BLOG ADDRESS CHANGE

Hey Everyone, My new blog address is blog.dmodyssey.com

James and Amanda

Here is the recap to James and Amanda's wedding! Its in HD. If the video is playing back choppy move your cursor to the right hand side of the video and click where it says HD is on and it should now say off.

Enjoy!


James and Amanda's Recap! from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.

Vote!

Sometimes I will use the blog for non business related issues...and today is a great one...MAKE SURE YOU GET OUT AND VOTE!!

I don't care who you vote for, it's up to each person to choose who they feel would suit their needs and the USA's needs in the present time and future.

The only things I ask or wish for is that you make an educated vote. Don't just vote for McCain because he was in the military and you like that, or don't just vote for Obama because he played college basketball and you are a fan. Vote for their real life issues, their stand points that affect you and your loved ones. Don't vote for someone because someone else tells you to or because that's the popular vote. Don't tell someone else who to vote for. Vote for who YOU think can make a difference and lead us into a better country.

We all have the power to make a difference in our futures and it starts today, so make sure you get out and make an educated vote for the right candidate - and who is the right candidate? That's entirely up to you.

Annette and Jim's Trailer!

Here is the trailer to Annette and Jim's video!

To view it in HD move the mouse to the right of the screen where it says HD is off and follow that link!


Annette and Jim's Trailer from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.

Sorry for the lack of posts - things have been crazy but are starting to settle down.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

My Favorite Outtake

One of my favorite parts about weddings are the less serious moments - the funny dancing, tripping/falling...or the occasional forgetfulness that you are wearing a microphone...


My Favorite Outtake! from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.



Sorry for the audio and quality on this, its capturing off a DVD from July of 2004 - but in case you can't hear or read it, the bride leans over to the groom and says "i'm not wearing any underwear" The groom replies "I'm mic'd so the videoguy just heard that" They laugh and at the end the groom leans in again and says "That's a classic" before winking at the camera.

Most people remember they have a mic on - some people even talk to me during the ceremony (I cant talk back!) but because of this clip I always make sure to remind the groom that there is a mic on during the ceremony!

Alison and Tim's Recap!

Alison and Tim's day was an interesting one - not because of them, they were amazing - but because of how the day started.

It was a stormy stormy saturday - wind, rain, thunder, the works. Powerlines were down, branches were down, tons of flooding and just not a pleasant day.

When I arrived to the hotel to film the guys getting ready, we had a slight problem - no power in the hotel! I powered up my on camera light and told them if they were ok with getting ready in no light, I was too! 

The ceremony was beautiful - and what was even more beautiful is immediately after the ceremony - the weather cleared up and allowed us to get some great footage outside near the ocean and on the Great River Country Club's golf course.

Alison and Tim are very creative - they had 3 things I have never ever seen at a wedding; one was a big bowl that said make a wish on it - I am assuming it was a wish for the bride and groom. On the other side was another bowl that said take a wish which I believe was almost like fortunes, pull one out as your wish, and the third thing was their gifts, which were ice cream spoons which was perfect because they had an icecream bar later in the day.

Never once did Alison or Tim complain about the weather or the day, and it all ended up working out perfectly in the end!

Below is the recap I made for their video.

To truly see this video you should click through to Vimeo and experience it in HD! Click where it says HD is off and follow the instructions to view in HD.

Fun with shooting

So I just finished shooting Joe and Jasmine's wedding and I couldn't wait to get home and look at the footage because I know we got some great stuff, but on top of that I got to try out a new toy, the glidecam for some shots and got to see how it looks.

I have actually known Joe and Jasmine for a few years now stemming from an anniversary video I did for Joe's parents 25th a few years back, which then lead to doing Joe's sister's wedding (Anna and Paul) and from there it just snowballed. This family and their friends and relatives have referred me so much business that I can't even put into words how thankful I am for them. It's a great feeling going to a wedding and seeing multiple people whose weddings you filmed or people whose weddings are coming up in the future that you are filming - its just amazing and again THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

And back to the glidecam (sorry I get off topic sometimes!) - its essentially a pole that the camera sits on top of and the bottom of the pole is weighted to counter balance the camera. Towards the top of the pole is a handle that pretty much free floats. What this allows you to achieve is amazing movement shots that do not look handheld - they look like they were shot on a dolly.

