New Name

“Watson Videography” was a great name for our company for many years but I felt it was time to have a company name that really represents what we do.    Aside from shooting video, we are also known for our sophisticated cinematic editing style.   We felt this important part of our business got a little short changed with the “Watson Videography” name.   Also, since we’ve moved to DSLRs as our main cameras, I don’t know if “video” really does the footage justice.    So it just made sense to come up with a name that really reflects what we’ve always been about and that name is “Chris Watson Studios”.  Hope you like the new name as much as we do.

New Philosophy

Every couple has specific needs for their wedding day.   That’s why instead of having arbitrary coverage packages, I’ve decided to go to customized packages.   The way it works is you tell me a little bit about your wedding day, the kind of wedding film you’d like to have, and how many hours you need me for.   Within 24 hours I will come back with a  wedding package that is made just for you.   We’re excited about this new pricing philosophy and can’t wait to discuss our ideas for your perfect wedding film with you.

New Low Cost Wedding Video Division

Every bride deserves a video of their special day.   That’s why we founded “Kendi Films”.    Kendi Films offers brides a quality low cost option for a simple but professionally produced wedding film starting at $1000.   We’re still working on the website for the newest member of the Chris Watson Studios family so in the meantime, feel free to get in touch with Barbara at barbara@dallasweddingfilms.net for some sweet deals!

Two Clips Sections

For those couples who want to see our latest clips, you can click on “The Screening Room”.    There, you’ll see some of our clips from the 2010 wedding season.    In addition we added a “Classic Clips” section to our site.   Why show clips from as far back as 2006?   Simple.   We believe a wedding video should stand the test of time.   That’s the goal at Chris Watson Studios.   To produce a wedding film that’s just as fresh today as it was 4 years ago.  What better way to show that timelessness than to show the clips themselves?   I hope you like them!

Enjoy the new site and thanks for stopping by!

Chris Watson
Chris Watson Studios
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

On July 31, 2010, we had the honor of filming Amaka and Azubuike’s wedding. When I heard the wonderful speech Azubuike gave his wife at the reception, I knew I had to use it in their trailer. I think you’ll understand why when you see the clip. Enjoy!

Trailer: Amaka and Azubuike’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

Chris Watson
Chris Watson Studios
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

On July 24, 2010, we had the honor of documenting the wedding of Megan Rihani and Zeid Rihani (no relation). We had so much fun once again shooting for the Rihani family and can’t wait to revisit this wedding in a few short months. In the meantime, here’s a short preview of their upcoming wedding film. Hope you like it!

Trailer: Megan and Zeid’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

Trailer: Megan and Zeid’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

Chris Watson
Chris Watson Studios
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

Later this month, we’ll be heading out to WEVA EXPO in Orlando Florida on August 26th where we’ll be bringing our expertise in Vintage Lenses to the national stage.   Here’s a trailer we put together for it…..

Trailer: Vintage Lenses for DSLR: Low Cost is Only the Beginning from Chris W on Vimeo.

Next week we’ll be debuting TWO trailers from our July weddings so make sure you stay tuned for that.    Have a great day and stay cool!

Chris Watson

Chris Watson Studios

www.chriswatsonstudios.com

One of the best comments I’ve heard for Chris was  “for someone so techie, it’s amazing how much emotions Chris’ videos have”. However, techie is an understatement to describe Chris. When we upgraded to DSLR cameras for our videos this year, one of our main concerns aside from going over board with the budget was how to give our videos a distinctive look. The number of hours that Chris spent researching for the best lenses has led him to the old manual focus lenses. I will not got through the details of why these vintage lenses are awesome, you’ve probably already seen some of our trailers. If I may romantically say it,  the DSLR cameras with vintage lenses is a match made in heaven.

All the hours spent on research (and forums) has paid off and Chris has came up with a great write up. It is the cover story for the July issue of EventDV magazine. It is my honor to post about this article … and because Chris is too polite to write about it himself. Please click on the image to read the article.  Enjoy and have a great day everyone! ~Barbara

Trailer: Mehvash and Robert’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

Trailer: Mehvash and Robert’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

Chris Watson
Chris Watson Studios
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

Last month, we were honored to film Ashley and Jay’s wedding in beautiful Cabo San Jose’ at the wonderful Crowne Plaza resort.    Since many of Ashley and Jay’s guests couldn’t make it to Mexico, we were commissioned to not only film the wedding festivities but to also create a longer than usual highlight reel that could be played at the local reception in Ponca City.   Our goal was to make every guest at the local reception feel like they were a guest at Ashley and Jay’s wedding in Mexico.  To make the experience more enriching we did a Storyteller style edit of their wedding day which includes an interview of the bride and groom that is used to tell their wedding story in their own words.   Judging by the reactions in the audience, I think we succeeded as there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when it finished.

