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“I Do” Again

by Jason Sanders on January 10, 2012

in amp,ceremonies,coupling,elderly couple,elderly couples,i was,lourdes,love birds,photographer,Photography,renew,the wedding,vows,wedding ceremonies,wedding photographers,wedding receptions

You know that old saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”? That was certainly the case for this shoot that I did for the folks at Life at Lourdes. My friend called me with just a shade more than 24 hours notice to ask if I would come and shoot a very special wedding ceremony that was happening for 5 couples. This time, instead of doing my regular videography gig, I was asked to shoot stills.

My response: “Did you say FIVE couples?!?” Life at Lourdes is an elder care facility in South Jersey (Pennsauken, NJ to be exact) and 5 couples had arranged to renew their vows in a group wedding ceremony. How could I say no?

When I explained that I had been focusing more on videos than stills, I was assured that they weren’t looking for perfection. That made me feel better since this was really the first photography assignment I had undertaken with my new workhorse Lumix GH2 camera. At 16 megapixels, and with the option of many fine lenses, the camera is more than capable, but I would have preferred to have prepared more for this special wedding day. Oh well, Carpe Diem!

When I got to the location, the wedding hall ended up being a long rectangular room with windows all along one side. They had set up two rows of chairs. One row was butted up against the windows, then there was a center aisle, another row, and another aisle. The room didn’t allow for much flexibility because the wedding ceremony was being held at one end and literally the entrances to the kitchen facilities were at the other end. This was going to be a challenge, shooting into the bright windows, which were going to be over exposed and my subjects would likely be under exposed.

I ended up just doing the best with the situation I found myself in and I got some good shots. Was I happy with all of them? No. But the people were so happy with the experience on their new wedding day and were so much fun to work with that I had a great time and ended up providing them with some great snapshots to preserve their wedding memories.

It was fun to see what the camera could do with just a couple of lenses and no bounce flash. For those who might be curious, I used three lumix lenses on this project: the 14-140mm, the 20mm, and the 7-14mm. If anything this was a learning experience and my first lesson was that I might want to get some additional equipment if I were to do this kind of job again. More on that in another post.

The main thing is that everyone had a blast, myself included. The local news even showed up and did a piece on the ceremony, and sure enough, there I was in the background behind the camera. It turned out to be a great day, a great opportunity and some great exposure for me. Check out all the shots (good and bad) below as well as the local news story.

You can support this site by using the links below. The items are not any more expensive, but I get a small percentage that helps me to continue to pass along educational information through this website.

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Last year around Christmas, a family friend asked me if I would like to bring my kids to a theatrical production of Cinderella in Philadelphia. I wasn’t sure if my kids would be up to sitting through an entire play, they were 3 and 5 at the time, but I was assured that the production was actually geared towards children. So without very much more information, we headed off to see Cinderella one chilly winter night.

This was my first introduction to Enchantment Theatre Company. They did Cinderella in a totally unique way that kept both me and my children fixated for the entire performance. Enchantment heavily uses full body puppets, masks, and music to convey the story. The acting is driven by a fixed soundtrack with minimal narration and the story is largely told in movements which engages the audience, whether they’re old parents like me, young children, children with disabilities, or those on the spectrum. Needless to say, we had a blast.

A few weeks later as I was pounding the pavement for videography work, I thought, “Why not call Enchantment Theatre Company?” I enjoy lots of different kinds of videography work, but the prospect of working with such a visually stimulating organization was very exciting. After leaving a short message describing what I do, I was delighted to get a call back from Landis Smith, Producing Artistic Director and founder of Enchantment Theatre Company.

We hit it off, and a couple months later he asked me to come in and create a short video of the choreography work that they were developing for their new production, ‘Sylvester And The Magic Pebble’. Enchantment Theatre Co. travels all across the country performing their shows, and they wanted something to wet the appetites of the booking agents for the various venues that they perform at across the country.

Landis was a great host, and I got a behind the scenes view of the development of about 5 linear minutes of choreography for the new production. It was really cool to get a fly on the wall view of what goes into making a show. The funny thing is that as I was shooting, there wasn’t even any music in place yet. The Director, Choreographer and Actors were all just collaborating on how best to convey the story through movement. After shooting wrapped, I was given a rough draft of a couple pieces of music that the composer had been working on for the production, and I went back to my editing room to do my magic. It was a blast doing my own bit of choreography in the edits: matching motion to the previously unknown sound.

In another week or so, I will start the process of documenting the entire finished production complete with costumes masks and music. I’m charged with editing out a short promotional piece to be used in commercials across the country by the local theater organizations that will be hosting Enchantment Theatre Company’s production of ‘Sylvester And The Magic Pebble’. Great exposure for me huh?

Check out the Choreography Video below. I’m really happy with how it came out! What do you think?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvoPeWuFn0k

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I first met Stephanie Crane when I walked into the Poochie Palace in Merchantville NJ to talk to her about creating a video to highlight the services and experience that she delivers to her clients and their pets. It turned out that she was actually looking to create a website for her business first. Good thing that’s one of the services we do here at TVPG Labs!

I suggested designing a custom blog for her where she could take pictures using her smart phone and update the blog quickly and simply. This idea really resonated with her because she’s a bit of a shutter bug like me. And she’s really busy throughout the day. In order for her to be able to maintain the website herself, she would need it to be quick and easy.

When I explained the SEO benefits of having a blog, instead of a static website, she was sold. We put together a plan that would allow her to use her smart phone to upload pictures and create posts on her blog quickly and easily. Over time she’ll be able to execute a SEO strategy that will focus on specific breeds of dogs and the towns and areas in South Jersey and around Philadelphia that they live in. I know how to get great google optimization and I’m confident that she will get excellent results from this strategy over time. It’s great to have a solid plan and know that all you have to do is execute it.

