Tag Archives: Vermont Wedding Videographer

JPod Productions was honored as one of the top filmmaking companies in New England for the third straight at the annual New England Professional Videographer’s Association’s (NPVA) VISTA awards last night in Dedham, MA. Our short Film, Jennifer + Michael’s Love Story was given the Silver Award in the “other” category. This Boston wedding video captures the story of how Jennifer Singer and Michael Marcus’ paths crossed and the journey that brought them to their wedding day. We premiered their film at their wedding reception just a few months ago. The reaction from that night was rewarding and electric and very similar to the response we get when we show a same day edit film.

Boston Award Winning wedding video

We were also honored and very humbled as one of the other winners, Elena Coyne, thanked JPod Productions Owner Jamie Podworski for inspiring her with a presentation he did in January at the NPVA on creating wedding trailers. Elena said she used the knowledge and inspiration from that night to edit one of her weddings before the VISTA deadline, which was only three days away at that time. That moment definitely defined why we participate in NPVA group, as filmmakers share knowledge with other filmmakers. It not only makes our Boston wedding videos better, but it makes our industry so much stronger as a whole.  

The VISTA awards are a New England-based competition run by the New England Professional Videographer’s Association (NPVA). The NPVA is an organization of not only Boston wedding videographers and corporate producers, but also companies across New England who meet once a month to learn from regional and national speakers who specialize in the film making industry. Awards in the VISTA competition are presented in four categories including “Full Wedding”, “Wedding Highlight”, “Corporate”, and “Other”. The “Other” category is designed for videos that do not fit into the other three categories of the competition.

 

On February 18th, we spent a snowy afternoon with the International Special Events Society’s (ISES) New England Chapter for their monthly meeting at Legal Harborside in the Seaport District of Boston. It was a seafood lovers dream of a meeting with shrimp cocktail, oysters, sushi, and clam chowder on the luncheon menu.

The featured speaker of the day was Roger Berkowitz, President & CEO of Legal Sea Foods. His presentation entitled “Building Your Brand” focused on how Legal Sea Foods has marketed creatively over the past decade to attract younger customers. Within that time, the company has had to adjust their strategies based on consumer reaction to their advertising campaigns, as well as to what was discovered through their market research. Mr. Berkowitz gave plenty of real life samples that kept the presentation informational and enjoyable.

The following highlight video is a quick glimpse into both the social and informational opportunities that ISES presents each month to its members. Sponsors of the meeting included Legal Harborside, Art of the Event, Inc., Black Thumb Studio, Brookline Ice Company, Entertainment Specialists, Gateway ProductionsJPod Productions, Peterson Party Center, and Winston Flowers.

 

It’s been a couple of years since JPod Productions participated in a bridal show, but we have really hit it off with Fran Imhoff, wedding coordinator at Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, New Hampshire. She started an intimate bridal show a few years back and it has grown quite a bit over the past few years. Taking part in the show allows us Boston wedding videographers to get outside the city and explore the beautiful Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.  It provides lots of great, new settings for our wedding films.

This year’s Alyson’s Orchard Simply Elegant Bridal show took place last Sunday, November 10th from Noon until 2:30. Dozens of vendors and hundreds of brides with their family and friends packed the orchard’s reception space, Robert’s Hall,  as wedding planning was the topic of the afternoon. While we promoted our Boston Wedding videos at the JPod Productions booth, we were still able to take a few shots of the show during the set-up and while the crowds moved through the building. The following video is a quick look at the wedding show, which is becoming a staple in the New Hampshire and Southern Vermont Wedding communities.