Since the video is pretty long, I broke it up into 3 chapters for a more convenient online viewing experience.  I hope you enjoy!

Part 1:

Cabo Wedding Part 1 from Chris W on Vimeo.

Part 2:

Cabo Wedding Part 2 from Chris W on Vimeo.

And the Grand Finale:

Cabo Wedding Part 3 from Chris W on Vimeo.

Chris Watson

Chris Watson Studios
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

Same Day Highlight for Jessica and Nilay’s Wedding from Chris W on Vimeo.

Wedding and Reception Venue:  The Hilton Anatole.

Photography: Gary Donihoo and Kym Skiles of F8 Studio.

DJ: DJ Masai  817-307-3005

Cinematography: Watson Videography

Chris Watson

Watson Videography

www.dallasweddingfilms.com

817-989-1691

Preceremony for Dana and Ricky’s Wedding Story from Chris W on Vimeo.

We’ve also had the opportunity to work with some great wedding professionals for the first but hopefully not the last time…..

Event Design and Flowers
Bella Flora

What can I say?   The flower arrangements were one of the more unique designs I’ve seen and the coordination of the wedding was discrete and smooth.  That’s the mark of a great coordination team.

Photography
Mist Photography

Not only are their pictures amazing but they were great to work with as well.  We look forward to working with them in the future.

Stationary
Sharp Weddings and Events/DragonFly Invitations

I love the design of Dana and Ricky’s stationary so much, I decided to put a shot or two of their work in the clip.  It’s the stationary the rings are sitting on.    If you are looking for intricate and unique stationary design, call Tammy up and see what she can do for you.

Makeup Artist
Kyla Gray Creveling
817-420-3193

Fantastic job on the makeup.  Everyone looked perfect.  You can see her in action on this video.

Wedding Cinematographer
Chris Watson
Watson Videography
www.dallasweddingfilms.com
817-989-1691

Wedding in Cabo San Jose

On May 2nd, we had the honor of filming Ashley and Jay’s wedding at the Crowne Plaza resort in beautiful Cabo San Jose. We are encoding the footage as we speak and can’t be more excited about sharing their video with you as soon as possible. Besides the awesome couple and gorgeous scenery, the thing we’re most excited about this wedding was that we tried out some of our more light sensitive lenses at the reception and we were able to get incredible imagery using just available light. You read that right. We were able to shoot most of the wedding reception without a video light with no loss of image quality. Wait till you see the footage. You won’t believe it.

And for those brides who might be interested in hiring us to shoot their wedding in Mexico, rest assured that Watson Videography always goes through the proper channels to obtain an FM3 Visa to legally work in Mexico.

New Russian Lenses

I was so impressed with my Helios 44M that came from Russia at the last two weddings, that I just had to get some more in my camera bag. One of them is a Jupiter-9 (85mm f/2) portrait lens that produces wonderful vintage colors and a very pleasing out of focus background. The other is the Mir 24M (35mm f/2) which has amazing color saturation and contrast. Both are going to be used at tomorrow’s wedding and we can’t wait to see what kind of footage we get out of it. In the meantime, here’s a fun little test clip I did shooting with the lenses around the neighborhood……

Jupiter-9/Mir 24 Test Clip from Chris W on Vimeo.

Oh, by the way, don’t worry about your wedding video having the soft focus look. We like the retro look but we do draw the line somewhere .

Sometimes all this lens talk can become a little abstract so in order to give you an idea of why I’m so excited about shooting with these retro lenses, here are some shots taken with the Russian made Helios 44M (Circa mid 70′s).   The last shot especially shows off its unique character very well.

Fall and Late Summer dates filling up

Ever since a few weeks ago, we’ve been blessed with bookings for July through October and several requests for hot late summer and fall dates. We still have many choice dates available but slots are filling up rather quickly as this is the time most couples book us for their fall weddings. If you feel we are a good fit for your wedding, let us know and we’ll be happy to meet with you and discuss the perfect wedding package for you.

I think that pretty much sums up what’s been going on with us the past few weeks. We are excited about the weddings we’ve shot so far this year and the ones coming up. It’s easily one of the most exciting and eclectic seasons we’ve had in a few years and we can’t wait to share each of our couples wedding stories with you.