"Dallas or Bust!"

The edit desk will be closed for a few days as we head down to Dallas for the Easter Holiday. While down there we'll be staying with Natalie's brother Daniel and spending some time with her parents.

I would say the most exciting thing will be attending Easter services at Fellowship Church.com. I've been a few times and must say it is amazing. I'll report back when we return!

Happy Easter!

-Jesse

Busy Household

WOW! The past few days have been some kind of busy. The work week ended nicely and the weekend began. This past week we finially shipped out the last two weddings from 2004. One was the longest wedding video we have every completed at just under 90 minutes. The reception alone was over 45 minutes long with a 30 minute ceremony and extra's.

All in all I'm very excited about these two weddings as we had some great footage. We recenly replaced out Canon GL2 camera's with Sony PD-170's. The Sonys are very nice and really create some great images. For any Sony owners, you may or may not know this, but the Sony looks best when you underexpose it by one or two clicks. This is my opinion, but I believe it is shared by others too.

Anyway, it is a joy to be done. Our new season starts on April 23, 2004 and will run constant, every weekend, until October 15, 2004. We only do 25 weddings per year so we are just about full making this a "sold out" year. That makes me happy!

I'm so tired from the weekend because Sunday was killer. My wife and I enjoy a childrens ministry at our church, Southern Hills Baptist Chruch, called Kidstuf. She runs the multimedia and has to be there at 6:30. I sing on stage and have to be there at 7:45. I get the job of waking up William and getting him ready while also doing the same for myself. It is a lot of fun and a blessing to be apart of the fun.

After church all three of us crashed and took a nap. I later got up and scalped the yard so our grass could grow. Finially we went to Wal-Mart, now that's a trip. I'll share more about Wal-Mart at a later time.

To make a long story short, the day was Full. I finially went to bed at 12:30 AM Monday mornign only to wake at 6:30 AM for work.

Well that's the joy of life. It does beat not having anything to do :-)

--Jesse

Being a Parent...

Back on September 24, 2004 my wife and I welcomed a new member to the family. William Martin Reich was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a very excited and loving family. We had grandparents in town, Aunts and Uncle's, and friends all around us. As I look back on that weekend and take time to remember, I can't help but smile as I think about how blessed I am.

I had family that dropped everything and drove upto 8 hours to be in Tulsa for William's entry to the world. That is just AWESOME as far as I'm concerned. Now we have a house full about every two weeks as the grand parents drive up so spend time us. We all know William is the star of the show, but Natalie and I like to think they enjoy our company too.

As I have said before, Natalie and I shot fun wedding videos in Oklahoma. We knew we wanted to have something fun to remember Williams birth and we decided we would capture as much as we could on Video. We did just that, I was the classic proud papa in the delivery room with the video camera in one hand and a still camera in the other. The nurses must have thought I as nuts, but they played along nicely.

After William came along, we had some adjusting to do with the little tike. All of that leveled out as he is the best baby anyone could ask for. Anyway, in February Natalie started working on William's video and got it completed some time back. I sit at work everyday and look at pictures but there are times I just enjoy watching the video.

Well I thought I would post a link so other can see our bundle of joy. You can watch William's video by visiting the Take 5 Video about us page and clicking on the picture of William.

It always brings a smile to my face! Have a great day...

--Jesse

Fun times....

Today was a "normal" day. Not much happened today and there isn't really much to report. We are completing the final two weddings from the 2004 season and working to get contracts signed on three additional weddings for 2005. Because we do so much for each of our clients we are only able to schedule a total of 25 weddings each year.

The Tulsa wedding market has a number of great venues and every time I speak with a bride, I hear about some new and exciting addition to their wedding that will make it different from everyone else. We enjoy weddings, but we really enjoy working with brides who are looking for different.

Not much to add today. Keep the peace!

--Jesse

Wedding Video or Wedding Film?

Wedding Video or Wedding Film? Which one is correct? If you ask the true students of Film anything not shot on Celluloid can't be called film. Many wedding videographers shoot with modern DV (Digital Video) cameras like the Sony PD-170 and Canon GL2.

