Midnight Magic Videography | Knoxville TN wedding videography at its very best

Let me start off this blog by saying this; I am going to rant a little here. Nothing bad, just get a little bit of steam out of my system.

Now, if you know me you know that I am an Apple junkie.  I love Apple computers and all the gadgets that they have as well.  I have the iPod, iPad, AppleTV and so on.  I’m not saying that I just blindly buy an Apple product just because  Steve Jobs says I should buy it.  I look at each product, research it and see how it will fit in with our family’s lifestyle.  Well, when the new iPhone 4 was announced I wasn’t sure if it was really something I wanted to get. In fact, at first glance I decided not to get the phone. I thought it just wasn’t worth it at this point in time.

Well, over time I looked at it more and thought it was something I wanted to get to replace my current iPhone hoping that the reception and battery life would be better. When pre-orders were being taken, I jumped in and ordered one, and that is where this whole thing begins.

Now, to my thinking, when you reserve something that means you should get a bit of priority in getting your item and not have to wait for a long period of time for the item.  That is one of the reasons you call to make a reservation at a good restaurant  so you don’t have to wait for a table .  You arrive at your appointed time and go to your table ahead of the people who just show up hoping to get a table.  Well, that is what I thought would happen today for the big release of the new iPhone.  I didn’t go first thing this morning because I knew it would be a huge crowd  and didn’t want to just stand and wait so, Leeann and I decided to go at about noon thinking the crowd would be down and we wouldn’t have to wait that long. Boy, were we wrong.

When I walked into the mall I saw a very long line going toward The Apple store.  I thought that is the line for the people who didn’t make a reservation. So, I walked to the front door of The Apple Store and much to my surprise, that long line was for those who DID reserve the phone.  I couldn’t believe how long the line was.  But, it shouldn’t take long right? I mean, this is Apple after all.  They put their customers first and do everything to take care of them. Well, not today.

I waited in line for 2 hours 38 minutes. That’s right, over 2 and a half hours.  What I didn’t understand was, they have the phones in the store; I can activate the phone at home; they have little hand held point of sale devices, why not just go down the line and hand out the phone to those who reserved it?  Makes sense doesn’t it?  I mean, that would be the fastest way to serve the most customers in the shortest amount of time possible. Sounds like good customer service to me.

Apparently, Apple didn’t think this was a good idea.  What Apple wanted to do is get you in the store and try to sell you any product you didn’t have; new computer, iPod, AppleTV, anything they could think of.  Sorry, I already have all the items I want or need from Apple right now.  Just let me get my phone and let me go on my happy way.  So, after waiting in line two and half hours in line, it took another 30 minutes in the store to get everything set up and paid for.

Now, I was more than just a little mad and ticked off at the whole thing. That was until I found out how long the people who didn’t make a reservation had to wait.  As I was about to go into the store, I was talking with the couple behind Leeann and I, complaining how long we had to wait when the gentleman who was next to go in from the non reservation line told me he had been in line since 6:30am.  This guy had waited in line for 9 hours. 9 hours, in the mall, standing in line just to get a phone.

So, here are my thoughts on the whole thing; if you didn’t make a reservation you shouldn’t get the item the day it is released. And to Steve Jobs, we Apple fans already know what we need and what we want with the phone, we know all about AppleCare and Mobile Me. We just want to get our reserved item in a timely manor and get on with our lives.  There has to be a better way to do things like this and not have to stand in line for 9 hours.

Oh, in case you want to know, I really like my new iPhone and I do think it was worth the wait, Just has to be a better way to the masses.

It has been a long dry spell for my blog posting as of late. I could give a lot of excuses for not posting; Christmas holidays, family committments, year end work, floods, new additions to the family… the list could go on for days but the fact of the matter is I have just not had time to get in the postings I need to.  So let me take a few moments to catch you up on what has been going on with Midnight Magic Studios.

