. And leave some comments to let us know what you think!
Now, about the three team leaders. Let’s start with Matt Pine (the guy on the left in the photo), the owner, founder and creator of all things Lifetime. He started the company in 1991 once the video-bug bit him and hasn’t stopped since. And if I say so myself, he’s incredibly talented and loves what his work! He runs the day to day operations of the business and meets regularly with clients, potential clients and colleagues, in addition to regularly shooting weddings. He also keeps his hands dipped into editing to keep himself fresh and to express and expand his creativity and skills. You can see some of his work in our 
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