stillmotion

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.

thank you basia and tomek  :)

more to come about the evo experience this week.

Konrad

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.

P.

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 :)

P.

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.

P.

a day filled with sparklers, cathedrals, rain…lots of rain, laughter, pierogies, and some polish. thanks for sharing your day with us.

we added in some english subtitles for those of you not up to snuff with your polish.

-konrad

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.

P.

melinh + seewell’s sde // toronto from stillmotion on Vimeo.

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

-k

angie + joseph // a san jose sde from stillmotion on Vimeo.

// jjj

// j cubed

// the triple threat

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.

P.

the triple threat sde // parts one and two from StillMotion on Vimeo.

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.

Best regard,
Mr. & Mrs. Christianus
=)

catherine + hendra // oakland CA from StillMotion on Vimeo.

for the first time as a dad, just one day after my first father’s day (cha ching), here it is: i’m finally back on the blog.

ok, ok. i know it’s been long and i know jess promised you pictures of zuzanna which never made the blog yet. it’s all coming.

but for now, about our krazy sde:

first off, after meeting ildiko + aiden, we knew that we’re up for the fun one.

hip couple.

her: a lawyer with a modeling career

him: cool doctor who likes to mix… music

the main question for the day was if it’s going to rain for the ceremony, which off course ildiko really didn’t want. with the backup indoor ceremony site being prepared, the gorgeous outdoor location was being poured on. and so we awaited.

we really hoped that it would rain for the first meeting (as they would still do it outside- with umbrellas and all) and stop for the ceremony. that’s exactly what happened :)

for this one, we really wanted something fast and progressive. we knew that things were going to be wild. but it wasn’t until after the first meeting when we decided to go with a different song, something very rare for an sde. when most of the sde was already cut and edited, we gave it a different spin (sorry, bad joke after you see the sde).

-konrad

ildiko + aiden’s sde // graydon hall TO from StillMotion on Vimeo.