Monthly Archives: January 2007

01.28.2007

The Demo that Never Was…..

Posted in Clips

I have a big problem with finishing demos. For those who don’t know what a demo is, it’s basically a trailer for a wedding videographer’s services. Here’s a link to this year’s winners in this category at the 4Ever Group Conference AAA awards. Just promise to come back here when you’re done..

The concept sounds simple enough. Just collect some cool clips, add a soundtrack, and that’s it. But for the last 6 years, I haven’t been able to finish one. The main reason is time. Cutting a demo takes time not only in the editing process but also in capturing the necessary footage to make a great piece. The last time I had the time to finish a demo was in 2001 when I was just starting out. For one thing, I had less weddings to sift through and more time on my hands. The following three minutes represents 2 weeks of capturing and editing. But it was worth it. I got the Gold Award at my local PVA that year and I think it still holds up. This video is encoded from the Windows Media File and you can go to my site under “awards” to see that version of it.



Last year I was preparing for my 4Ever Group seminar called “Supercharge Your Raw Footage”. It was all about the shooting side of wedding videography and of course I needed alot of examples to show. I figured that this might be my window of opportunity to create a new demo. After all, the footage was going to be on there anyway so why not?

I was ultimately done in by ambition. I wanted to create this epic 12 minute long demo that would go from preceremony to ceremony to dancing to a huge crescendo at the end. To my dismay I found out that I would have to capture even MORE footage to make that kind of demo happen. I did, however, finish part one and I think it still holds up very well. Let me know what you think in the comments section.



Even after the conference was over I still kept the footage on the hard drive thinking that I’ll get around to finishing it. After 2 months of the footage just sitting there (about 200 gigs!), I decided to free up that space for future wedding projects and the dream of the “Epic Demo” died with it. So let’s have a moment of silence for the “Demo that Never Was”……

Okay, that’s enough of that. I still do want to put together a demo and I can promise you that you’ll see it here as soon as it’s completed. It’s up to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing….

Chris W

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Posted in Clips
01.28.2007

Year of the 3 Amigos

Posted in Uncategorized, Watercooler

Babel, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Children of Men. What do these three movies have in common? They are all movies directed by extremely talented film makers who call Mexico home. They also happen to be freinds with each other and it’s said they even traded notes on ways to improve each other’s films. Looks like it paid off. Here’s a closer look…..

Babel Poster

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

IMDB Description: Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving six different families.

Trailer: Quicktime

Haven’t seen the movie myself but I’ve only heard great things about it.

Directed by: Guillermo Del Torro

IMDB Description: “Pan’s Labyrinth” is the story of a young girl who travels with her pregnant mother to live with her mother’s new husband in a rural area up North in Spain, 1944, after Franco’s victory. The girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation and faces the real world with much chagrin. Post-war Fascist repression is at its height in rural Spain and the girl must come to terms with that through a fable of her own.

Trailer: Quicktime

I caught this movie last Friday and it’s an amazing movie. The story is at turns magical, heart breaking, and brutal and it shouldn’t be missed. Be warned that it might be too intense and gory for younger viewers and sensitive adults. The “real world” story deals with very real evil and it isn’t watered down so be forewarned. If you feel you can handle a movie like that, then run to your nearest Art House and see it before it leaves theaters!

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron

IMDB Description: The world’s youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set in and around a dystopian London fractious with violence and warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows the unexpected discovery of a lone pregnant woman and the desperate journey to deliver her to safety and restore faith for a future beyond those presently on Earth.

Trailer: Quicktime

I don’t throw around the word “Masterpiece” but that’s exactly what this movie is. It simply works on every level. The story, performances, and special effects are top notch. Another movie worth seeing on the big screen. You won’t be disappointed in this one.

Chris W

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Posted in Uncategorized, Watercooler
01.27.2007

Behind the Scenes: Timeshifting

Posted in Behind the scenes

One of the the first features I go to when I watch a DVD is the director’s commentary. The ones I love the best are the commentaries that really go in depth on the creative process and why the director made the choices he or she did. With that in mind, I decided that it would be a cool idea to pull back the curtain every now and then and take you behind the scenes on the creative process at Watson Videography. And what better place to start than Timeshifting?

