Seth and JoDee - Deer Valley, Utah - Highlight Reel

Sigh. I have been in the editing mire. Catching up from weddings months ago. The swine flu about 6 weeks ago didn't help. I felt off for about 3 weeks, and it pushed my editing back a little more. With that said, it was time to post something. It has been forever.

I am feverishly (no flu pun intended) working on Seth and JoDee's highlight video, and finished this highlight reel of the entire day. It's the 14-hour wedding condensed into about 4 minutes. This wedding was in Park City, and I worked my behind off on this one. Back and forth between hotels, wind at the ceremony, lighting issues (a light cord melted during the reception), and on and on.

Thanks to Brody for the photos. If you book him, I include the photos (at his discretion) for no extra fee. Otherwise, there is a small extra editing fee to have your photos included (it takes much more time to edit them into the final piece).

I hope you enjoy it.

Greg and Kailee - Salt Lake Temple

Camille Stepan is a good friend of mine. Kailee is Camille's cousin. So I had some reason to take good care of Greg and Kailee. Again, a great wedding, with a nice overcast day (which makes my job so much easier).

I'm on this Patrick Watson kick right now, which explains the song choice. He has some great mellow songs, that lend themselves well to wedding teasers like this. This one is called Big Bird in a Small Cage.

Thanks for having me Greg and Kailee. Your wedding for me was sort of a reunion. It allowed me to see old friends, who also happen to be your family members.

Ryan

Valiant and Leah - Log Haven, Utah

I posted this video to Facebook weeks ago, but somehow overlooked that it never ended up on my blog. I really loved this wedding and was so grateful to be a part of it. The whole day it poured buckets, but just minutes before the ceremony it cleared up and was totally beautiful. Yeah, it drizzled a bit after the ceremony and throughout the reception, but the canvas coverings over the patio at Log Haven kept us nice and dry.

This is an ideal edit of what you may expect with a single camera ceremony. Highlights, snippets of audio, etc. Enjoy!

Rob and Jessica - Twin Falls Idaho

So this was my 24-hour Idaho wedding - up and back in less than 24 hours. And it was HOT. Probably the hottest wedding I have attended this year. I'm guessing it was 95-100 degrees with absolutely no shade at the Twin Falls Temple. Ouch.

Still, Rob and Jessica were just a fun couple to hang out with. They braved the high temperatures and the beautiful Snake River was the perfect backdrop for a backyard wedding like no other.

This is a teaser of the entire day. A non-linear edit of all of the events - kind of like a video photo album of some of the best parts of the day. Enjoy.

The Pre-Roll

So I am cleaning off some files on the old desktop and just had to post this outtake of a webisode we shot of Brody at the La Caille show back in January. It just cracked me up when I watched it today. The crazy thing is that when we actually started rolling, every thing he said went perfectly fine. It's just the before stuff that took forever. Funny stuff.

David Perry of David Perry Films was doing a shoot as well the same day, and pops in and out of the video.

Just random goofiness here - nothing of earth-shattering importance (Hence the web video quality). Enjoy.

Barry and Reshma - Their Wedding Teaser

So yeah, I'm a softy. You know, the kind of guy who gets choked up at the end of a movie, but claims to have something in his eye? Okay, so the Godfather chokes me up! Big deal.

My point is, there are some occasions when I attend weddings and I find myself getting a little lump in my throat at least once or twice. Barry's and Reshma's wedding was one of those. Perhaps it was my first Hindu wedding. Perhaps it was the colors. I'm leaning towards the sense of collaboration and community that manifests itself during these weddings. People flew from all over the world to see this couple get married. In Utah! Barry's family is from Ireland (his parents were so incredibly kind) and Reshma had family come in from India. Wow.

What happens when I feel this collaboration taking place is it allows me to get more story-driven footage. The need for the traditional cake cuttings, bouquet and garter tosses aren't needed as the sense of community that you feel at the wedding comes through in the edited piece.

Enough said. This was one of my favorite weddings to shoot. The reason for the short teaser is because the finished video clocked in at about 25 minutes - the longest wedding video I have ever done (by at least 10 minutes). Enjoy.

