Photo Montages
We have been offering photo montages since the inception of our business, but they have changed a little over the years. Here is a little sample (using random pictures) of a photo montage that we typically create for weddings.
This is actually our low-end style photo montage. We also create 3-D style photomontages that you can request to see, as well as traditional style photo montages. Hope you like!
Did you know that you can add a video to your LinkedIn profile? What a great addition this would be to get people to know you better and see the real you.
We can help you to make this great video at a low rate, just hit our contact form for more info!
As for inserting the video, check out this blog post by our friends at SimplyZesty, a PR and social media firm based in Dublin, Ireland!
Video For Alumni Campaign
We recently worked with Archbishop Mitty High School, which is a well known and highly recognized private school in West San Jose. Some well known alumni have attended Mitty, including Olympic medal winners Brandi Chastain (Soccer- 1996, 2000) and Kerri Walsh (Beach Volleyball- 2004, 2008).
Mitty’s goal was to make an emotional impact on alumni by conjuring up past memories through stories, images, and ideals that have tested time. We interviewed about 15 people with different perspectives on their Mitty experiences, and ended up taking about 3 hours of footage, compressing it down to 3 minutes. While certainly not the ideal production situation, we made it happen!
This video was shot entirely in HD for the web, and came out beautifully. I only wish I was able to use some of the other HD footage that we captured, there was so much to choose from! It was my first “official” video using the Canon 7D for B-Roll purposes, and I had a fun time integrating it’s look into the final product.
Have a look and tell us what you think. Have an idea like this for your own educational facility, non-profit organization, or company? Give us a call and let us help you get the ball rolling!
October SVTweetup and my Canon 7D
The Last Cut Video Productions is proud to announce a new tool to our arsenal of HD video cameras! We’ve been studying the effects of SLR cameras and their HD video functionality for some time now, and could just not hold back our drool anymore (it was a lot of laundry)! So about a month ago I went out and bought a Canon 7D on a whim, and luckily already owned a few lenses to work with (although I foresee this getting very expensive by adding many more).
The 7D brings a whole new look to our videos, by adding a huge depth of field in the shots, giving a more professional look and allowing us to tape in tight situations (which we somehow get into a lot).
The SVTweetup is just a bunch of people coming together to have a good time and network, but it supports a great cause, donating to various funds such as the Anissa Lopez Foundation. Free drinks and prizes make this a must attend event! We were there at the recent October (Halloween) Monster Mashup and were asked by the heads of the event to take some video…. so we did!
The last time I wrote, I talked about the now famous Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz wedding march on YouTube, which gave a whole new meaning to wedding entrance. Today I read a great follow up article by the New York Times about it’s monetary effects of a song that not only is over a year old, but is performed by spurned girlfriend-beating recording artist, Chris Brown.
The song (Forever) has skyrocketed in sales to #4 on iTunes and #3 on Amazon! All of this from a viral video, giving Chris Brown some much needed money for attorney fees.
You may be asking right about now about what I’m getting at here, is it another shameless self-promotion of professional wedding video coming to the rescue? Normally, yes, it would be (what else would I use this blog for)! However, I found a different message that I can harp on this week.
For those that do not know, it is not “technically” legal to use the copyrighted works of other artists within our videos, whether it be music from a well known artist, photos from another professional photographer, or stock video from another videographer (why a video guy would do that anyway is beyond me). I say “technically”, because when it comes to music, there is a decades long debate about the validity of using popular songs in wedding video, which has been an internal struggle among videographer associations around the world.
Half of the videographers say that this is a personal wedding video that is not being mass produced, and therefore should be able to use favored songs. Just as if someone was editing their vacation video in iMovie, where they can select any of their favorite iTunes to appear in the movie from within the application.
Others say that any use of outside artistry infringes on copyright, and artists should get paid for their work. After all, a videographer would not want his wedding video mass-distributed by someone else and not given proper credit for their work too, right?
There are a multitude of other arguments and factors in this debate, but these are the core points of each. (We happen to offer your favorite popular music for your wedding videos in case you were wondering).
But now, back to the point of the topic: Chris Brown just made a few extra million off of a wedding video! What the publishers and music giants have been arguing against all along is that they are not making money off of music being illegally used in “small distribution” videos. What some of us videographers have been countering all along is that not only are these songs being bought to play in the videos, but the videos are actually promoting the songs and artists to people watching them! And now, this viral video has lent substantial proof to that theory! All we needed was a large scale demographic of that to show us! Before viral video, we only has small groups watching videos, so that the theory could not be substantiated.
This is what I say to the music publishers, bigwigs, and music artists- let us create videos to your songs without recourse, and with your blessings. Part of the sentimentality of wedding video is an aural sensation that the bride and groom can emotionally connect with. In our culture, so many memories have been connected with that of music. Why not attach those songs to people’s most visual memories, like that of a wedding day or other sentimental event?
What are your thoughts on this subject? We’d like to know!
Great Entrance for Wedding
A friend forwarded this video to me today, it’s going viral quickly! The concept is so great, I love the new take on the boring old entrance.
HOWEVER….. what was this couple thinking not getting this professionally recorded? Everyone that attended this wedding is going to talk about this forever! This is one of the most unique wedding entrances in history! Wouldn’t they want to preserve the moment in the best way possible?
Just imagine how fun the rest of this wedding was, but I’m sure none of that was recorded either. Could have captured so many great moments to share with family, friends, children… and history!
How’s this for your marketing outlook? I’ve been sitting on this article for a month or so, but wanted to post it for a while. Cisco released a forecast of IP traffic saying that video will be 90% of all web traffic come the year 2013. That’s something I can take a bite into!
I’m a big proponent of new features to shows and innovation, however, sometimes, I just can’t wrap my head around the usefulness of some ideas. For example, the 10 yard line innovation in football- amazing and useful for the football fan. Even more so, the way it operates is incredible.
The glowing hockey puck…. well… I didn’t hate it, but it kind of made hockey look too much like a video game. With HD, it’s now essentially useless because the puck is really much easier to see on the screen as compared to when SD video was what we were watching.
Now comes the latest, the ESPN ball tracker, which was introduced during the home run contest tonight. I’m still thinking about why someone would even come up with this idea, store it in the “what were they thinking” folder. If you did not see the homerun contest, there is basically a yellow streak that follows the ball (this is all in real-time). When it is determined that the ball will go out for a home run, the streak turns green.
I’m flabbergasted. We can’t wait an extra 1.5 seconds to see if the ball is a homerun or not? Add to the fact that half the time, this incredible technology was not working or being used. If you intend to use something, then use it!
Sometimes technology can really help us out. This is one of those times when the money that went into this should have been put into something better, like giving Adriana Monsalve overtime pay for more SportsCenter appearances.
Dancin’ On The Avenue 2009
Every year, downtown Willow Glen hosts a big party called Dancin’ On The Avenue. They block off the street for three stages where bands and acts come to perform, and revelers dance everywhere. Well it so happens that The Last Cut has it’s office across from the main stage, and a balcony to boot!
Every year at Dancin’ On The Avenue, we hold a little party for friends, family, and clients to come on up and take a load off. It especially is fun to people watch from the balcony. I happened to take my camera out for a grand total of 5 minutes for the whole night to shoot some video. This was around the time when the office was filled with everyone’s kids, so it’s not the most accurate description of the night, but you get to see some of the action anyway. Enjoy!
BTW- The song is called “1901” by the band Phoenix
