it’s very interesting for us to see two cultures come together on a wedding day.
shalimar and dan’s wedding was just that. shalimar, and the rest of her family, welcomed dan and his family in to the hindu culture with open arms, and many of the toasts that night by dan’s side spoke of such openness and the feeling of being totally welcomed.
this mixing of their two cultures and the events that occurred on their wedding day became the story of their SDE.
while many of our recent films are heavily narrated to propel the story forward, shalimar and dan expressed an interest in wanting their film to be propelled forward by the visuals shown and the background music.
music by the newest with etiquette artist henry toft. withetiquette.com
we just wrapped up the evolution experience 2.0 at stillmotion with twelve awesome people from around the world. during the 3 day workshop, a big part of what we tried to get across was to see things differently, and to find what is right in front of you but you never see.
this past saturday we had a pleasure to shoot basia and tomek’s wedding in hamilton. their day was a like a mini ‘workshop’ for us.
it’s so easy to focus on only the bride and groom, overlooking everything around them, such us preparing a home made polish breakfast. for them, this was part of their unique story. it can also be easy to get caught up just trying to cover the events as they are happening instead of interpreting them in our very own style. taking the time to think about your lens choice, composition, or the way in which you are shooting a sequence to communicate their story is a very effective way to push yourself to be a better storyteller.
along the way we watched the groomsmen undertake the quest to get in the bride’s house and witnessed the biggest crowd surrounding the couple during their first meeting and traditional blessing.
richer by a day full of love, fun and emotions, as well as an amazing response to the sde by their 300 family and friends, it certainly got us pumped for the workshop.
I agree with Jeff B. I am too still processing the overloading of information learned in your studios. Having seen this video before hand along with the raw un-touched shots really put things into perspective for me. Truly amazing work and video.
Konrad, this video is amazing we can watch it over and over again. Thank you for taking good care of our friends, we will not hesitate referring you in the future! Powodzenia.
This is such a beautiful SDE. I just got back home and I am still in awe of the evolution experience and the past three days. The experience was priceless and I learned more about creating meaningful wedding films in three days then I probably would have in three years trying to figure it out otherwise. I love how you guys really dissected this piece for us and showed all the intricate details that pull their story together, and it certainly goes well beyond breakfast.
I\’ve been following your vimeo channel and blog for some time and I\’m always amazed by your videos. It\’s nice to see a Polish wedding filmed by such a great team as you are:)I think I will contact you when I\’m gonna plan my wedding;)
so much thought often goes into the bridal foot wear. all of the bridal details for that matter. the groom? often some variation of a black dress shoe. but not for michael. he needed some classic high tops to make his trek through downtown toronto, across hot dog vendors, past a series of push-ups and a bad bryan adams remake, and finally, to cypril // all with a hot dog still in hand.
Congratulations to the both of you… Cypril you looked absolutely stunning!!! And Michaela the high top converse were the cherry on top!!!! Best wishes to the both of you as you officially begin your journey through life together and may you continue to receive life’s many blessings for the years to come. The video turned out fantastic ~ thanks for sharing
Sarah - October 22, 2009 3:51 pm
It brought tears to my eyes-simply lovely…your videos remind me of what it’s like to be a little girl dreaming about what her wedding will look like….
I have heard a bunch about the 7D overheating after continuous HD shooting…have you ever run into this issue, especially during longer shoots, ie. speeches etc?
Complimenti ai signor sposi ed agli autori di questo video. Congratulation, the video is fantastic, its make very good-. The wedding is different from each nations- In Italy too, I\’m a cameraman and make the wedding too. I\’ve seen this move and said its OK- This is ART – its Poem -
AWE!!! I had the pleasure of meeting these two – however briefly, at the Y experience. It changes the experience of viewing ans SDE for me… It\’s even better! Beautiful work. Congratulations Michael
i\’m sitting in a office so the volume is muted. i find it impossible to watch wedding videos without sound because most are just a mismatch of random clips and it makes me dizzy.but i played your SDE anyways and was immediately drawn into the story of each sequence. i found it amusing trying to guess what their vows were and where the SDE would lead to… sounds cheesy but i just had to comment about my experience.btw, i never saw guys so excited to play the seaweed kiss game. :)
What an amazing video. Cypril was a wonderful bride to work with. Congrats to her and Michael.Now – who can I speak to about using this video on the website. (I was her makeup and hair artist and btw – thank you for not shooting me up close! lol)
So much better than the bootleg version our friend has on Facebook! Thank you again for such a great job. We\’ve been waiting for this sde for almost 2 years, since first running into you guys. The great thing is, there\’s still more to look forward to – the actual video wedding photos – that i know will also blow us away!