I had two great weddings to wrap up 2009 and they were connected in a really wonderful way.  I had booked a wedding for November 28th, with Ashley in the late summer.  She was just so excited about her wedding when we first met that I knew her wedding and reception was going to be just off the wall.  And it was.  Then, three weeks before her wedding, I got a call from a mother of the bride for a November 21st wedding.  I had the date open and was more than happy to help capture the day for her daughter Sarah.  As I was doing my planning I got a call from Ashley who asked me if I was doing a wedding on the 21st.  I told her I was and much to my surprise, Sarah is a friend of hers.  Not only that, but I was going to be working with the same photographer on both weddings, Kristen Overbay. I have worked with Kristen before and I know what a great job she does. Both weddings were great and I have just finished up both of their videos.  I still have some clean up work to do on both of them and they should be going out soon.

The Christmas holidays were great, but we had some huge changes here at home.  First, we had a new addition to the family: Boomer, who is a Snorkie.  I know you are asking… what is a Snorkie?  Well, he is a mix between a Yorkie and a ShiTzu, thus a Snorkie.  Boomer is a great addition and has added quite a lot of laughter to the house. The two other dogs are not laughing so much, but the adjustments are being made well.  Then, right before Christmas my wife’s car bit the dust.  It didn’t break down, it just got to the point where it was not safe to drive anymore… “frame fatique”.   So, the week of Christmas, we went car shopping which resulted in us a great Honda Accord that my wife is very happy with.

I hope 2010 is off to a great start for everyone.

I have just finished up two full days of classes and training here in Orlando at the beautiful Hilton Orlando with the WEVA EXPO.  I have had the chance to work with some of the top videographers in the country and around the world.  The classes I have taken are going to make me a better videographer and thus give you, the bride, a much better wedding video.

Our flight down here was nice, just a bit loud for some reason.  The people on the plane felt the need to talk very loud for some unknown reason and I was lucky enough to sit in front of an NFL kicker.  If he wasn’t a kicker, he should have been because he kicked me all the way from Knoxville to Orlando.  We got into Orlando after dark and on a Friday night so the guy at the rental car counter was nice enough to upgrade us into a very nice SUV that was brand new and only had 4 miles on it.  AWESOME!!!

We spent a couple of days at Leeann’s dad’s house where we were able to spend a couple of hours on the beach on Saturday.  Now, if you are living in Knoxville, you know that we have had a TON of rain.  I was hoping that going to Florida, the Sunshine State, we would get out of that.  NOPE.  Seemed like it would rain one minute and the next the sun would come out.  We were able to squeeze in a couple of hours of beach time with Katie before Leeann and I headed off to the hotel.

The sad part is we have to head home Thursday because I have a rehearsal for a Saturday wedding.

I have been so busy lately with meeting new brides and finishing up wedding that I have not had a chance to update the blog like I would have liked, so before I head off to Orlando, FL for a week I wanted to take a few minutes to catch everyone up to date on what’s be going on and what’s in store.

I have had several weddings the past couple of weeks and I will be posting some videos soon of those weddings.  The last one was last weekend with Star and Pina.  A great couple and a really fun wedding.  The wedding was at Middlebrook Gardens and it was held out on the front lawn under a rainy looking sky.  In fact, I checked my iPhone several times to make sure it wasn’t going to rain.  The amazing thing was the rain went around us.  The rest of the night was really fun as Star and Pina made the announcement that they were going to be the proud parents of a baby girl.  I wish them nothing but the best.

I finally finished up the Catholic/Hindu wedding.  That video ended up being over 3 and half hours long.  That is by far the longest video I have ever done.  I tell people it is 20 minutes shorter than “Titanic”.  The best part about that wedding was seeing a completely different culture and their wedding rituals. Most all of us have seen the Christian ceremony in some form or another, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and so on, but to see a different religion all together is a thrill.  I got to see how another culture looks at marriage, love, and how they praise their god.  I got to see where the importance is places on their families and how they set up their homes.  It was really fun, but also very educational as well.