Vendors participating in the wedding show included:

Accomodations: Alyson’s Apple Orchard Event Center & Lodging, The Inn at Valley Farms/Walpole Valley Farms

Wedding Apparel: Aliber’s Bridal, Miller Bros. – Newton, Pamela Moore Bridal

Bridal Resources: WellWed Magazine

Cakes: Divas Cakes and Confections, Ronna Gendron’s Cakes & Confections, Tastefully Wright Cakes

Catering: A Vermont Table Catering by Terri Ziter, Catering Partners of Neighborhood Made, Elizabethan Fare Catering, Luca’s Culinary Journey Catering

Entertainment: Harp and More, Lenny Zarcone, DJ-Host-Singer-Musician, Peak Entertainment DJs

Favors: Courser Farm Kitchen, Venus of Vermont

Florists: Embellish Floral Design, Naturally Elegant Designs, Vera Flora Farm, Flora-ly

Hair & Make-up: Salon Exodus, Deep Roots Massage & Bodywork

Officiants: Ceremonies from the Heart, Jane Rokes

Photographers: Kendall Bush Photography, RomaDee Photography, Steve Holmes Photography

Photobooth: TapSnap

Stationary: Artful Beginnings, Elegant Settings

Transportation: Adventure Limousine & Transportation, Thomas Charters, Warren Farm Carriage Rides

Videography & Cinematography: JPod Productions

 

A few months back we posted the Boston wedding highlight film of Miriam and Dan Tevet. Today, we release a clip from their finished Feature Film. Although this couple was living in New York City when they were married, Miriam’s Beantown roots came through in this Iconic Boston-themed wedding. The weekend started with an emotional rehearsal dinner at Anthem Kitchen + Bar in Faneuil Hall in Quincy Market. The Royal Sonesta Boston, neighboring the Charles River, was the setting for most of the wedding day events.

In the following feature film clip, many of the iconic elements of Boston came out in the photo session, which was a fun filled 90 minutes of traveling on the Original Party Trolley. With the music pumping, everyone on the trolley, as well as many of people we passed on the streets, were dancing like nobody was watching. As we shot along the super talented Randall + Theresa from Garnick-Moore Photography, the photo session made stops at the Boston Seaport, Fenway Park and the famed Public Gardens for pictures. It was one of the most fun times we’ve had for a photo session, and it helped make this a quintessential Boston Wedding Video. Also in the first part of the film clip are many of the details from the day, including a T-stop place card table for the reception. All of the details from this elegant wedding were meticulously planned by the the awesome wedding planning duo of Paula Marrero and Courtney Graham of Marrero Events.

The second part of this Boston wedding video features Miriam and Dan’s first Dance, which was romantically lit by Paul and Fritz Bosch from Boston Event Lighting. The choreographed dance was flawlessly executed by the couple in what was the beginning a very fun evening including a photo booth, espresso station and dessert bar.

Other vendors:

Cinematographers: Jamie Podworski + Anne Newman

Editor: Jamie Podworski

Flowers: the Tangled Web

Dress: Tara Keely (Jim Hjelm)

Band: Groove Authority

Ceremony Music: Klezmer Conservatory Band

 

In our last post, we talked about ways to improve your Boston wedding video during the wedding planning process. Today, we will share a list that we send to couples with one month to go before the wedding with tips on how to make their wedding film better on the big day itself. These wedding tips are something we review in our final meeting, but they truly translate to improving the overall quality of your final product.

1. The Toasts. Tell your best man/maid of honor to not only talk about you as a person, but also as you both as a couple. Have them share their thoughts on you two finding one another and getting together.

2. Exchange gifts. Plan on adding a special moment to your day by giving each other gifts with a personally-written card. If gifts are not in your budget, then just exchange cards. You can have a bridesmaid/groomsmen deliver it. It’s always fun to see how we can tie this sequence into your film. Plus, you can see their reaction when they open it.

3. Don’t chew gum. We know you’re nervous and feel the need to be busy, but please refrain from the Juicy Fruit. This goes for the wedding party too. Altoids will keep everyone’s breath fresh!

4. Consider your vows. When it comes time to state your vows to each other remember to relax. Take a deep breath and look into each other’s eyes and deliver your words from the heart. Slow down and think about what you are saying.

