When I started Midnight Magic Studios back in 2001, I didn’t want to be just another wedding videographer. I wanted to stand out, do something completely different with wedding videos. So, I sat out to do as much research as possible about wedding videos in the East Tennessee area. I talked to other videographers, looked at their web sites to see what they did and what they offered. I talked to brides and newlyweds. I wanted to know what they wanted from their wedding video, what they liked and what they didn’t like.
I then started looking nationally in different cities across the country. What were others doing with wedding video? What was popular? What worked and what didn’t work? I wanted to learn as much as possible. The first six months of the business was spent on research. So what did I find out?
One of the first things I heard from brides and newlyweds alike was that they wanted a choice. So many of them told me that they purchased a package deal that had a few of the elements of the video they wanted, but it also had something’s they didn’t really want, but they paid for it anyway.
They also said they felt rushed to get their day in as quickly as possible. They told me that the packages they purchased had time limits on them. Some had 6 hours, some had 8 hours and that included the ceremony, pre ceremony and reception. They felt like they were missing out on things or having to stage things so they could meet the time deadline.
Newlyweds said that many times they only watched the video once or maybe twice because it was so hard to watch. When asked why, their response was “all the things flying around the screen and graphics got to be too much to watch”. I have to admit, I watched some of them and it was true, there were so many special effects that you forgot to watch the wedding and started watching for the next special effect to come along.
When I was looking at other videographers web sites I noticed that none of them said one word about editing. That made me think, isn’t editing one of the most important things about a video? You’ve heard the saying about reality show, “editing can make look good or look bad, it is all up to the editor.”
Now that I had compiled all this information I knew right off what I could do to stand out in the East Tennessee area:
First, I offer choice. You have a choice about everything in your video. I have a menu of items, or elements, that you can look at and create your own package. This allows you to invest only in the elements that mean the most to you.
You also have a choice with your music. They say music is only second next to smell to make us think of a place or person. There are days I’m sure when you are driving around town and a song comes on the radio that takes you back in time to a special moment in your life. For the moment you are taken back in time to the place and more times than not, you get a smile on your face. A song can evoke so much emotion. Love is the strongest emotion we have and we all have a song that makes us think of someone special. When you hear that song, your mind goes to thinking about him immediately.
Next, we don’t limit your day to just a few hours. Our day starts when you say. I have done 5-hour days and I have done 18-hour days shooting a wedding. I have had brides want me there when they wake up, others want it to start at the breakfast, or the salon, it doesn’t matter.
Our day ends when yours does. We are shooting video right up to the point you leave on your honeymoon. We don’t stage any; let me repeat that, we don’t stage ANY event at your wedding. You day is captured as it happens. That means we not only get you walking down the aisle, but we also get that special moment you had with your mom in the dressing room just before the wedding starts. We get your groom and his best man doing what guys do, acting silly. We get it all.
When it comes to the reception, we get all the special events: cake cutting, first dance, introductions, toasts and anything else that goes on at the reception. At a wedding I did recently I saw something done at the reception I had never seen before. Seems that in Canada the bride and groom serve their guest the wedding cake after it has been cut. This gives the bride and grooms a chance to meet and thank everyone who was at their wedding. They also serve the cake with hot tea.
Our style of video is what I call a “Classic” video. I don’t use special effects, flying graphics or anything to take away from your wedding. Special effects and graphics age over time. They loose their glamor and “flash” the older your video becomes. The look of the special effects will look the same, but you will tire of them and soon you won’t watch the video because you can’t stand the flying bible that opens to your wedding. The video I create for you is a work of art. I’ve heard them called a mini-movie many times. The video is timeless, something you can watch over and over again.
Next, I became a certified video editor. I choose the Mac platform because it is geared to working with video. Final Cut Pro was the natural choice to go with the Mac, it was designed by professional editors for professional editors. I went to a week long intensive training session to become certified as a Final Cut Editor, Level 1. I am now working on Level 2 so that I can do more and provide more choices for the brides I work with.
Then last, but certainly not least, is my focus on customer service. I strive for nothing less the 100% customer satisfaction. You will never hear me say, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” If I don’t know how to do something you want to have in your video, I will find out how to do and get it to you in a timely manor.
How many times have you called a company only to get into voice mail hell? Push one for this, two for that and so on. I can’t stand that any more than you can, that is why when you need to get in touch with me, all you have to do is call one number. That number goes to my cell phone and that phone is with me at all times. I may be with someone or in a meeting when you call and you will get my voice mail, but I promise you will get a call back from me as soon as possible.
I don’t have an office staff; I don’t have someone taking messages for me, I am the one you will talk with every time you need anything or have a question about something. I once worked with a photographer at a wedding that never spoke to the bride until the day of the wedding. Can you image hiring someone to shoot your pictures and not being able to meet that person until the DAY of your wedding?
I also have the experience needed to provide you with the best DVD possible. I have been in love with video since the early 1980’s, kept it as a hobby into my adult life. I started doing wedding videos for family and friends mostly as a gift, but also because I enjoyed doing the editing. My friends and family told me over and over again that I should do this as a profession, but I fought it for the longest time because I didn’t want to turn a hobby into a job. Then one day I found a quote that changed my entire life: “Find something you love to do and you will never work another day in your life”.
I went back to school to learn video production technology, took a position with Jewelry Television in the production department. After 4 years there, I moved to a major cable network based here in Knoxville and stayed with them for 3 years. In 2006 I decided to work with Midnight Magic Studios full time.
Most of all I love what I do and I have a passion for my work. I work tirelessly to make sure your video is everything you thought it could be and more. Contact me today and lets start making wedding day a memory to last a lifetime.