Tomorrow, my family and I leave for Orlando to attend the 2009 WEVA EXPO. WEVA is the Wedding & Event Videographers Association.  This is a trade organization to represent wedding videographers and to also provides on going training to allow videographers to improve their skills.  I belong to WEVA for a number of different reasons, on going support from other professional around the world, a huge knowledge base to answer any question that may come up, but the biggest reason is because of it’s code of ethics.  Every member is sworn to uphold a list of ethics that puts the bride and the customer first.  You know that if your videographer is a member of WEVA, you know that you are going to get not only a great video, but also great customer service.  You are also going to get a very well trained and knowledge videographer who will know how to handle any and every situation that comes along.  You are getting a videographer who is dedicated to his/her craft and is determined to provide you with the best video possible.

I am going to be taking a lot of classes next week that will improve not only my camera skills, but also my editing and marketing skills.  This is going to make me a better videographer and a better wedding videographer.  I will try to update as much as possible next week from Orlando.  You can also check out my facebook page for updates as well.

I didn’t have any weddings this weekend and that is fine.  You have to have a break every now and then, so I took the free weekend to do some much needed yard work and get our pool up and running fo the summer.  Most years I have it up and already running by now, but this spring has been busy and wet, lots of much needed rain.  That has put me way behind in my spring yard clean up, so I took today to get caught up.

If you have never opened an above ground pool, there is so much that has to be done.  There is a winter cover on the pool, it is designed to keep the fall leaves out of the pool. The problem with it is that while it keeps the leaves out, it also keeps the rain water from going anywhere.  So, it ponds up in the cover and before you can take the cover off you have to drain all the water out of the cover and since I was behind it had gotten kinda smelly and gross.

While I was draining the pool I needed to get a couple of things for the pool, things like chemicals, a pool vacuum to just name a couple of the items I needed.  While I was at The Pool Place I noticed that they were short handed and a little busy.  Most pool places are busy this time of year so you have to have some patience.  I got all the items I needed and went to pay for them and got in line behind a lady that must have been having a bad day.  Here is what I saw happen;  she was getting some parts and chemicals for her pool.  From what I could hear the guy in the parts department give her the parts and told her they were $3 and some change.  When she got to the register they were closer to $4.50 which cause her total to be $10 more then she had calculated in her head. That set her off into a whole new world of pissed off.  The owner of the store was the person who quoted her the price and his wife was the person checking her out. The owners wife told her she was sorry, these were the prices of the items, but since the owner quoted her the price, they would go a head and charge her the price the owner quoted.  Seems like the right and the nicest thing to do, right?

This woman didn’t see it that way, she saw it as if the owner was doing her wrong and the person checking her out was accusing her of trying to get something for nothing.  She went on and on for a good 15 minutes.  She kept saying she had been using this store for 26 years, that she had spent over $300 last night at the same store.  This woman was going on about $10 for goodness sake.  It got to a point where those of us in line behind her started to laugh a bit, I mean it was $10.  Finally, the guy in line behind me jumped up and pulled a $10 from his wallet and slapped in on the counter and said, “here, I’ll pay the $10 if you will shut up and get out of there!”.  She got this look of total disbelief on her face and said, “well, I never….”.  The guy without missing a beat said, “yea, no kidding, maybe you should.”.  She huffed out of the store and we all just kinda of laughed as she left.

That would have been enough for a great blog post, but it got better.  When I got home I wanted to finish up the pool stuff and ran into a huge snag.  I drained as much water as possible from the cover.  I thought I had enough out, but I was wrong.  I pulled as much of the cover off that I could, but it would not come out due to the amount of water in the cover.  I asked Leeann to help me and we pulled but, it would not come out.  We tried everything we could think of but nothing worked so that left only one option; one of us had to get in the pool and push while the other one pulled the cover out.  Well, being the wonderful husband I am, I jumped in the pool.  To say the water was COLD is an understatement.  To try and stay a little warm I kept my shorts, shoes and shirt on, it didn’t help.  Well, after about 10 minutes of pushing, pulling and scoping out a bunch of gross water, the cover came out.

Some days I love being a homeowner, other days I wished we rented this house and someone else had to do all the work around here.  But, in the end it is worth it, even the pool which is running as I type this blog.   This July when it is hot as all get out, it will be worth it.