5. Talk. Have conversations with your family and friends. Chat about how you meet, how the proposal went, what has gone into planning this wedding, etc. Your wedding day is packed full of emotions, let everyone know how you’re feeling.

6. Stay together. It’s not uncommon for the couple to split up once the reception is underway. Brides and grooms drive the dance floor! Your wedding day is finally here, enjoy it together.

7. Natural Light. When your makeup artist comes to your location, set up the table where there is plenty of daylight instead of under artificial lights (tungsten, florescent). Try to avoid basement locations.

8. Turn down the radio/ipod during prep. It’s common for the girls to blast a wedding mix album while doing hair and make-up, but this can easily mask a power piece of dialog that can be used to tell your story. It also creates an awkward background noise when a cinematic soundtrack is applied later.

9. Tell your wedding party & parents that we’re coming. Make sure they understand that we desire that everyone behaves naturally and let them know that they need to try and ignore our presence as much as possible. We want your day to unfold the same whether we are there or not.

10. Allow free time with the cinematographer. When you meet with the photographer for the final time, let them know them we like to control some of the photo session with the bride and groom. Most often, we just work in a few of our ideas throughout the individual time with the bride and groom and everyone benefits. We will also communicate with the photographer before your wedding day.

And that’s it! If you have any other ideas, do not hesitate to comment below. We are always striving to make out Boston wedding videos better!

More and more each year, we have been traveling to new and different locations around New England and beyond for weddings and events. This weekend, we shed our Boston wedding videographer title and had the pleasure of covering a 20-year wedding vow renewal on beautiful Block Island in Rhode Island. The Anderson and Gelsomini families that we filmed this weekend had a great connection to the island and that really helped build a great story line. With less formalities than a traditional wedding, we spent a lot of time outside of the “party” to capture the true essence of the couple and their family. We were lucky enough to film this Block Island Wedding video at the Spring House on the Southern side of town, which is a gorgeous venue with majestic views and an tremendous wrap-around porch. The highlights of the film will definitely include the family time on the beach, the flash mob dance from Static Noyze that kicked off the dancing section of the party, and the fireworks which rivaled that of the Fourth of July! The last two items were a surprise from Nick to his wife of 20 years, Pam.

Besides the Spring House, we were able to travel around the island and look at many of the other great locations that the Island has to hold a wedding which included the Atlantic Inn, The Rose Farm Inn, The Sullivan House, and the Cushman House. We snapped pictures of some of the picturesque locations on the island that are popular for wedding photos and video like the Southeast Lighthouse, the Southeast Bluffs and Great Salt Pond which is where most of the boaters can be found. I also attached the sunrise timelapse that we captured looking over Great Salt Pond, which is already slated to be one of the opening clips of the this Block Island Wedding video. We worked with some cool vendors in Leslie Ulrich of Lesley Ulrich Photography and Chris Whitten of Coastline Entertainment. So, if your need of a wedding video on the islands, we’ll gladly take our Boston Wedding Videographer title on the road to any wedding in Block Island, Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard.

Southeast Lighthouse Wedding Video Spring House Wedding Videographer

Martha's Vineyard Wedding Videographer Nantucket Wedding Videographer

The first time we met Miriam and Dan, it was via an hour-long skype meeting from their New York City apartment. The couple was well prepared and very thorough in the initial meeting, but what I remember most about the meeting was a great connection that was established throughout the evening. I love a couple that has their act together and I could see early on that Mirian and Dan had the makings for a great Boston wedding video. This Boston Wedding video is about a groom who doubted that there may be a perfect romantic match for him, until he met a girl named Miriam.