Chances are you’ve never heard the term but I can guarantee you’ve seen the concept in action. If you’ve seen “Pulp Fiction”, “Sliding Doors”, “Alias”, “Kill Bill”, and “Memento” then you’ve seen a timeshift. Now imagine that concept transplanted to wedding videography. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. To give you a primer on the whole concept, here’s an article in the October 2006 issue of EventDV that covers this concept in more detail. Special mention goes to Geoff Daily for making sure my gibberish sounded somewhat intelligent =)

“Back in the twentieth century, videographers largely produced linear videos, telling the story of an event in a straight line from the beginning, through the middle, to the end. Despite the widespread use of nonlinear editing tools by century’s end, that approach still made sense, given the prevalent belief that an event videographer’s role was that of passive documentarian rather than active auteur striving to create movie magic. But this paradigm is shifting, thanks to the ever-increasing nimbleness of desktop video editing as well as the creative drive and collaborative spirit of the event videography community. Today, one of the hottest trends in event video production is a shift of another sort: timeshift video…” read more

This past January at the 4Ever Group Conference and trade show, I had the opportunity to teach about this fascinating new trend in wedding videography at my seminar , “Supercharge Your Post-Production”. Here’s an excerpt from the training video that came out of that seminar which will soon be available in the 4Ever Group Store, the Pixel Pops store, and the trunk of my car…..




So how does that translate to an actual wedding video? Here is a clip from Nicole and Chris’ wedding back in August where I had the pleasure of working with my good friend and talented photographer, Kevin Jairaj of KJ Images. Here, I decided to cut between 3 different timelines. One where the bride is walking slowly into focus, the “present” storyline that covers the processional, and the “past” storyline that covers all the pre-wedding stuff. The idea was that all three timelines would come together at the end when the bride comes into sharp focus and the past storyline catches up with the present storyline culminating in the bride’s big entrance. I know, I know. I think WAY too hard about this stuff. Here’s the result of all that heavy thinking…


I hope you got something out of this and learned a little bit more about what goes on behind the scenes at Watson Videography. See you next time.

Chris W

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Posted in Behind the scenes
01.27.2007

The Live Edit

Posted in Clips

Imagine if you will, cramming for an exam that’s only 3 hours away. Now imagine doing that in front of a live audience standing up. That is pretty close to what doing the Live Edit at the 4EVER Group Convention in Florida was like. The rules were simple. Julie Hill, Don Pham, and myself were given the same raw footage to edit a highlights segment to. Everything else was up to us as to what direction to take the footage. The diversity of styles among the three of us was amazing and instructive in how the story really comes alive in the editing process. Here’s my interpretation of the raw footage starting from blank slate to finished product in only two hours and forty minutes….



To give you an idea of what I mean by diversity, check out my friend Julie Hill of Elysium Productions interpretation of the same exact footage. Julie’s Rockin’ Live Edit!

Chris W

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Posted in Clips
01.27.2007

Choppers, Dancers, and Elephants Oh My! The Indian Wedding Experience 12-27-06 through 12-30-06

Posted in Clips

One of the things I love about my job is that I get to see and experience some cool things. A prime example of this was the wedding of Sonali Kumar and Prayes Majmudar. They’re wedding was a traditional Hindu wedding celebration that took place in Dallas AND Houston and spanned 4 days and 6 main events. Joining me for those 4 days was a very talented photographer by the name of Humza Yasin of Humza Yasin Photography. When it was all over, I logged 700 miles on my car, spent countless hours in the field, filled up 24 tapes, got about 13 hours of sleep, and came back with some priceless footage. Speaking of priceless footage, check this clip out. It’s six minutes long but worth watching. I promise you’ve never seen anything like it!



This is one of the few times where I had to upload some video immediately after a shoot. Not only because the footage is just some of the coolest I ever shot but also because nobody would believe me if I told them what I shot. I’m sure this isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of this wedding!

Chris W

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Posted in Clips

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