These cameras don't shoot film, or do they? Is film the stuff inside the tape cassette or is film something that must be exposed to light? I don't know and I'm not too concerned because Take 5 now offers both Video (DV) and Film (Super 8) and can market accordingly. It is interesting to hear passionate people debate the issue. I ask my clients if they really care. Some do, some want their wedding filmed the same way Scott Wolf's wedding was captured with the use of 8mm and 16mm camera's. Others just want the look because they can't afford the cost of film.

For those who were wondering Film costs about $13 per minute of raw footage. This is the cost of the actual film, processing, and transfer. This doesn't account for labor of the camera operator's or the editors. By the time it is all said and done, that minute of finished/edited footage will cost you anywhere from $80 to $100 per minute.

Very few can afford this, however many want it. I have to admit the look is priceless and the quality is amazing. More people need to realize their wedding video, when correctly edited, is a piece of their life they will always have to share with their family and friends.

I personally don't have an issue with someone calling their product a wedding film when shot on modern DV equipment, but then again, some don't like what I do...

Keep it rolling!

-Jesse

8mm Film resources...

As I mentioned earlier my company, Take 5 Video, has started offering 8mm film to our clients. This is an awesome option and provides a truly unique wedding video.

In my initial research I found a number of great sites that were very informative. For those who might be looking into 8mm I thought I would provide the sites I found as a way to help promote Film.

You can buy your film directly from Kodak. They consider the film to be for "Professional" use so when you call, you get to talk to the professional sales group. Kinda cool in my book

If you just want to learn about Super 8 a few sites I suggest:

Super 8 Film Making

Super 8 Camera Specifications

Super 8 Man

Personally I own the Canon 814 Auto Zoom Electronic. It is a great camera and widely used. Some simple google searches will turn up a lot of resources.

I encourage more to find the joy of Super 8.

-Jesse

Building Box Gardens...

Every now and then you just need to stop what your doing and take a break. I have a day job and a night job. My evening job is editing video and keeps me up all hours of the night. On Saturday I needed to keep editing as I am almost finished with my last project of 2004. :-) YAHOO!

Well I didn't. Instead my wife wanted me to build a garden so we can grow some fresh veggies. I didn't really want to rent a tiller and rip the earth so I built some box gardens. (Pictures to come)

This was a rewarding chore. It all started with a visit to my local Lowes. I find Lowes to be a little more expensive then Home Depot, but I also find Lowes to have better and more consistent organization.

Regardless I purchased 8 2x6x10 treated boards, 14 bags of Top Soil, 4 bags of Cow carp and two large bags (3.8 cuft.) of PeetMoss. This resulted in two 5x5 garden boxes.

My wife purchased a nice assortment of seeds so we can plant. While taking a break I turned on the Weather channel and noticed Tulsa would be feeling a little cool front. Bummer... if we planted an watered over the weekend, the seed would freeze and all would be lost.

So it looks like next weekend will be "the planting". Let's hope it all grows!

- Jesse

Places to work...

I've started this blog to allow me to express a few thoughts about video editing. I've named my blog "Notes from the edit desk" but where is my edit desk. I thought I would post a picture share my work place.
It's not much but my little rack has everything I need.

Well it's Saturday and another week is gone. YAHOO! My wife completed a wedding this week and if all goes well, I'll have another completed this weekend.

We were happy to get some nice mail last week that included signed contracts for new additional wedding this season. What a blessing. In addition I have family in this weekend. It's always a great time when we have family in town. Considering all of our family lives in another state, we value the time we have with them.

I hope each of you have a great weekend!

--Jesse

Wow, 8mm film is cool...

I recently started playing around with Super 8mm film. As a wedding videographer, I try to create cool new looks for my clients wedding videos. Since I'm in Tulsa, I draw on inspiration from a number of sources, many of which are on the east and west cost.

Last November I started thinking about the 2005 wedding season and how I would get my company, Take 5 Video, to maintain one of the top spots in wedding videography for Tulsa. To do this I took a cue from my colleagues on the costs and decided we would start offering actual Super 8mm film.

I didn't realize everything involved when we made the decision. For starters there is the actual film. You buy it directly from Kodak on 50 foot reels. Now a 50 ft reel is only 3 minutes. Next you have to get it developed and finally I have it transferred to DVCam for editing on my NLE.