Miriam and Dan chose an iconic Boston theme for their wedding weekend, which started with a rehearsal dinner at the Anthem Kitchen + Bar in Faneuil Hall. With a T-train place card display that included reception tables named after train stops, to a photo session that crossed the city to numerous famous Boston sites, the wedding had a true, iconic Boston feel. The continuous activities from the Tish, Ketubah signing, pre-ceremony reception, ceremony, cocktail hour and reception were littered with special touches that made the day exciting to film. There were plenty of great personal and family touches by the bride, as the lace from her mother’s wedding dress was stitched into Miriam’s veil, the pearls were designed and built throughout the milestones of Miriam’s childhood, the tallit of the Chuppah was sewn together with several different connections to each family, and the cake cutting utensils dated back to Miriam’s grandparents.

The weekend started with an emotional rehearsal dinner at Anthem Kitchen + Bar in Faneuil Hall in Quincy Market. The Royal Sonesta Boston, neighboring the Charles River, was the setting for most of the wedding day events. We had a fun time traveling on the Original Party Trolley with Miriam and Dan and their wedding party in our afternoon photo session with Randall + Theresa from Garnick-Moore Photography. The ceremony was eloquently planned with the help of Paula Marrero from Marrero Events and romantically lit by Paul and Fritz Bosch from Boston Event Lighting. As Boston Wedding videographers, it was a fun wedding to film.

Other vendors:

Cinematographers: Jamie + Anne of JPod Productions

Flowers: the Tangled Web

Dress: Tara Keely (Jim Hjelm)

Band: Groove Authority

Ceremony Music: Klezmer Conservatory Band

It has been a crazy end to the summer and beginning of the fall at JPod Productions. We traveled with an extra shooter for the last six weeks just in case Hannah tried to make an early entrance into this world. But, like every good woman, she was fashionably late. One week late to be exact. So, without further ado, here is Hannah, New England’s newest little award-winning filmmaker.

 

How is love like a Big Mac? Well, John Fleming answered that question when his daughter, Stephanie, married Mike Montessi. The back story is that John was trying to relate to his daughter when she was a teenager about breaking up with a boyfriend. That’s where the Bic Mac story started and the wedding day is where it ends. Most of John’s speech ended up in the first 10 minutes of the feature film, but the punchline came in the final minutes of the cinematic wedding film. Therefore, this blog post has two clips – the first 10 minutes of a wedding film, and a clip that helped close out the film.

What can I stay about Stephanie and Mike? Simply put, I love them! They are the ideal JPod Productions couple as they came with California style back to their hometown of Agawam, Massachusetts. This is the longest clip we have posted on our blog from one wedding film. It takes you from the Bellucci Salon & Day Spa to the Springfield Sheraton, and continues on to Stephanie’s parents’ house for the final bridal preparations before finishing with the processional of the ceremony. The feature film wedding clip really shows how the personalities of the couple and their families are captured within the final feature film.

Stephanie and Mike, who now call Los Angeles home, were married at Hope Community Church with the reception at nearby Oak Ridge Golf Club. We teamed with Schaler Photography for the second time this wedding season and CJC Event Lighting did a wonderful job uplighting the reception venue. I also must thank Stephanie, as she was one of our top cheerleaders in the recent Best Videographer of Boston contest that we just participated in. Music is licensed through Songfreedom and the Music Bed.

http://vimeo.com/49444409

At JPod Productions, we strongly believe in investing in our industry’s educational opportunities, as our product has reaped the benefits over the past three years. Last Monday in Dedham, MA (south of Boston), we joined an elite crew of wedding filmmakers from New England to hone our skills on the glidecam. The glidecam is a device that allows us to create “floating”, or cinematic looking shots within our wedding films. The training was led by Dave Williams, (bottom picture) of Cinemacake Filmmakers in Philadelphia and we were fortunate to learn along side two other award winning studios from Boston and Newport, RI. Dave took us through a series of challenges to improve our skill set on the device. Dave Williams also spoke in the New England Professional Videographer’s Association (NPVA) meeting in the evening about running a better business. I’m excited to implement some of my new ideas into our wedding films in the coming months.