phyllis had one of those feel good weddings. you know, the ones were you wear a huge smile on your face the whole way through. from her scandalous present to adam in the morning, to their rather intense entrance into the hall, we had such a great time the whole way through.
it should be said the phyllis is also filipino. one cannot do an sde for a filipino bride without having her know about jmag. for those that don’t know, jmag is the godfather of the sde. back when we were wondering how something so complicated could even be possible, him and his team were churning out miracle edits. years later, as sdes have become a staple for us, jmag has inspired a country, and it is amazing what they are doing over there.
back to phyllis. knowing of the jmag influence and the high standards that come along with that, we were so happy when phyllis chose us. it made things a little extra special knowing what we had to live up to :)
champorado in the morning! love it :) cant wait to show this video to my future hubby since he cant seem to imagine how the filipino traditions in a wedding ceremony go :P
Phyllis, you are so beautiful! I love your smile and all the ways Still-Motion captured your joy and laughters. I especially like the champorado in the morning. What a unique and memorable event that once again, was captured skillfully. Sigh….this video makes me so sentimental!
Awesome to again put a face to a name we see commenting often on the blog. You are beautiful Phyllis and the emotion throughout your wedding, captured perfectly by Stillmotio,n of course–again, made me cry. Congrats!
to the stillmotion family…thanks so much for capturing the joys, loves, laughs and true essence of the day…you are all masters of your craft and i am truly blessed to have found your team…incredible…jmag should be so proud! @MING: he he he, you noticed the CHAMPORADO! that was my wedding breakfast request, no bacon, no eggs, no toast…just some good ole chocolate rice pudding! btw, i tried very hard for mike to try it.thank you thank you…salamat….
I have never seen a video so wonderfully made…I\’m chocked up..Wow!! Simple but sooooo beautiful…and very much MEMORABLE!!!Thanks for posting this…-DafneTampa/Fl
we met terry and warren a while back through andrea + derek, whose sde and a portion of their main feature was featured here. terry gave a reading at andrea’s wedding, and andrea was a bridesmaid for terry. jenn, the maid of honor, was also andrea’s maid of honor. what a fun circle to be a part of :)
when we got together with terry and warren before their wedding, they mentioned that they were a tad nervous for there first dance and were thinking about practicing it before the reception started. i got some pretty weird looks when i showed them how excited i was to shoot their practice, almost as if it was the highlight of my day (which it was). the idea of having them practice, fully dressed, in an empty reception hall, just minutes before guests packed the place was too much to pass up. it was just terry and warren (and me with a few wait staff who were setting up at the time) in this grand hall, having a fleeting moment together.
when the reception started and the wedding party entered, the girls who i thought were on the quieter side, broke out into a mock bollywood dance to jai ho, along with the guys, for some pretty lively reception entertainment.
I understand rhythmically and musically why you chose this song, but lyrically this is a really awkward choice for a wedding edit. The song is about her not being strong enough to get away from someone that doesn\’t really want her. \”And if I was stronger than I would tell you no/And if I was stronger then I will leave this show/And if I was stronger then I would up and go/But here I am and here we go again/Tell me what to do to take away the you\” Odd. I really love your work, you are wonderful visualizers, I just think you use on the music to carry your images to that emotional level, and I think the lyrics should be just as important.
beautiful works, both photo and video, are an example to follow ..
which is the program do you use for postproduction (color correction, etc. ..) in video and final assembly?
greetings from Spain
Seus videos são maravilhosos, moro no Brasil, gravo caamentos, fico facinado no seu jeito de filmar e editar os videos, gostaria de um dia poder gravar ao lado de um grande profssional com vc.!!!
Att.
Danilo Dezem ”Brazil”
2:46 – 2:49 … my heart skipped a beat or two during that sequence. It’s almost 90 degrees out there and I’m still tempted to go out on a date with the Steadicam. Joyce would be jealous.
You guys are amazing! This is the first wedding video I’ve ever seen that’s made me regret not having a video. It was like something out of an advert that everyone keeps talking about. Amazing. Amazing!
You guys have such talent. I agree with most, the way your team turned the rain, which can be such a negative, into something so beautiful is amazing, Keep up the wonderful work!!!
wow, that has to be one of the longest aisle’s i’ve ever seen, love it! and love the beauty of this piece. thanks for the subtitles, it’s touching what the priest said. :-)
How awesome it must have been to be up so close to the alter, so many angles to shoot from… what an amazing invitation from the priest. What an amazing church! I love the grading too.