Scott and Brittany - The Cool Kids

So this couple is just plain cool. Scott and Brittany gave me some great music ideas, which makes the editing process much more enjoyable. It also makes me work just a little harder at making a really complete wedding "film". The song for this teaser video is by a group called Band of Horses. Really killer song.

Their wedding was at the Salt Lake Temple with a luncheon and reception to follow at Noah's in South Jordan.

Enjoy!

Great Article On Signs of a Doomed Wedding

I just ran into this great article on Yahoo today about signs of a doomed marriage. It essentially details 5 tell-tale indications - based on experience from a wedding coordinator - that your marriage could be in trouble from day one.

Some things to think about as you make plans for the big event.

Check it out here.

Ryan

Chase and Brooke - April 30th, 2009

The wedding of Chase and Brooke at the Salt Lake Temple (are you seeing a trend here?), with a luncheon that followed at La Caille Restaurant. A great couple, with great family members to share in their special day. The spring flowers were popping, the birds were out at La Caille and the colors were spectacular.

Spencer and Jenney

Spencer and Jenney were a joy to work with. I could tell as soon as I met Jenney that she was a special person - so positive and upbeat the whole day. Even a snowstorm midday couldn't break the good vibe of the day's events.

I shot this video with Brody as the photographer on the event, so we interspersed the video with his stills. The following video is a teaser of the entire day and can be seen on the theater page of my website.

Enjoy.

Mark and Shanna - Wedding Day Teaser

Here's a short teaser of Mark and Shanna's wedding that I threw together for the blog. Expect to see more of these in the coming months. It's a great way for me to highlight my documentary-style weddings, without having to post the 10-20 minute edit of the entire day. I am also planning to modify my package offerings in the future to include a teaser that covers the wedding in about 3 1/2 to 5 minutes (depending on the song length).

This is one of those weddings that we as wedding filmmakers live for. It was overcast, which is great for lighting, and the couple was just awesome. I tend to lay back at weddings as things naturally unfold, so I sometimes don't have a ton of interaction with the bride and groom. This was one of those weddings. However, I think with Mark and Shanna this was advantageous, as they were so interactive with each other and we always appreciate happy couples.

Enjoy,

Ryan

Mark and Shanna - Wedding Teaser - XH-A1 at 24f. from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Doc-Style Weddings

So I have been editing Shanna and Mark's wedding video and I finally got to the garter toss and absolutely love this clip. Mark is a total crack up with the garter and this single clip really defines why I do documentary-style wedding videos. This was really outside of the realm of textbook Utah wedding reception. It was a true party - loads of dancing and just plain fun.

Take a moment and watch the clip below. There are no rapid cuts, no slow-motion effects, no staged event on my part. Just Mark and Shanna and an enthusiastic crowd. This video is one continuous take. Yes, I did add some film damage effects to the video, but merely for visual enhancement and not intended to detract from the event as it unfolds.

This is why I do documentary wedding videography. It is your event as it really happened.

Mark and Shanna's wedding - The garder toss. from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Stay Healthy

So I realize this is the downer blog post of the season, but it seems more relevant than ever. I know people are thinking we have survived the cold months and it is time to look forward to good weather with only allergies to think about, but the swine flu is still nothing to take lightly. I know people will call me a little paranoid, but so what. I will say my peace then let you take what you want from it.

Consider for a second that there is an immense amount of hugging, shaking hands, kissing and talking closely in a wedding environment. During episodes where illness is being passed around, wedding events actually are hot beds for transmitting colds, the flu, etc. As hundreds of people pass through your wedding line, not only are you shaking hands with every one, but essentially they are shaking hands with everyone you just greeted as well.

Perhaps this is a great time to consider introducing subtle ways to combat a few bugs that might show up at your wedding. Putting a bottle of Purell next to the guest book, or smaller bottles in the center of every table at the event. Also, as the bride and groom, ocassionally rubbing some over your hands as the night progresses. Such a small way to keep everyone a little bit cleaner, but I can guarantee that those bottles will get used and your guests will take notice of your interest in keeping them healthy.