My alarm clock went off this morning at 6am to the sound of the news guy telling us that we were in Blackberry Winter.  I was half asleep and all I heard was winter.  To me, winter means COLD air.  That means jackets, long sleeve shirts and such.  I turned on the TV but, didn’t really pay attention to the station it was on or the girl doing the weather.  I just heard he say “Blackberry Winter”.  So, as I got ready to take KT to school I was prepared for some cold air.  Much to my surprise, as I walked out the door it was just in the 40′s.

What the heck is Blackberry Winter anyway?  When did we start giving a cold snap names?  We always called these things “cold snaps” because that is what they were.  I grew up in central Indiana and I can tell you, with pretty good confidence, what winter is and this is not winter.  It is a cold snap plain and simple.

After I took KT to school this morning, Leeann and I went out to the farm for Leeann to spend some time with her horse, Lakota.  I love going out there with her.  I spend most of my day at the computer in my office doing editing, budgeting and such, so I really enjoy getting out of the house and out into the fresh air.  Today was a wonderful morning for the most part.  The air was crisp, the sky was blue and the sun actually made a guest appearance in the sky.

Leeann got Lakota ready and she rode him for about an hour or so.  She looks so great up on that horse and she had complete control of him today.  I was so proud of her and I get this thrill watching her ride.  It makes her so happy.  Now, before I tell you the next part of what happened I have to say that I have a horse as well.  Her name is Sunny and she is currently at STAR where she is one of the lesson horses.  I have ridden her a number of times and feel pretty comfortable on a horse. I am no expert by any means, but I do OK.

Well, today Leeann asked me if I wanted to ride Lakota in the field for a little bit.  I got a bit nervous for some reason. I think it was the fact that the field she was riding in had a number of hills and the ground was a bit uneaven.  I wasn’t sure about it and I think Lakota could tell I was a little uneasy about all of this.  But, I took a deep breath and jumped up on Lakota anyway (ok, truth be told, Lakota is a big horse and I didn’t jump up on him at all, I got boosted up on him.  Don’t want to give any one out there the wrong idea).

Once up, I started to feel a bit more comfortable. But I did notice that the saddle was smaller that I am comfortable with, but no worries I thought, I can do this.  I wanted to start off kinda slow so I could get more comfortable with Lakota, but he had other ideas.  He decided to kick it up a notch and go a bit quicker than I had wanted.  He went down the hill at a pretty good clip and I felt like I was going to come off him at any second.  I was no longer in control of Lakota, I was just along for the ride.  Then Lakota went one step further, he really got going and as a result, it got rougher and I started bouncing in the saddle.  Not the most enjoyable ride of my life, but I didn’t come off him until I was ready. And at this point, I was ready.

As I got down I realized what was going on. Lakota was trying to tell me that he is Leeanns horse and Leeann is who he is going to listen to and who he works for.  Well Lakota old boy,  I got the message.  You just take care of my girl when she is on your back and I will make sure you have all the treats you want. But, I will not be up on your back again until you invite me.  I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Sunday’s are just the best.  We try hard to make it a family day, you know a day where we do things as a family.  My little girl, Katie, is 10 years old and is a true animal lover.  I mean she studies animals.  She reads books to no end about animals, watches Animal Planet on TV and will watch any movie with animals as the main character.  If it is a dog movie and the dogs talk, she is tickled pink.

Well, today we were going to do some family stuff and had thought about going to Dollywood for the day.  It is a fun place to go as a family plus, she loves the roller coasters there. However, when we woke up this morning, yet again it was raining, cloudy and just plain grim looking outside.  So, plan B.  We decided to go to a movie, but which one?  I have seen the new Star Trek movie two times now, but it is a bit too intense for Katie.  We did find the Disney movie “Earth” still playing at the mall.  This is a movie about our planet and some of the animals that live on it.  BINGO!

