Protected: Atefeh and Mohammed

Paul and Yuki

Love these couples! Giving us all the time in the world to do the photos…. and yes this was 3 hours after their wedding.
More photos in a few days.

Videography is a must!

I do get this often from couples with a very tight budget, “We don’t want a wedding video!”

I know I have to uphold the wishes of my clients, but I believe it’s also my job to educate them on modern day videography. So here are my thoughts to all those out there thinking about not having wedding video.

Today’s modern videographer goes by many titles — cinematographer, visual artist, filmmaker, storyteller. Whatever you want to call us, we all have our own unique way of telling your story. Your wedding day is a story in itself that must be told. There is something for everyone and every budget. It’s just a matter of setting your priorities straight.

I say this with full conviction: VIDEOGRAPHY IS A MUST! “A wedding is a LIVE event, you wouldn’t go to the movies to watch a picture!”

Before everything else, photographs of your wedding are priceless, beautiful, and definitely much-needed. I cannot contest that truth. However, even the best photographer can’t capture the sound of your laughter, the emotional crackling sound of your voice when you say your vows or your father’s toast of how he remembers you when you were still a baby in his arms and how he dreaded the day you would walk down the aisle. Imagine this: a video shoots 50 frames per second (at least in this part of the world!) That’s 50 pictures per second! So in one minute you already have 3,000 photos! If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth…you do the math! An experienced wedding videographer knows how to capture every raw and true moment of your wedding. These moments get pieced together to evoke an emotion. Aside from the obvious benefits of hiring an expert (i.e. professional equipment, experienced eye, dedicated shooter, editing skills) a wedding video has the magical ability to make those ethereal moments tangible all over again.

Sometimes I wonder if couples still think video is the same as it was in the 80’s. Unfortunately, that style is still true here in the Middle East. Think about this, videography has only been around for a little over 25 years. THAT’S IT! So because of it’s infancy, people remember the cheesy edited videos and the image of a video guy holding a giant camera with cords and a spotlight attached to it. People still think bigger cameras are better, which is not always the case . If that does not appeal to you, then there are fantastic options nowadays, and they’re totally everywhere! People may have a dozen reasons why they shouldn’t have a videographer, but sometimes fail to remember why they should. I make it my duty to tell clients why they need it and why it’s just as important as photography. Here’s a great tip: “If budget does not permit for videography, then perhaps it’s time to revisit the spreadsheet and cut down on the nice-to-haves which you can do without during your big day.”

We offer lots of options. The FABULOUS options are:

1) Long Form videos: These are the traiditional videos your parents would think of when you say video. Typically long and boring to watch, yet, you get the entire day, ceremony, and reception to watch.

2) Highlight films: This is the most modern and popular form to date. The editor takes the best clips of the day and make an emotionally charged 20-40min film that anyone can watch without getting bored. There are lots of ways to customize this. All you have to do is talk to the videographer for more insights (i.e. raw footage, adding full ceremony as a separate chapter on dvd). Let them know what you want!

3)Same Day Edit : This is my absolute favorite for those of you who “don’t want a video” , with a bonus option for those who want a little something different at their wedding. The S.D.E. basically captures the wedding day up until the first dance. All the while, they are being edited behind the scenes so that at a scheduled time slot, a screen is produced and everyone gets to watch a 4-8minute highlight of the entire day right there and then! This is always a memorable tear jerker and show stopper! Another option I’ve seen is to show it the next day at brunch reception (called appropriately Next Day Edit). The bonus is that if you prefer, you can ask them to stay and film and work out a deal to collect the raw footage. It’s like getting the best of both worlds!

4) Love Stories: This is my second favorite option for those who “don’t want video”. It has the same effect and production value as the Same Day Edit but the difference is that it is filmed ahead of the wedding day and documents your life together prior to taking that leap of faith: how you met, how your relationship started, and how you realized you both want to take what you have to the next level. Your whole story is documented with music, emotion, and some very creative and funny cut-aways. The more humor you inject, the more entertaining your video will be 😀

There are other options to chose from. In fact, you can even think of a concept yourself and have your videographer execute it for you. This is definitely one of those “you get what you pay for” industries. So please, after you hire a wedding planner, go get a videographer in parallel with a photographer. There are no take 2’s in a wedding. No rewind button to play. It’s painful to regret in the end.