Not intended to scare anyone, just a posting to keep us all a little bit safer. Best wishes with your wedding planning.

Ryan

DJ Recommendation

So I just shot a wedding last night at Wadley Farms and wanted to make a recommendation on a DJ I worked with there last night. I rarely make recommendations on DJ's because I have had such hot and cold experiences with them in the past, but this guy was really great. He managed to keep the party going, pull of all of the events (bouquet, garter, send-off) with ease and never made the reception about him. There were no recitations of lame praises for the bride and groom, no efforts to make himself the crazy DJ. He also made sure that both myself and the photographer there had a schedule of every important event going on throughout the evening and even made sure the bride and groom were in the right places for lighting purposes. As a result, Mark and Shanna Warr's reception went off without a hitch. If there was one, not one guest knew it.

His name is Stretch and his company is Ablaze Entertainment. His website is www.DJonFire.com. I hope to see him at more wedding events in the future.

Ryan

Tyler and Lauren

So here's a clip from Tyler and Lauren's wedding. This couple was absolutely perfect to work with. The weather was beautiful and they, along with their family and friends really enjoyed the day. This was shot at McCarty Salon on Foothill, in the bride's room at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and finally at the Salt Lake Temple.

The photography is by Brody Dezember at www.dezemberphoto.com.

Tyler and Lauren's Wedding from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Stacey Petersen's Demo for Dezember Photo

So we just finished this video last night for Brody Dezember's new website. Stacey Petersen is a photographer for Brody and was the last one in the office to need a demo for her "bio" page.

We shoot this at various locations around Salt Lake City and in a cool alley across from the old ZCMI Center. The song is Great DJ by the Ting Tings.

Stacey Petersen's Demo from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Can't Wait

Seriously, I can't wait for this film. This one has been sitting in post-production purgatory for almost 2 years. The studio didn't like it, reshoots, re-edits, compromises.

Finally we get to see it, chopped or not. The book was a centerpiece of my childhood reading. I just remember going back to it so many times. The artwork was so captivating. The concept of a boy my age roaming with monsters was so scary, yet engaging.

Love it. Can't wait. Have I said this already? I can't wait.

Randy's Demo

So here it is. The demo we shot over 3 months ago and I just recently got around to editing.

It is "Fight Club meets Wedding Video", down to the "Call Randy" message that comprises only 2 frames of screentime.

This video is also available on Brody Dezember's new website - which totally kills by the way.

Randy Despain's Demo from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Michael and Sara's Wedding

So I have a lot of affection for this couple. They were actually happy at their wedding and I didn't have to prompt them to smile at all. This helps so much! It is the difference between forced and staged events and the truest form of documenting an event - uninterrupted reality.

The music for this piece is the capstone. This is what makes a wedding video truly timeless - music that reflects the nature of the event, versus the musical leanings of the bride and groom. To understand that, watch any Wes Anderson movie.

We shot this at the Salt Lake Temple and the Provo City Library - a seriously cool location for a wedding reception (it's big!).

Michael and Sara from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

Charles' and Kristy's Wedding

So I never posted this video to my website, but it is seriously one of my favorites. It rained cats and dogs (and more cats and dogs) that day. More rain than I have ever seen at a wedding. Nevertheless, it was quite the party and Kristy and Charles were troopers and could see past the moisture.

You will notice that photos (and many others) are incorporated into the video. They are courtesy of Brody Dezember and I do this look as an added value when you book me along with Brody.

Their wedding was at Log Haven. Here it is.


Charles and Kristy from Ryan Hinman on Vimeo.

New Blog

Ho Hum,
So here we are again. I have had to repost my blog once more. My previous blog home was Vimeo, but they have done away with the text-posting abilities of their service. So, sigh, we are now at blogspot and this looks like it will be home now.

In all fairness my favorite blog - blu sky disney - is a blogspot affair and I love it for its simplicity. No flashy banners, no extra this and that, Just information and beautiful imagery to accompany ever post. I just love it. And I am there often. Take a look if you get some time.