Engagement Video Short at DVinfo.net

David Sager · July 28th, 2008, 07:35 PM

Hey guys, I am a wedding videographer and just recently got married myself (woo hoo!) and thought I'd share with you guys the engagement short video we made to compliment our invitations. Love to hear your guys thought.

http://www.vimeo.com/1247882

Oleg Kalyan · July 28th, 2008, 11:23 PM

It's great I thought, very creative, maybe a bit long for my liking!

Taky Cheung · July 30th, 2008, 09:26 AM

The beginning of the clips has a feel of a horror file like "The Ring". Then I got bored watching stuff everybody has to do after they got up in the morning. The last scene is very nice :)

Ethan Cooper · July 30th, 2008, 09:40 AM

I like the feel, and playing off the circles theme was brilliant, but it might have been a bit long. Shorten it up some and you'd have something, but as it was I think people would lose interest.

I really, really do like the look and feel though.

Oh, and what's that coffeemaker thing you have? Where can I buy one?

David Sager · August 3rd, 2008, 09:28 PM

In the internal thought process of developing an idea for a short film to include with our wedding invitation, there were many ideas bouncing in my head. I didn't want to purely focus on images of us in an engagement video shoot fashion. Rather, I wanted to focus visually on objects in our environment of visual significance to a marriage. In doing so, taking an abstract approach to both shooting and editing only seemed appropriate.

"Circles" is the title of the short and if you have already watched it, you would know why. When you stop to actually take a look around your surrounding environment, you would start to notice just how many objects are in the shape of a circle. I love the resemblance of these circles to that of the wedding ring. As a believer in films that push you to think, I wanted to figure out a story that would a kind of keep you guessing through out as to what exact point I was trying to make.

In the beginning sequences, I wanted to created a sort of dreamy, waking-up state of mind, as well as immediately push the viewer into focusing directly on images of circles before I started to tell the story of us and the beginning of our day. From the beginning of the actual story of the beginning of our day till the the very end of the short, I wanted there to be a gradual progression of emphasis on circles within our environment through the visual story. From us both waking up and getting out of bed, almost every shot in the short has some sort of circle in the frame. Progressively these circles become more and more dominant with every shot until I move away from the telling of our story and more focused visually towards the actual shapes of circles within our environment.

From visually communicating shapes of circles in our environment, I translate that to the circle of the ring and with it the significance of what a wedding ring is. Eternal, endless love.

With this visual story as our wedding invitation, we invited our guest to our wedding ceremony.

David

Dave Blackhurst · August 4th, 2008, 02:33 PM

Very "artsy", which probably explains why I didn't quite get it <VBG>. I gues what I mean is I know enough to know when I see "art", but it doesn't always resonate for me...

Actually a lot of cool ideas and visuals, and I agree with the other posters, too long... I think a bit more upbeat audio track might have juiced it up as well?

Somehow it feels like the circles should have been emphasized as well? With your explanation I was looking for them, but it was a bit subtle - maybe jump cuts from the wide view to JUST the circle for a moment between shots? Or an overlay to "pop" the circles? I'm sure you're probably not looking to re-edit, but these are just a few ideas that came to mind.

Lastly, loved the concept! Good concepts are hard to come by!

July 28th, 2008, 07:35 PM	#1
David Sager New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Laguna Beach, CA Posts: 16	Engagement Video Short Hey guys, I am a wedding videographer and just recently got married myself (woo hoo!) and thought I'd share with you guys the engagement short video we made to compliment our invitations. Love to hear your guys thought. http://www.vimeo.com/1247882

July 30th, 2008, 09:26 AM	#3
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	The beginning of the clips has a feel of a horror file like "The Ring". Then I got bored watching stuff everybody has to do after they got up in the morning. The last scene is very nice :) __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

July 30th, 2008, 09:40 AM	#4
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	I like the feel, and playing off the circles theme was brilliant, but it might have been a bit long. Shorten it up some and you'd have something, but as it was I think people would lose interest. I really, really do like the look and feel though. Oh, and what's that coffeemaker thing you have? Where can I buy one? __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

July 28th, 2008, 11:23 PM	#2
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	It's great I thought, very creative, maybe a bit long for my liking!

August 3rd, 2008, 09:28 PM	#5
David Sager New Boot Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Laguna Beach, CA Posts: 16	In the internal thought process of developing an idea for a short film to include with our wedding invitation, there were many ideas bouncing in my head. I didn't want to purely focus on images of us in an engagement video shoot fashion. Rather, I wanted to focus visually on objects in our environment of visual significance to a marriage. In doing so, taking an abstract approach to both shooting and editing only seemed appropriate. "Circles" is the title of the short and if you have already watched it, you would know why. When you stop to actually take a look around your surrounding environment, you would start to notice just how many objects are in the shape of a circle. I love the resemblance of these circles to that of the wedding ring. As a believer in films that push you to think, I wanted to figure out a story that would a kind of keep you guessing through out as to what exact point I was trying to make. In the beginning sequences, I wanted to created a sort of dreamy, waking-up state of mind, as well as immediately push the viewer into focusing directly on images of circles before I started to tell the story of us and the beginning of our day. From the beginning of the actual story of the beginning of our day till the the very end of the short, I wanted there to be a gradual progression of emphasis on circles within our environment through the visual story. From us both waking up and getting out of bed, almost every shot in the short has some sort of circle in the frame. Progressively these circles become more and more dominant with every shot until I move away from the telling of our story and more focused visually towards the actual shapes of circles within our environment. From visually communicating shapes of circles in our environment, I translate that to the circle of the ring and with it the significance of what a wedding ring is. Eternal, endless love. With this visual story as our wedding invitation, we invited our guest to our wedding ceremony. David

August 4th, 2008, 02:33 PM	#6
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Very "artsy", which probably explains why I didn't quite get it <VBG>. I gues what I mean is I know enough to know when I see "art", but it doesn't always resonate for me... Actually a lot of cool ideas and visuals, and I agree with the other posters, too long... I think a bit more upbeat audio track might have juiced it up as well? Somehow it feels like the circles should have been emphasized as well? With your explanation I was looking for them, but it was a bit subtle - maybe jump cuts from the wide view to JUST the circle for a moment between shots? Or an overlay to "pop" the circles? I'm sure you're probably not looking to re-edit, but these are just a few ideas that came to mind. Lastly, loved the concept! Good concepts are hard to come by!