A while back, a good friend of mine was critiquing my work, and since I take my work personally, some of the points he mentioned hurt like a dagger through the heart.

With his words taken in an open minded way he was asking if I was taking my work down the right path? His criticism stems from the fact that I choose to shoot the unglamorous, and in his opinion, the unelegant sometimes. For example, the fall from my most recent “Holding Hands” video.

I believe that as human beings, we find different things romantic, and we all show our love in different ways. I’ve always taken pride in presenting all the uniqueness in every wedding, and in every couple I take. To me, there is no ONE way to shoot or edit a wedding, there are a myriad of ways, and it is my own limitation as an artist to interpret it in my own limited way, based on my own experiences.

I guess when it comes down to it, having couples that trust me is like finding a mate in a marriage. They take me as who I am, all my quirks, all my flaws and all the beauty as well. Beauty as how I define it. The simple, raw beauty that is in our simple everyday lives.

Increasingly, I find that my work attracts people who feel comfortable with themselves, and know how to love and laugh freely. I’m truly blessed to have been found by many such couples, some of whom have become good friends, and I do hope to continue with many more!

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So Angelina Jolie looks so cool doing the kneeling down move on top
of a moving train, so there are a lot of “bullet time” moments à la
all the Matrix wannabes out there. Popcorn movie trash… true?

False! Thankfully! I wanted to watch this film because director’s
Timbor Bekmambetov’s previous work – the Night Watch series
was a visual feast. But still, I was shocked that this movie blew
my mind away.

First few scenes, the story feels a lot like the Matrix. Man crashing
through the glass window, jumping from building to building… Bullet
time. Stylistic framing. Office drone, Wesley, living a meaningless life.

But the cinematography and sound design was amazing. Very tight
shots for tension. Shaky, tilted shots for disorientation (yes,
TILTED… on purpose! Off topic: I have been criticized for doing
too many tilted shots. Yes, guilty as charged! I don’t know where
I picked up the habit from, some shots actually made sense, but a
lot did not.)

Sound design was superb. At this moment, I can only remember the
sounds of the stapler and the beating of the heart. The sound
engineering involved in the slowing down of action sequences.

The tight editing is also to be commended.

There are so many elements to pick up that I would probably have to
watch it again. I will be keeping a close eye on Timbor Bekmambetov’s
future work. He’s like the Russian answer to Luc Besson!

Did you know I am a great fan of Luc Besson? Now you know!

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Watched this animation a while back.

Kung Fu again? Enough already, you say? That was what I felt. But
the two names, Jack Black and Dreamworks Animation, still drew me in.
I still had to go and watch this. And I must say, it was quite refreshing.

It worked on many levels, and in my opinion, successful because it
appeals to the adult, the child, the Asian and the Americans. I did
not feel a bad taste in my mouth like some of the Asian-inspired or
Asian-themed movies Hollywood churns out… (e.g. Forbidden Kingdom?)

Of course, the story covers familiar ground, nothing new. But the
journey there was fun. Stylistically, Dreamworks have brought their
work to the next level. The visual design is stunning. Deceptively
simple Every environment was minimal in its elements, yet detailed
and realistic. I especially loved the last scene. (Watch all the credits
scroll by, there is a last scene at the very end.)

The musical score by Hans Zimmer was also good, a mix of Chinese
instruments and western. But please… how many more times do we
have to listen to Kung Fu Fighting??

“Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting… Hii YA!”

To be a mediocre videographer, I just needed to get the basic skills, basic framing, what are close ups, medium shots, and long shots, and how to use a varied assortment to bring the audience through an event. In other words, I just need to be an average cameraman. Technically, I must have to ability to hold still shots, as well as simple panning movements. I would also need to watch out for sounds, making sure I have the levels right, to capture the sounds of the moment.

To be a better videographer, I would have to be able to edit well too. Sensing the flow of events, choosing the best moments. Someone was quoted on the Discovery Channel series American Choppers as saying the team of editors is THE most important element in a reality TV show. I fully agree with that. A good editor can make “sucky” footage good, but good footage, excellent. A good editor needs to have an understanding of music as well, learning how to use sound to tie the whole video together.

To be an excellent videographer, there is a combination of everything, the ability to capture the precious moments of the wedding in a “true” manner, and do even better than that, in a BEAUTIFUL manner. When there are insufficient moments, an excellent videographer is able to work with the subjects to create some sequences.

In other words, to be excellent in what we do, we have to be good:-
Cameramen
Editor
Director
Director of Photography
Sound Engineer

and above all, an Artist, meaning all of the above but at a higher aesthetic level

We have to be able to pull together different genres of audio visual media out there, from movies, to TV dramas, to reality TV. The video is good when it is able to tell a story,
tug at the emotions of the audience,
making people laugh and cry,
feel awe and warmth,
be entertaining,
be beautiful.

I am in awe with the people at the top out there. Christopher and Swee Foong are definitely there in my books. I cannot compare good wedding videographers with any other people in the audio visual (TV, Film, Advertising etc…) industry, in my opinion, wedding videographers are a class of their own.

All I could say was, there are videos and there are VIDEOS.

Really. I have been wondering about this for a while now. How does a 6K
videographer justify for charging so much more than the 600 guy?

I think the difference, of course is in the experience, but I think the difference
is much more about the attitude of the videographer, which affects shooting
style too.

First of all, a disclaimer, I do not claim to be an expert in film. I only know how
to enjoy film, and I have a passion for film. I am aware that film is a vast area of
study, and I am but an empty vessel in all the theory on approach to filmmaking.
A conversation with my friend Marc (who studies film) is enough to reveal that I
am ignorant of all the theories and the terminology of filming.

I am slowly feeling my way at solving some the questions I wanted answered as
I was working on my videos. How do they do this in TV?

That’s how I learn. Studying in school is faster, of course, but maybe later.

I have been working on developing a better sense at composition
of frames in my work. I am actually just following in the footsteps of my sifu, Christopher.
He has moved on to capturing images at more expressive angles.

I am working to learn from the true greats. Wong Kar Wai is one name I can think from
the top of my head.

In The Mood For Love Trailer

Another is M. Night Shyamalan. I didn’t know how to express it at that time, but I knew
he made a conscious choice of camera angles to portray certain emotions in his scenes.

Scene from Unbreakable

Now the struggle I have is that in covering an event like a wedding, I had to make sure
that the events are covered fully, and that I do not miss anything, and also that I do
not use too much tape, or else my editing will be too tough.