Every person or family has a story to tell and there’s no better time like the present to tell it. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us and I would encourage anyone who wants to tell his or her story to “just do it.” This could be a session as short as an hour, or could be a multi-session heritage documentary, but if you have a story to be told, please allow us to help you bring it to life!

One question might be: “I wouldn’t know where to start….” Here is a list of thought starters that might help.

• What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest?
• Who was the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
• Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
• Who has been the kindest to you in your life?
• What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
• Are there any words of wisdom you’d like to pass along?
• What are you proudest of in your life?
• When in life have you felt most alone?
• How has your life been different than what you’d imagined?
• How would you like to be remembered?
• Do you have any regrets?
• What does your future hold?
• Is there something that you’ve always wanted to know but never asked?

These are just a few questions to get going…from here, the conversation could go anywhere. And one of the cool things is that the interview style used is designed to get the subject comfortable with the camera, because they’re not looking at it! This is a casual style and when done properly, the interviewee can actually lose awareness that the camera is there. Yes, there will probably be lights and a microphone setup, but it’s usually the camera that makes a subject nervous.

Arguably, one of the best life stories I’ve ever read is Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, which was adapted into a motion picture with the same name. “Morrie” was played by the incomparable Jack Lemmon, and was a riveting story about one of Mitch’s college professors. Morrie had a profound impact on Mitch’s life and when the time comes to tell your story, we’d love to help you tell it with the same degree of dignity and respect as Mitch did for Morrie!

• tears streaming down the faces of loved ones in the audience
• the walk down the aisle
• the exchange of rings
• a sudden eruption of laughter during the ceremony
• actions of the flower girl/ring bearer that are often funny (we edit out things that aren’t amusing or may be inappropriate)
• expressions are not static! You want to see that emerging smile on your (and the groom’s) face
• toasts, dances, cake cutting, bouquet and garter tosses
• and lots of other actions!
• sounds and music
• the ability to share the event with people that weren’t able to attend

My wife, a writer, occasionally edits my blog posts for me and when we discussed the value of having a video of the wedding, she put it succinctly, “That whole day was a blur! With so much going on, I remembered very little of what was said, who was there, what we did (other than get married!), and without a video, I wouldn’t have remembered half of what took place that day!”

Now, let’s address the “gorilla in the room,” the price. My “deliverables” can be tailored to meet virtually any budget, so don’t let your wedding video get away for the wrong reason! Hint: this is why I avoid “package” rates…I’d much rather build a rate around exactly what you need. And as for that 70% I mentioned at the beginning of this post: most of them said—afterwards—that it was a bad decision not to include a video!

Don’t let that be you.  98% of newlyweds recommend that couples have their weddings videotaped, which means there are a lot people who wished they’d decided otherwise.  Give a call and let’s see how we can make it happen for you—and add to the memories of this special day!

Sources: The Knot, WEVA International, MSN

Call me! We can turn a project like this around in about 72 hours. And whether you use our services or not, do let your patients and your broader audience know that you operate your practice under the highest standards of cleanliness. To the degree that this is being carried by the national media–and all its extensions–it should not be ignored.

Sooner or later, the question will arise regarding how you will remember the day. For sure, you will have beautiful photographic representation of the wedding, but what about motion? Voices? Music? So much of this can be faithfully captured in video, and cannot in still photography. Consider the walk down the aisle…the exchange of vows…the first and last dance…the best man’s/maid of honor’s toasts, and so many more nuances of your wedding, that just can’t be captured in a photograph. Full disclosure: This is not a “dis” to photographers! I work with them and hold their skills in the highest regard, but it would be wrong to ignore the true value of video as an essential part of the “memories stash.”

Just as important: while it might be tempting to simply have a friend shoot some of the more relevant parts of your wedding to save money, beware! These are lifetime memories being captured and do you really want to put that kind of pressure on a friend who is there to enjoy the event? What if, because they are having a little too much fun with other guests, they miss a crucial part of the ceremony or reception? For the same reason that you entrust lifelong memories to a still photographer, you should be equally willing to commit that same trust to a videographer.

A professional videographer is there to not only record the events of the day; he or she is also charged with editing all the footage together into a well-constructed “movie,” so that years later, watching the video will bring back all the cherished memories, laughs, tears and emotions of your celebration. To enable this, the professional will have top level cameras, tripods, audio equipment, lighting (where appropriate) and computers for compiling and editing the raw footage and sound.