Now if you saw any of the Discovery Channels great mini series “Planet Earth”, then you saw this movie.  They just took some of the best parts of the TV show and made a movie out of it.  But here is the weird part, we tried to get Katie to watch the series when it was on TV and she wanted nothing to do with it. But at the movie theater, she was hooked and never took her eyes off the screen. One scene made her a little teary; seems there was this polar bear out on the prowl for some food.  He left his cubs with their mother and went looking for his own food.  Well, at the end of the movie he didn’t do so good getting any food and died.  So, guys take that as a lesson; stay with the wife and kids, you will live longer.

Anyway,  love Sunday’s because I get to be with my family and we all get a little down time which is so important.  I hope all of you get to spend some time with your families this Sunday.  Now, if the sun would just come out, I would be even happier.

I am going to post an older entry from this past October.  I was reminded about this blog while I was talking with a new client tonight.  I hope you enjoy the story, it’s true:

How do you define love? Is it something you can see? Something you can touch? Or is it just a feeling? Many say it is none of the above but merely a state of mind. I say it something you can touch, something you can see. You just have to look in the right place and open you mind. How do I know this, read on:

We are in Key Largo, FL spending a week here with Katie while she is doing dolphin assisted therapy. We did this 3 years ago and are kicking ourselves for not coming back sooner. Anyway, the first time we were here, Katie spent the week with a wonderful dolphin named Squirt and her calf Fiji. We could tell that something special was going on from the moment Katie got on the platform to get in the water. She could not wait and had no fear of being next to the dolphins.

That week was a wonderful and magical time. You could see the bond that Katie made with Squirt and the entire staff at Island Dolphin Care. The high point of the week was on Wednesday. You see, the dolphin will only do what the trainer on the platform tells them to do. They are trained that way. It is a safety issue of course. Well, half way through her time in the water that day, Katie, in loudest voice said, “I love you Squirt, you’re my best friend”. Squirt stopped in the water half way between the platform the trainer was on and where Katie was. She looked at the trainer then back to Katie. Leeann and I were confused as to what was going on, but the trainer just nodded her head yes and Squirt swam over and gave a Katie a kiss.
Not a big deal you say, well it is. You see that had only happened one, let me repeat that ONE other time at Island Dolphin Care. Everyone who saw it was in tears and when the trainer told us how special that was, Leeann and I both started to cry.
We have always said that Katie has a special connection to animals. Look at her room, it looks like stuffed animal kingdom in there sometimes. You should see her at the farm with the horses, it’s almost like she talks to them at times. But this, this was so different.

Well, that was three years ago. We had been trying for the past 3 years to go back but the timing was never right. This year everything fell into place and we were able to make it back. It worked out well since this is Katie’s fall break, so no school was missed. One thing we were worried about was if Katie would remember much about the dolphins or if the dolphins would remember Katie. We weren’t sure she would even get to be with Squirt this time. Much to our surprise, Katie remembered it all the moment she walked in the door. She remembered the tanks in the lobby, she remembered where the dolphins were at and couldn’t wait to get to them. But most of all, she was going to be with Squirt again.

Katie got in the water with Squirt and she was right at home. But the minute she said, “Squirt, I love you”, Squirt knew just who Katie was. The trainer, Wendy, looked at us and said “now I remember her and so does Squirt”. She wasn’t kidding either. It was almost like Katie was one of her own calf’s. Squirt could not get close enough to Katie. She was always checking on how Katie was doing, where she was and allowing Katie to touch her and hold her in places she won’t let others. Even the owners of the facility came out to watch and talked about the bond between Katie and Squirt.

That bond is so strong that today the trainer and the therapist in the water with Katie just let them do their own thing. Katie would ask if she could do something and the trainer would give a quick hand signal and that was it. They danced in the water together, Squirt took Katie around the lagoon a couple of times and they both laughed and smiled together. It was almost like they were meant to be with each other.

Tomorrow, they are going to allow Squirt to dive with Katie. Only two other kids have ever done this before. Katie is in here element here. Katie is truly happy here and in the water with Squirt.

I have attached a photo of the two of them dancing in the water. Look at it with the mind of a child, look at it with the mind of a parent who wants nothing but the best for their child and I know you will see LOVE. But, most of all, you will know that for this week, Katie can touch love. And for this week, love is named SQUIRT.