The Wedding of Rob & Nikki

Tuesday, 23. June 2009

Currently prepping our equipment for this weekends event ‘The Wedding of Rob & Nikki’. We will be doing both photography & videography. Beginning at 11AM in the south part of Carlsbad we will cover all pre-ceremony events then move into the main event in downtown Carlsbad. The reception is going to be sweet! Nikki is the lead singer for the band Liquid Blue. At the reception not only will Liquid Blue be performing, but also two other bands as well as DJ Layla Loxa.

Good art isn’t cheap. Cheap art isn’t good.

Friday, 19. June 2009

The Wedding of James & Megan – A Teaser Trailer

Friday, 19. June 2009

Almost completed editing ‘The Wedding of James & Megan’, but I wanted to share the clip we uploaded to Facebook. A lot of our current and past clients are on Facebook and we’ve been using this wonderful application to stay in touch with everyone. Even though I make it a point to stay in contact with as many of my past clients Facebook has made that so much easier.

The Wedding of Joshua & Ashley

Friday, 19. June 2009

On May 30th we photographed Joshua & Ashley getting married on the beach in the northern part of Oceanside, California. The weather looked questionable all week and when we arrived on site it looked like it might rain! However, all is good. The clouds provided some excellent lighting and some dramatic effects!

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The Wedding of Neil & Gloria

Friday, 19. June 2009

On May 24th we filmed Neil & Gloria’s wedding at the illustrious Dineyland Hotel. The ceremony was held in the Rose Garden while the reception was at The Magic Kingdom Ballroom. A fanstastic day for a fairy tale wedding! We will post some highlights when we complete the editing.

Location: Disneyland Resort Hotel
Photographer: David Santos Photography
Entertainment/DJ: Injoy Entertainment

The Wedding of James & Megan

Sunday, 24. May 2009

Held at the beautiful ‘Pine Hills Lodge’ in Julian, California. Excellent vistas and picture perfect weather added to this wonderful wedding event. We got some great footage and will post a reel when we complete the editing of their wedding film.

Location: Pine Hills Lodge, Julian, California
Photographer: Sherri Johnson Photography
Entertainment: JP Entertainment
Videographer: Brett Alan Productions (aka Brett Alan Wedding Films) <ahem> This would be us. ;)

Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Saturday, 16. May 2009

Don’t wait until the last minute to book your videographer or photographer. This week it is most unfortunate that I’ve had to turn down what looked to be some great wedding shoots because I was already booked. While I could sub-contract these out under my name I won’t because I want to be the one covering your wedding. I believe that when you hire someone based on their style then that is the person who should be covering your event. Photography and videography are art forms – not jobs. You are wanting the artist based on their work. It is that artist who should be there.

New videos on our main videography website

Wednesday, 13. May 2009

Today I updated the showcase wedding films on our website Brett Alan Productions. On the main page is ‘The Wedding of Abraham & Mariah’ and on the Wedding Videography page is ‘The Wedding of Scott & Lori’. Additionally, I updated The Video Gallery Screening Room with two new videos: ‘Scott & Lori and The Transformers’ and ‘Celebrating The Life of Sean Christopher Mitchell‘.

We are a multi-purpose digital cinematography company. While the majority of our projects are weddings (which I love to do) we also film any event you can think of to preserve once-in-a-lifetime memories. We also edit and produce a variety of montages for weddings, birthdays and Celebrations of Life.

Everyone deserves great video.

Good start to awesome summer events!

Tuesday, 12. May 2009

We continue to experience growth these past few months. Just some of the things we’ve either completed or are upcoming for just May & June:

1. The Wedding of Jesse & Megan (Videography)
2. The Wedding of Neal & Gloria (Videography)
3. The Wedding of Joshua & Ashley (Photography)
4. The Allied Gardens Springfest (Photography)
5. Prom Session for ‘Chris & Sierra’ (Photography)
6. Advertising session with ‘Rockola’ (Photography)
7. Annual Piano Recital with Amy Lee Piano Studios (Videography)
8. ‘Celebrating the Life of Sean Christopher Mitchell’ (Videography)
9. The Wedding of Kevin & Stephanie (Photography)
10. The Engagement of Jesse & Clarice (Videography)

Videographers and Photographers

Sunday, 26. April 2009

This afternoon I was on the web and came across a blurb that a photographer wrote on his website about videographers. It was in his ‘Questions’ section:

The question: “Will having a videographer affect my pictures?”
Answer that was posted: “Most videographers are professional and unobtrusive. Some like to stand very close to the couple throughout the ceremony and the first dance which ultimately results in images with the videographer in them. A word with them beforehand will usually suffice.”

I believe that being both a wedding photographer and a wedding videographer I have a unique perspective. When I’m working a gig it gives me the opportunity to see what other one is doing and how they do it. Mind you, I’m not interested in their technique or their posing style. I have my own style and I work on perfecting my style with each wedding. What I mean by watching them is seeing whether or not the wedding is about the Bride and the Groom or them.

On the wedding day we are all here for one purpose and that is to ensure that the bride and groom enjoy their day. Videographer, photographer, deejay, florist, coordinator, caterers. It’s not about us! It’s about the bride & groom!

As a videographer I’ve had photographers stand right in front of my camera causing me to completely miss a shot (but, hey she got her shot right?).  As a photographer I’ve had a videographer literally push me out of the way while I was photographing the cake cutting (but, hey he got the shot right?).

Here’s one: I was out photographing a wedding near Lake Jennings and the bride & groom hired two film students as their wedding videographers. Nothing wrong with that except one thing: during the ceremony they positioned their cameras in the middle row on the third aisle blocking several from watching the ceremony. Worse – they were in every shot.

Here’s another: while being a videographer the photographer ensured that he was in every shot. Almost like he thought I was going to cut him some kind of demo reel.

As camera prices become lower and what was once out of range for many is now within reach of many you are going to find a lot of people all of a sudden claiming they are  ‘professional photographers’ or ‘professional videographers’. It’s not about the camera. Just because he has a Canon 5D MkII or she has a Sony Z7U HD videocamera doesn’t mean professional. It’s about the person behind the camera and their experience.

As a videographer I always will give the photographer a ‘heads up’ about what I am about to do. For example, I like to walk around the bride and groom two times during their first dance. I know that some photographers will shoot the first dance with a wide lens and I want to be sure I’m not in the shot while also trying to get my shot.

As a photographer I always have my bride and groom hold a pose a little longer for the videographer because I know that filming a scene takes more time than the quick click of my camera.

I guess what I am trying to say is this: that photographer did not need to make that comment. The question and the answer goes both ways. True professionals understand and respect the other vendor. That is how it should be. Unfortunately, it’s not always the case and it is those unprofessional vendors who give we true professionals a bad rap.