Stephanie opted for several Add-On’s including Tech Training. The end result is a an online presence for the the Poochie Palace that she is very proud of! Now Stephanie wants to do a video to promote her business. I’m excited to work with her again and can’t wait to book the shoot! Check out PoochiePalacePetSpa.com and let me know what you think!

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Making an outstanding video production requires skill in several different areas. You have to know your way around your gear to shoot something beautifully and know how to hold the eye and capture attention. You also have to know how to properly record audio, because the most beautiful and well thought out images immediately fall on their face when there’s crappy audio. And perhaps most importantly you have to know how to creatively edit the footage to tell the best story.

Before deciding to do this professionally, I was using a semi pro software on my pc, Pinnacle Studio Ultimate. It’s not super expensive and did an ok job. But when I decided to do video for a living, I knew I needed a professional tool. That’s why I made the switch to Mac and chose to edit in Final Cut Pro. All editing software shares certain similarities, but Final Cut Pro is a serious editing software that’s been used in Hollywood for years to edit blockbuster full length features.

I was feeling a little intimidated, so I turned to the folks at Future Media Concepts. They have locations all over the country and luckily have one close to me in Philadelphia. I could have opted for a college class, but to have the learning process drawn out over a semester just didn’t sit well with me. Future Media Concepts takes a boot camp like approach to the subjects that they cover, offering intense courses that cram an complete course into just a few days of training. This was perfect for me. I need knowledge now!

I enjoyed this class so much. I learned a ton and left feeling very confident about my abilities to execute my vision using the software. I’m so excited about bringing this professional skill set to all my upcoming clients in the South Jersey, Philadelphia, and Deleware Valley areas.

If you need a cram course in a creative software suite, whether it’s from Apple, Adobe, or some other company, or perhaps some other skill set, check out Future Media Concepts. I hope you’ll be as happy with them as I was.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with Future Media Concepts in any way. They have not paid me for or solicited these comments. I’m just happy with their program.

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Several months back, I just happened to be talking to my friend and neighbor, Timmy Ingram, from the 80′s funkhouse Ingram. Can you believe he lives right here in South Jersey? He asked what I’ve been up to lately and we started talking about the work I’m doing with TVPG Labs and some of the promotional videography and web design services I’m offering.

Timmy has always been really supportive and he suggested that there might be some work for me with a new group he’s been playing with, Gary Nelson and The ContakBand. Sure enough, Timmy put a call in to Gary and before I knew it I was riding along to shoot a gig that they were playing at the legendary Warmdaddy’s in Philadelphia.

Once I knew I was going to be working with these guys, my mind was flooded with ideas, but Gary knew exactly what he wanted. He needed a promotional video demo reel to send to club promoters to get gigs. Although I was going to record the whole set, he didn’t want the whole set posted online, prefering to pick highlights from the songs to make up a teaser. That’s something that never even entered my mind, but it turned out great and Gary was very happy with the results. This is the Instrumental Highlight Reel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1rN9tdpbY

Because it was going to be a demo reel, it made the most sense to have a static shot (not move the camera). This allowed for seamless transitions in between the different sections of songs. At TVPG Labs we pride ourselves in recording at the highest quality. If you play the clips back using full screen at 1080 HD, you can appreciate the quality of our equipment, not to mention the audio quality! We also put together a Highlight Reel that included vocals:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=duPaCFpWQOA

Now Gary wants me to help him out with a proper music video. I can’t wait to get started!

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A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne Creator of The Secret and The Power

by charleshopson on April 26, 2011

in Uncategorized

Secret Scrolls Newsletter Logo

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne

Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

When you exist in the great state of gratitude, you become a person
who only wants to give. You become so grateful that it takes over your life,
and you can’t find enough opportunities in a day to give. You give joy, you
give love, you give money, you give appreciation, you give compliments,
and you give kindness. You give the best of yourself in your job, in your
relationships, and to strangers.

You will know when you have really found true gratitude, because you
will become a giver. One who is truly grateful cannot be anything else.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne

The Secret and The Power… bringing joy to billions

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A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne Creator of The Secret and The Power

by charleshopson on April 26, 2011

in Uncategorized

Secret Scrolls Newsletter Logo

A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne

Creator of The Secret and The Power

From The Secret Daily Teachings

You will know when you have really found true gratitude, because you
will become a giver. One who is truly grateful cannot be anything else.

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne

The Secret and The Power… bringing joy to billions

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Build 25 Unique Backlinks to Your Pages Every Single Day, FREE!

by charleshopson on April 16, 2011

in Uncategorized

Building backlinks to your pages is an essential part of SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) for two reasons. The first reason is that it helps your pages get indexed faster, which is very important because you want the search engines to find them as soon as possible and crawl them regularly. The second reason is that it helps your pages get higher search engine rankings for the keywords of your choice. The more backlinks you have, the better. Period.

However, building backlinks can be a time-consuming, boring process. You can outsource the process to an agency and pay a lot of money… Or you can do it yourself with SocialMonkee! SocialMonkee is an instant backlink builder allowing you to build 25 unique backlinks, every day, FREE! All links are on unique C-Class IP addresses and domains. Imagine being able to create 25 unique backlinks every day, with the click of a button, FREE! Well, you can stop imagining…

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Submitting a page to SocialMonkee via the members area takes under two minutes, but there’s an even faster way! They created a Firefox plugin that allows you to submit your page to up to 100 sites in just a few clicks, using nothing else than Firefox! If you have a Premium Account you will also get access to link reports and RSS feeds, which are great to keep track of your backlinks and get them indexed fast. Submitting your RSS feeds to RSS submitters is actually a very important step in link building.

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to your success,

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http://www.socialmonkee.com/index.php?af=9565