Think back to a special time that you had in the past and ask yourself if you wish you’d had a video to help re-live it. This is one time you can plan on future memories, for one of the most important occasions in the life of the couple-to-be. Keep professional video in your wedding day plans, and enjoy those beautiful memories…forever!

These memories are represented by the life experiences of those I capture on film*. This enables the subject to have a “living” record that can be handed down to future generations. It’s also helpful to understand why it is important to record those stories and how video effectively allows us to do that.

Video captures the facts of the story, as well as the person, allowing us to witness a firsthand account, including emotions, laughter, tears, expressions, and all those other elements that make us unique individuals. Through video, we’re able to transcend time and space and have a direct impact on future generations by sharing our stories, our values, and our life lessons.

A few years ago I discovered the value and importance of video, when asked to capture a memorial on film.

A young Lance Corporal in the Marines was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. His father came to me with a request that we (team of 3 videographers and myself as director) videotape his son’s memorial service. This was personally difficult for me as I am a former Marine. Challenged by the need to shoot both indoors and outdoors, we had  to set up and strike (take down) our gear to be in both locations.  The service went off smoothly, although I had to push back tears—especially when “Taps” was played by the bugler.  I knew we had done something special, but didn’t know how much until I saw the father’s reaction to the finished product, which included “Amazing Grace” played by what sounded like a thousand bagpipes! Props to my friend John for his wonderful contribution to the final edit.

Subsequently, I had the pleasure of capturing my dear Aunt Irene’s 90^th birthday celebration. This was a wonderful event and about 100 family members and friends were in attendance. One of my cousins presented a magnificent family tree scroll to Aunt Irene—and then copies were given to each family member! My brother transferred dozens of print photos and slides into images that could be projected onto a screen, while another cousin shot a beautiful group photo of everyone in attendance!  The finished video was well received by all, and several DVDs were  given to family members.

The one thing all biographical and memorial shoots have in common: They increase in value and importance over the years as memories fade. With today’s digital video technology, future generations will be able to study history, and, our culture, in a way impossible before the advent of video. And here’s an important conclusion: The generations that will benefit the most are those whose parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, had enough foresight to capture their stories for future generations to benefit from their life journey.

First Impressions Video looks forward to the privilege of creating these lasting memories for you!

*These days, “film” is a generic term that refers to the captured image. Actual film is seldom used, and even video tape is giving way to moving images recorded on digital media. But I still love to be referred to as a film maker…videographer is OK, as well!

Ever since Google integrated video into its universal search offering in 2007, websites featuring video have gained a significant SEO advantage. When a company integrates relevant videos that match the content of its website, search engines find and index the video within the site’s context. This improves your overall website and video search ranking as it relates to your business’ keywords, and also allows search results to be presented with matching videos, making them more appealing, and thereby increasing search-based traffic. And make no mistake…it was no accident that Google acquired YouTube. YouTube has arguably become the fourth largest search engine*, right behind Google, Facebook and Yahoo!.

Still, it is not enough to simply embed videos within a website. To harvest the full potential of videos, they should be deployed throughout the website. Whether a large e-business with 50,000 products or a small business with only a dozen or so products or services, you should have video to illustrate each product or service in your portfolio. This way, those videos match keywords that are specific to each and every product or service, targeting consumers that are more likely to search for products using those keywords. And it goes without saying that your video catalog should be kept current to reflect additions, deletions or changes to your products or services.

Other factors to success include, but are not limited to: checking to insure quality in the content of your videos; having a catchy and relevant title to your movies; deploying keyword “tags” that line up with a searcher’s query; keeping the video’s length under five minutes—and if it must be longer, consider breaking it into segments (you don’t want to lose your audience after working hard to get it!); the use of branding and your company’s logo(s); syndication; and last…share, share, share!!

Video SEO can and should be an excellent way to get your company or organization in front of potential users who otherwise may not know about you. Side note: this is equally pertinent and relevant to non-profits! Engage, entertain and promote, and make sure the search engines can find your videos and rank them well!

Music labels and producers (and the lawyers that represent them) are no longer taking this lightly and are suing the pants off folks who use their intellectual property without proper attribution AND royalties paid. Aside from the expense of a lawsuit—which could easily put a videographer out of business (epic fail!), finding the right person to pay the royalties to can be quite the hassle, in and of itself!