Hello Stillmotion team. This video was fantastic and I’m especially happy to see you guys made it to London, ON finally! My girlfriend and I both go to this church – she is a soloist there – and it was very moving for her to see you guys highlight the church space in such a new and exciting way. I guess I better start saving for our big day because you’ve set a standard! Awesome work.
Konrad - August 12, 2009 6:49 pm
joyce, when we teach, we always stress how important the grading is, as it’s an integral part of the art we create. it’s such a powerful tool for us that helps us convey the personalities and emotions. SDEs don’t leave much time for this process, yet we still manage to achieve what we desire. i’m glad you’ve seen it in this piece. K.
i love the grading in this piece. it was a rainy day, but the colors (and people!) made it still cheerfully happy and warm – beautifully executed. btw, my auto-enthusiast buddies have been bugging me to do a clip for them and a cinevate car-mount would come in handy :)
ray // it was a very interesting situation because i had actually talked to the priest about how we normally shoot, how we try to be discreet and stay to the outside. he replied by saying ‘nonsense, get in there, come closer, this is very important.’ when we were done, he was very happy with how everything went.
Nobody would like raining when there is a wedding. But your guys have done a wonderful job with your talent and your inspiration. The short clip has shown me what is the charming of the Stillemotion.
not just an awesome opening, but i think for all the stress and concern so many couples have over rain, for anna + norbert it really added to the story, added character, and gave us some incredible footage. dare i say even better than if it had not rained.
P.
we came into the studio on sunday, the day after melinh and cwell were married, and we sat down to watch their sde again. jess had come in for a couple hours that sunday and it was her first chance to see their sde. we are generally rather quite when we share something like this as we all get pulled into the story. at the end of the piece we looked up and jess was completely silent, tears streaming down her face, as she started to laugh at just how much she was affected.
it makes me wonder how many others watch these pieces, knowing nothing of the couple, knowing very little about us as well, people whom we will probably never meet, and are completely moved by what they experience.
thank you melinh and cwell for sharing your day with us, and in turn, letting us share it with so many others.
I just had to comment to let you know that I’m one of those people. I saw this video through a friend’s blog and I was just left speechless. It drew me in to the story so much that I just wanted to know more about the couple, their history, and it left me wondering where they are now. I found your blog and watched some more until I discovered this again and I just had to say that you guys inspire me.
Connie - January 10, 2010 1:25 pm
I have just sat here for over 2 hours viewing every video you have posted. With every one, I have cried. After every video, I keep telling myself, “get it together! You don’t even know these people!” (Could you imagine if it were a video of someone close to me…jeez)
I would just like to share that what you create is more beautiful than anyone could ever expect when they sit down to watch a wedding video. You are able to capture every nuance, every subtle emotion and it is put together seamlessly and beautifully. Thank you for perfecting your craft in a way that not many are able to do.
I’m looking forward to the time when my special day comes, because I will then be able to have my own Still Motion experience.
I first heard of still motion saturday morning, during a ritualistic brunch with girlfriends…making a mental note to look you up when i got home…and quickly forgot.The next morning, lying eyes wide open nxt to my snoring boyfriend I relunctantly woke up and slunked over the keyboard…and remembered the promise I had made to look you guys up.I watched a few cinema pieces, and was amazed by your work. Then, there was melinh and seewell\’s sde…I had some how skipped over it, but wasn\’t about to let it get away. My boyfriend awoke, to my sobbing. At which point, I insisted he rub his groggy eyes and watch it again with me.Beautiful piece, truly touched.Keep uo the great work!
Congratulations, Melinh and Seewell! I love the lace wedding dress and your makeup. As for the crying, Patrick, you have no idea…Ming always teases me about crying over strangers’ weddings! I’ve lost count on how many times it has happened with your videos now. :) I completely lost it watching our own highlights. It took a while to desensitize myself. ;)
so i lit a cigarette before playing this video and couldnt even get a puff out of it as this piece pulled me into the story as if it were my own wedding.. amazing!
p.s. thanks, because of you my keyboards full of ash!
Patrick, I have no pride, but, yes, your films draw me in and pull on the emotional heart strings just a bit :) But I could blame my Kosmider roots – we get choked up about almost anything (trying to save face, machismo)
You guys are truly talented storytellers supported by some amazing technical skill. You bring together so many skills in one cohesive visual & aural package the whole thing seem effortless. We always watch in awe of your work. Simply amazing! – Mike & Kate Duval
I keep a kleenex box next to the monitor for this very reason. The pieces you create connect not only with the bride&groom, but with all of us viewing it from afar as well. Somehow you’re able to film a short clip that tells an amazing story, in an amazing way every time.
