Gary and Carol - 50 Years Together

Gary and Carol McFarland are my in-laws and are celebrating 50 years of marriage this year. We just had a great party for them at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building this evening and I was asked to put together a life story for them. Rather than take a completely linear approach to a life story, we focused on a Q and A that would make for a more entertaining film, rather than a traditional "timeline" approach. As a result, we captured some pretty funny stuff. If your inclined, and have about 15 minutes, take a look.

My wife Rebecca takes a lot of credit here as well. She performed the interviews, while I ran the technical side of everything.

I hope you enjoy it.

Best, Ryan

Jared and Mindy - The Teaser

Call me crazy, but I've been hoping to find a time to use a little Punch Drunk Love music in a wedding film. Well, more specifically the song "He Needs Me" from the Robert Altman movie Popeye, which was allocated for the Hawaiian encounter in Punch Drunk Love. It's the perfect romantic piece, or at least I think so. Dreamy and ethereal, it has a fantasy-like quality that I thought was perfect for a short teaser of Jared and Mindy's wedding day.

I'm not much for your run of the mill stuff, so a little mash up of their temple wedding with my own selection of music was a nice reprieve. Mind you, this isn't the video I delivered to them, just a fun reinvention of a blazing hot wedding day. Sweating bullets for two hours. And not one overheating of the camera (a technical thing). Amazing.

It was a pleasure Jared and Mindy. And I'm always up for the occasional same day edit. Keeps me on my editing toes.

Blake and Alex - The Interviews

So I have a lot of affection for this couples story I did for Blake and Alex. First off, they drove 3 hours to get it done. We then sat in the blazing sun - in a remote and dusty field - for another two hours. It was a painstaking process, but the payoff was well worth it. I had in my head a certain look for this story and managed to literally stumble across an abandoned house and enormous shed in the middle of nowhere. The perfect location. After scaring off a beautiful, pure-white barn owl, we managed to capture on of my favorite interview sessions. Pure gold.

Thanks for choosing me to do your story Blake and Alex. It was a beautiful, dusty dream.

Photography Demo for Brody

So we just finished this little piece of goodness yesterday. Two half-days of shooting and a few sporadic weeks of editing and we are done.

Brody approached me with the idea of making a demo for his studio. Something to show his clients, put on the web, play at shows, whatever.

This is the beauty that comes from a controlled setting. Which is why I recommend pre-shoots and couples stories so much. They allow you the freedom to "custom build" a piece of work. With that said, the documentary elements within this film and others I do make the final piece what it is. It fulfills the "time" and "place" needs that any reality-based piece needs.

I'm waxing philosophical here. Too many hours in film theory classes (thanks for that Andre Bazin). Anyway, enjoy it. Take it in. Consider doing something with us that gives your wedding day, baby's birth, family story a life of it's own. Something you can revisit for years to come.

Best,

Ryan

Micah + Brittney - Their Story

So I could do these couples stories all day. I love the fact that we can spend an afternoon together and make something that can be enjoyed at the wedding, as well as a stand alone piece for years to come. I'm excited for Micah and Brittney's kids to see these many years from now.

Considering finals and graduation were a week away, I'm impressed how comfortable they both were. What a fun time. Best of luck Micah and Brittney. We'll see you in Vegas next week.

Best, Ryan

Spring Special!

For a limited time, all of our half-day and full-day packages include one of our custom made photo histories. A great way to share your life with your reception guests!

Do you just need the photo history? They are only 50 bucks per song for a limited time.

Take a look!

Jarom + Katie

So this is the cool couple. Jarom and Katie met in California while both of them were working in the "industry". The film industry. Very, very cool. Katie is an actress and Jarom works in visual effects.

It gets cooler.

Jarom worked on Avatar. And Katie is an actress. And they are very genuinely nice and good people. Enough said.

This is a Couples Story that we did a few days before their wedding (yes I crammed to get this done). These couples stories are a great way to have your guests get to know you, as well as having this amazing memento for your family and children to revisit. These interviews really transcend the wedding day and give you something that is not event-specific. I love doing these. Perhaps my favorite part of working with couples.

Enjoy.

Ryan

Jacob and Candice - Bountiful, Utah

So this wedding was a simple affair. Moments with the family in the morning, temple wedding in the afternoon and casual dinner at The Pointe Restaurant in the evening. In many ways a perfect wedding.

This is a shortened edit of their wedding day. Great speeches at the dinner that night and a very loving family to share in their happiness.

Ryan

The Randy Despain Tribute to The King of Pop

So here's the deal. It's no secret that Randy Despain at Brody Dezember Photography absolutely loves, loves, loves Michael Jackson. However, the last thing I need is a tribute at the last wedding we shot together. Check it out.

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