Rather than engage in a time consuming and expensive battle with artists, producers and attorneys, I have chosen to use legally licensed music. And although I don’t have that latest tune…you know…the one you call “our song,” I can get very close to most contemporary songs and still have a clear conscience.

Ron Dawson is a friend and an incredible filmmaker who has been doing this for well over a decade. Ron knows many of the top filmmakers across the country and he recently shared a story about another filmmaker, Joe Simon, in his blog post, “The Music Licensing Chickens Have Come Home to Roost in Wedding and Event Videography.” Ron gave me permission to link to his story; I encourage you to take a peek as it unpacks this subject in far greater detail.

First Impressions Video has a library of royalty-free or royalty-paid music that we use which—we believe—fits our clients’ tastes, their story and the emotion of the event, and it often can mimic current music. Notwithstanding music considered to be in the public domain or picked up in the course of recording a reception or other activity, we will endeavor to use only music and recorded special effects for which proper licensing has been obtained. It is our desire and intent to stay on the right side of this legal issue; we trust you’ll respect this decision.

The saying, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression,” is attributed to many folks, as I have learned: Oliver Wilde, Mark Twain, Will Rogers; heck, even Walt Disney! Given their histories and personalities, it would make perfect sense for any of these esteemed people to have said it. But the real attribution for this phrase goes to Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith (1832 – 1911), an evangelist, author and an activist in both the Women’s Suffrage and Temperance movements. Smith was considered, among many of her talents, a motivational communicator—quite an accomplishment, given the historical time period. The original phrase was, “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” and the word ‘good’ was dropped in more contemporary use, though the inference remains.

This statement promotes responsibility in how we approach our work because if you’re shooting a live event, there just may not—and probably won’t—be a second chance, so we’d better get it right the first time. Good words to live by—in videography, or any other field of endeavor. Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for the inspiration!

Documentary Style (often referred to as the “Journalistic” Style)

As the name would suggest, this approach captures the events of the day in a fairly linear fashion: bride prep, groom prep, the ceremony itself, any “tween” activities and the reception. Guest interviews may be included. The shoot and the editing usually flow with the chronological order of the day. Because the intent of a documentary style is to present the wedding in its entirety (notwithstanding some editing to “tighten” the footage) the length of the video can often run up to two hours. This is also the less expensive of the two styles to produce. A shorter version can also be produced to represent the highlights of the day. A finished documentary style video should be delivered in 8—10 weeks.

Cinematic Style (sometimes called the “Love Story” Style)

As this name implies, this is more of a story telling approach. Run length is typically shorter than “docu” style and more attention is given to freedom of creativity. Sequence of events is often out-of-order, and more attention is given to visual impact. One such concept that seems to be popular over the last few years is “trash the dress,” where, after the wedding and reception is over, the bridal gown is—literally—destroyed.  In a way, a statement is being made that the wedding is over and the dress will not be used again; a far more declarative statement than merely putting the dress in a box for storage. To be certain, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of ruining such a beautiful garment, but creativity knows no bounds for brides wanting to take a risk! Because the cinematic style is far more elaborate in both shooting and editing (heck, a storyboard may even be in order), it can be expected to be more expensive, and will take longer to generate the finished product.

Regardless of the style you choose (and you can blend them!), a capable videographer can help make it a day to remember!  And as our name implies, you don’t get a “second take” at once-in-a-lifetime events, so be sure First Impressions is there to capture it!

For people in this stage of their lives, taking the step from dating into marriage typically doesn’t have quite the “pomp and circumstance” of the more elaborate weddings that take place in ones’ 20s or 30s. More often than not, these ceremonies are more simple—maybe not “justice of the peace simple”, but very heartfelt, nonetheless.

In this context, videography is often more about the relationship than the ceremony. A couple may ask a videographer or photographer to “tag along” and record some of the subtle nuances of the day. If kids are part of the picture, they may be included. As their videographer, I would be inclined to look at the “little things” that make the day special, and not necessarily the big expansive (and sometimes—expensive) activities, that may have been more appropriate at an earlier time in a couple’s life.

Sensitivity is the key here, and a good videographer will want to focus on what the couple really wants to accomplish. It is still a wonderful, special day!