With all of these steps it costs me about $15 per minute of footage. This isn't a cheap option for my clients, but I truly believe it is one of the coolest ways to capture your wedding day. What has amazed me is the quality of the film. This stuff is good, clean and clear. So often we believe film to have the stereotypical lines, scratches and grain.

While grain is present, freshly shot and developed film that has been taken care of does not have the scratches and lines we so after believe them to have. In fact I've been requested to add these artifacts in post production to "age" the look.

With the addition of film, we decided to redesign our website and provide a more contemporary feel while adding some retro elements. I really like what we've come up with and I'm looking forward to seeing how our clients like the new look and feel.

As for our new offering of Film we have established two new websites to help capture traffic.

We've added www.16mmweddingfilms.com and www.8mmweddingfilms.com. We hope these will help brides find that truly unique look they desire for a nostalgic wedding video. I'm looking forward to unveiling our new packaging options for weddings we film on Super 8. I won't talk about it now, but look forward to something really cool in the very near future.

If you stop by our site, be sure to drop us a note and tell us what you think.

--Jesse

Gods watchful eye...

I'm amazed with Gods watchful eye. I had previously typed a very nice essay on "God in business" reviewing a situation I'm currently experiencing. I'm done and spell checks everything and go to post the message. "ERROR" and a timeout. I refresh my browser only to find the text is gone... :0

I have to account it all to Gods watchful eye. Through the typing of the text I was able to really understand my situation and I feel He spoke to me though my thoughts. I can only assume the message wasn't supposed to be shared with others at this time. I'm blessed for the meditation time and now clearly thinking of the issues at hand.
I hope you can take some time and just talk or type to God. He does listen and He will set you on the right path. You just have to ask Him!

Blessings...

--Jesse

The absent mind...

On a regular basis my wife looks at me and says, "What did I just say?" I look back and think a minute and then reply, "Huh?" I mean I'm not expected to hear everything that is said.... am I?

So often I find my mind roaming off in outer space. It's nice in outer space for those who don't get there very often. I add this post to let you all know that I tend to change thoughts quickly. I feel like my mind is racing 1000 miles an hour and then, all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I catch a look of something. I come to halt and change directions in an instant.... I'll do my best to keep my thoughts clear and organized for those who visit here.

--Jesse

The wild world of Blogging!

Well I'm taking the plunge of creating a web log. It's a little scary to know I can share my thoughts with so many in such an open environment. I must admit my desire to start a blog came after I read Daniel's, my brother-in-law, blog for a couple of weeks. I was amazed how open he was with his thoughts and I decided I would do the same.

I currently reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My wife and I have a Wedding Videography company and enjoy the benefits of working together. I do still have a full time job at WilTel Communications as a Production Manager overseeing the daily crisis of system outages. The name of our company is Take 5 Video. We like to make MTV style music videos. Not only do we really enjoy the faster music, but our clients seem to enjoy having something unique and different to share with their friends and family.

As someone who works with video everyday, I must say it is just amazing what can be done with a single frame of video. I think the most rewarding part of what we do is seeing the looks of our clients when they first see their final Wedding Video. To this day, I'm still blown away at the power of video of all other mediums.

Owning a business of any kind is difficult. You don't really think about profit and losses or revenue streams in your daily life, however it is the name of the game when you are in business. I have found some great resources that help the local videographer get started and advance. To help us we joined WEVA, the Wedding and Event Videography Association. WEVA offers insight from videographers across the world. For my local support I'm a member of the Oklahoma Professional Videograhers Association, OKPVA.

I've only been a member of the OKPVA for 1 year when I was nominated and voted in as the 2005 President. Talk about an honor. It feels really good when your peers ask you to help lead them and the organization through the year. We are now in March and I was excited to tell everyone the OKPVA would be visited my Matrox to show off some tools to help videographers create more complex video segments. This visit is so exciting because vendors just don't stop by local associations in Tier 4 or 5 markets, which Tulsa is a Tier 5 market. I hope the membership will get value from Matrox's visit.

Well that's a little about me. I'm now more excited then ever to keep sharing!

--Jesse