Patrick – You must know, from reading the comments people leave, how much these videos touch people, even if the couples are complete strangers to us. It’s not just what the images themselves capture, but the way you put the images together and then add the music to tell the story. I think if you searched the comments for “tears” and “crying” you’d get thousands of hits :)
The part that got me in this video was when the bride gets the video of the day her husband proposed. How amazingly romantic!
seeing the san jose cathedral for the first time the day before the wedding, we knew right away that it definitely be a highlight in itself.
what we didn’t yet know was the fact that angela and joseph were going to see each other before the ceremony, and then walk to the church together. i especially love the flower girl’s miniature pink umbrella. she was just so happy to hold it.
and what a way to top of the night, and sde, with a very energetic chinese dragons performance.
we came up with the concept for the opening the night before the sde, but even as we started shooting the day of the wedding, we weren’t sure we would be able to pull it off
angie’s dress is magnificent, joseph’s tears brought tears to my eyes and i love the bridesmaid dresses–everything was beautiful and of course patrick and konrad captured it all beautifully! love it!
I love the opening sequence, I don’t know why I keep watching your SDE and that other guy from Philippines, I am looking for inspiration but somehow I end up getting frustrated. You are way up there in the industry.
I have said this so many times for your same day edits…That was the best, most well thought out SDE I have ever seen. And that is why you are the best. You amaze me more with every day, and every film.
ring shot = speechless… Congrats to the couple, but I wish I didn’t see Joseph’s crying shots, cause it brought me to tears! I was doing so well too! ARRRGGGHHH :)
Great opening concept -I’m left in awe once again. Love the slider shot at the church 2:31-2:34, it’s so powerful to me. She had pink balloons and dragon dancers – how awesome is that. Congrats to the lovely couple “)
Sick transitions in the beginning guys! It wasn’t just two or three either…that’s putting some serious work and thought in! Who was the team for this one? Cheers!
all nicknames for jason, janet, and jahnoya. and what a performane this trio put on. we had their family in for a presentation to show before the sde (much like aaron and melissa). from that, we came up with the idea of multiple perspectives and a two part sde. we’ve seen quite a few performances in our day, but none that can compare with the grandeur and sheer coolness that these guys put on. with about twenty people in the wedding party and over a month of practicing, i think their performance had it’s intended effect of absolutely rocking the house. i can recall standing in the steadicam, completely awe-struck, trying to pick up my jaw from the floor (which can be tough in a steadicam), when i realized that i should probably stop staring and start shooting.
Hey all,
i was fortunate enough to attend this wedding. I was blown away by the entire thing….one of the BEST weddings ive EVER been too! Hands down
The video footage shown at the reception also blew my mind. Amazing work by Stillmotion. I’ve been raving about you guys ever since!!!
FYI: In regards to the bridesmaid dresses (b/c i too was asking where they got them from) from what i remember they were customed made. I agree…the dresses were absolutely gorgeous.
Jennifer - December 8, 2009 11:07 pm
Could you please let me know where they got the bridesmaids dresses from?
Feyi - December 2, 2009 7:11 pm
OMG!!! I am sooo blown away. Where did they get the bridesmaids dresses?? Please forward my email address to the Janet. Please, please, please :)
That little Jahnoya… what a force to be reckoned with! Look how proud she is to walk her mom down the aisle. I LOVE the clip where you synched her singing with the soundtrack.
just so touching that I can’t stop watching it over and over again, and it makes me wanna cry! It is absolutely amazing how the joy and the bond between the three J’s can be felt in this short clip. it has captured it all.
Pretty cool post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say
that I have really liked reading your blog posts. Anyway
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon!
This video blew my mind at the wedding and its even better the second time around! My two favourite parts are the date on the collar and the shot of the sky from the limo. Congrats triple J!
Perfect mix of emotion and fun! I love it! I was dancing in my seat right along with the whole wedding party! Good job guys! Scratch that WICKED job!
Congrats :)
i know you don’t show much more than your preview clips, but perhaps you will make an exception and cut together a dance number…seeing just a fraction of their performance got me pumped up!
Magnificent Job! What a great looking bridal party and every single shot captured by the Stillmotion crew was better than the one before.
With each passing week I continue to be more amazed by your creativity and talent!
Patrick, I have had a few of those “oh crap, start shooting” moments too…None that came close to that. That was a very cool SDE and it worked so well. I bet the family had a great time being a part of it.