Watch this video and you’ll understand the power of video. After you watch, imagine what you would’ve missed if this were just a still picture!

December 30th 2010

What’s up with this date? Seriously.

I got a meeting with Hamdy yesterday, and yes, you can guess his wedding date is on the 30th of December. And today, I got 1 call and 2 emails of inquiries for our wedding photography and videography packages in Dubai of the same day.

The day I started Studio K, I vowed to ensure the quality of our production and on-time delivery to clients. Team Studio K, with its current size, will never spread ourselves too thin and compromise the output we will deliver to our clients who placed their trust in us. At the moment, we will only handle a maximum of two weddings a day.

So yes, only one slot left for 30th December 2010.

Edit: Sorry, no more slots for 30th December 2010. We’re all booked already.

Venue Meeting: Paul + Yuki

We had a venue meeting 2 days ago with Paul + Yuki at my first ever shoot in Dubai Golf Club this coming November. Really excited!!!! 🙂

I love the greens + water + boats + sunset!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Soooo many ideas running into my mind when I saw the venue. I already pictured how we’re gonna cover this one. Giddy excited much? 🙂
Paul + Yuki also gave a few photo samples that they wanted. We value our clients’ wishes and dreams about their big day, and we will ensure they’ll get what they want (and hit it up one notch higher).

Paul explaining to us what’s going to happen on the wedding day.

Bollywood Wedding Video Trailer: Chareeka and Nicholas

Just 12 days after our 4-day wedding event in Dubai, we were able to deliver this video with a total of 500gb of High Definition data. We managed to finish our first Indian wedding video trailer under Studio K, which now counts as my career’s 9th Indian wedding shoot so far. Best part is this one was all indoor, so no sun burn for me!!! 😀

Multiple day / venue:
Day 1: Villa in Jumeriah (9pm to 1am)
Day 2: Surprise shower party at Atlantis Hotel (4pm to 2am)
Day 3: Chareeka’s residence for the Mindhi (11am to 4pm) / Raffles Hotel for the PaRTy! (7pm to 3am)
Day 4: World Trade Center for the Wedding Ceremony (6am to 4pm) / Qamardeen Hotel for the Wine & Cheese Reception (7pm to 1am)

Noticed the timings on Day 3 and Day 4? 🙂 Yes, that is how crazy we are…CRAZY PASSIONATE with our craft.

Enjoy the video and don’t forget to leave a comment 🙂

Stop motion was inspired by Philip Bloom. Took me 3 hours at Atlantis Hotel to figure out how it was done.

Gave the client a slideshow also.

ITP Behind the scenes for the 2010 Top 50 Expat List

Took me 2 hours to do this video, 14 hrs to render and another 12 for the color correction. This video is made with a totally different style and approach compared to ITP’s regular video clips. Can you tell how proud I am of this clip? 😉

Bollywood Wedding: Chareeka and Nicholas

One of my top 5 Indian weddings.

From August 3 to 6 of non-stop celebration.

Thursday and Friday’s shoot were bloody. I started the day at 10am and ended the following day at 2am. We went home to back up the memory cards and charge the batteries. I felt like I was dumped with a cold bucket of water when I saw the time and realized it’s already 430am. Call time is 6am! Just took a quick one hour power nap, and went off again. MUST.NOT.DISAPPOINT.THE.COUPLE.

Schedule was hectic to say the least, and we never even had a chance to eat breakfast and lunch. I ended up eating at home around 4pm that day just in time to charge the batteries and back up the memory cards for another shoot at 6pm that same day. After the wedding, I hibernated for one whole day.

Here’s a few photo selection from that multi-day event.

[Show as slideshow]

Video Trailer: Amal + Nasser

Wedding Date: June 18th 2010
Reception Venue: Murjaan Ballroom
Preparation Location: Mina A’Salam
Makeup Artist: Huda Kattan
Hair Stylist: Rafi Fazaa
Wedding Planner: Cherry on Top

Photo Selection: Amal + Nasser

Wedding Date: June 18th 2010
Reception Venue: Murjaan Ballroom
Preparation Location: Mina A’Salam
Makeup Artist: Huda Kattan
Hair Stylist: Rafi Fazaa
Wedding Planner: Cherry on Top

[Show as slideshow]