*jaw drops to the floor*
*still trying to scrape jaw off from the floor from the last 5 minutes*
Patrick, you weren’t the only one with the jaw drop…i was amazed from beginning to end and wanting more!!! excellent video concept! love it…love it…added to one of my many top faves.
patrick, any chance of finding out where janet got her exquisite bridesmaid dresses?
Janet, Jason and Jahnoya…you are such a beautiful family…congratulations and all the best!
thank you to catherine + hendra for sharing their wonderful wedding in Oakland, CA with us. the sde timeline certainly was more challenging than most but when the dust settled and we had this to share, it couldn’t be more worth it.
a big thanks to leslie campbell of let’s celebrate for making the sde not only possible, but also much much better because of her efforts.
coming up this week // on thursday night we will have a cinema position opening up and we will share more about that. on friday, konrad and michael have an sde and love story to share from this past weekend.
P.
‘Your work really exceeded our (already high) expectations and I can honestly say the SDE saved our wedding reception. There were so many things that went wrong that night (we were scammed by the band company- we didn’t get the band we booked, and they substituted them with one of much lower quality without our consent… long story). I was so disappointed and almost gave up that night, but thanks to your SDE, not only did it save the reception, it also showed me what is important about this whole wedding.
The story line in SDE was so sweet and amazing, I realized this wedding was not about the band, food, tablecloth or cake. It is about me and Hendra. It is about our Love. Oh, I LOVEEEDDDD how you put my parents at the end of SDE. I realized at that very second, that night was a gift from them. It was their acceptance of Hendra that made that night possible. And you captured it PERFECTLY in the SDE. Patrick, I cannot thank you enough for that. Right after the SDE I couldn’t care less about anything else. I was so happy I married Hendra and that both our families accepted each other. That is what really matters. Thank you thank you thank you.
Man! I was at the wedding(Hendra is my cuzzo) I have to say This video was by far the Highlight aside from the marrage of Hendra and Catherine. I wanna know how to book you in the future! seriously… can you hook me up wit some info? hahaha good job guys!!
Whoa! What can I say which hasn’t been said before? I got the link to your site from a photographer friend of mine and your team’s work is really, really inspiring. Keep up the awesome work and thank you for sharing it. Totally inspirational :)
wow, i love the climax of the song leading up to the first time catherine and hendra see each other! and the parent appreciation always brings tears to my eyes. love this sde, very emotional and beautifully put together. congrats catherine and hendra–you said it best in your letter. a wedding day is about the love of the two who are getting married and stillmotion captures it best!
hi patrick, amazing job! i love your song selection – your shots, along with the piano intro, was awesome. seeing an sde beginning from the rehearsal is a very unique perspective.
“Tears run rings around my eyes” Beautiful SDE! Very emotional. Congrats to Catherine & Hendra. Loved the thumbs up after y’all saw each other for the first time.
Oh my goodness – the light in the church from 2:43-2:44, gave me goosebumps! Congrats to Catherine & Hendra, what a beautiful couple :)
Oooh and what is this cinema position I’m reading about? I just gave my 2wks notice to pursue my love for photography, but maybe I should concentrate on cinema instead (and perhaps move to another country =P)
dan // the master’s degree SDE
touching… professional work!
Gorgeous! I\’m sitting here with tears in my eyes. What a beautiful day!
Luv this video! it is great!!!
Killer!!
I agree with Jeff B. I am too still processing the overloading of information learned in your studios. Having seen this video before hand along with the raw un-touched shots really put things into perspective for me. Truly amazing work and video.
Super video! Klass! Ok!
Super video! Клаассная работа!!!
Ahh, Konrad, Poland may not be my homeland, but I am of Polish blood. Between the breakfast and the mass that piece took me home. Smaczny!
You guys do truly amazing work!! Thanks for being such an inspiration!
Konrad, this video is amazing we can watch it over and over again. Thank you for taking good care of our friends, we will not hesitate referring you in the future! Powodzenia.
That was beautiful…Awesome work guys
Hey Konrad that was great maybe loved the mirror shot around the end great work bro.
This is such a beautiful SDE. I just got back home and I am still in awe of the evolution experience and the past three days. The experience was priceless and I learned more about creating meaningful wedding films in three days then I probably would have in three years trying to figure it out otherwise. I love how you guys really dissected this piece for us and showed all the intricate details that pull their story together, and it certainly goes well beyond breakfast.
I\’ve been following your vimeo channel and blog for some time and I\’m always amazed by your videos. It\’s nice to see a Polish wedding filmed by such a great team as you are:)I think I will contact you when I\’m gonna plan my wedding;)