I have been wanting to spice up my shooting for some time now and this may be the answer. I still need a lot of practice as its extremely hard to frame the shots and move around while keeping it steady, but I should be good at it in no time!

I decided to give the glidecam a shot for some of the day today, without hindering the normal shots I would get - and below are just two examples of what I came out with (this is all unedited raw footage!) - to see it in 720p High Definition click on the right hand side where it says HD off and follow the instructions to vimeo.com!


Glidecam Fun from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.


As you can see it needs work - I need to slow down with it and with that framing shots will come easier, but the smoothness of the motion is just amazing.

As soon as I get this down pat it opens up a huge world of new types of shots and creativity which I am very excited to explore!

A Wedding Painter

Last night I had the pleasure of shooting Tricia and Brian's wedding in NYC. The reception was held at Bridgewaters down by the south street sea port.

The wedding was beautiful - beautiful decor, beautiful place, beautiful everything! One thing that stood out though was they had hired a wedding painter!

This man stood there and painted a portrait all night of the dancefloor/view and incorporated people into it as the night went on - bridesmaids, guests, parents, etc.

I asked him when he planned on painting the bride and groom and he mentioned during their first dance so I thought I would set up a second camera on a tripod...zoom in to where I thought he would paint them, hit record, walk away and pray no one gets in the way of the shot, this was the result!

A Wedding Painter from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.

The Artists name is Martin A. Hardy and you can see his work at www.hardyboyart.com.

Edy and Scott's Trailer!

This is the trailer for my sister's wedding which took place on August 24th! Feel free to make fun of my amazing dancing skills! It was weird being on camera instead of behind one!

To view it in 720p High Definition just click on the right hand side where it says HD is off and follow the instructions to view it at vimeo.com!

Enjoy!

Why I love what I do

Alison and Tim from Matthew Fink on Vimeo.

I know I haven't been too good with keeping up with this, but I promise to get better - especially after next month when wedding season starts to wind down!

Above is small video from Alison and Tim's wedding - and this small clip with no sound that just says it all. Alison looks at Tim and mouths "I love you" to him. Such a small moment, but such a huge impact! You can get this kind of stuff in pictures!

I am not saying pictures aren't needed by any means - they are definitely needed and important and do an entirely different thing then video does - but video is also as important and needed. With video you can see and hear the day as if you were there all over again.

A few weeks ago I had a request from a couple from 2 years ago. In their raw footage was a shot of their grandparent's dancing together with the rest of the family. One grandparent was in a wheelchair and on oxygen so he couldn't go to the dance floor so they brought the dancing to him. Unfortunately he has since passed and the Groom thought it would be awesome to put that clip online for all his family to see their grandfather, father, brother and friend in full motion, to see him move and smile and enjoy himself and to relive a wonderful memory they all have of him.

Please pass this along to anyone you know getting married - you dont have to tell them to use me as their videographer (although that would be nice!) but to let them know the importance of having your day captured on video professionally.

Something so small as an I love you caught on tape means so much - and it makes me realize how important my job really is and how much I really love what I do!

Stacey and Seth's Teaser!

Here is the teaser to Stacey and Seth's wedding! Enjoy!

Outtakes

One of my favorite parts of filming weddings are the outtakes. Filming "live" you never know what will happen and a lot of times we get some great stuff on film. If we capture a lot of outtakes I love including a section on the video just for them.

Last year we filmed a wedding in New Rochelle which was Las Vegas themed. Each table had a different casino/hotel as their centerpiece and their cake was a mixture of all things Vegas actually made by no other than the Ace of Cakes himself from the popular TV show.

During the reception, the Bride's uncle deiced to get his Elvis shoes on and do some impersonations for the bride and groom. Singing and dancing to elvis' hits he made his way toward the head table to get behind the bride and groom. Little did he realize that the Bride and Groom were up on a riser and misstepped...

No one was hurt luckily and we ended up with one of the funniest outtakes we've ever shot.

I will post some other great outtakes another time!

Come Original

On Sunday I filmed Bridget and Brian's wedding in Fairfield/New Haven. What an event!

Bridget and Brian are huge music lovers and both extremely original people in their own right, which influenced the entire day.

First off, the guys opted out of the traditional tuxedos for some light colored suits and some cool patterned ties which was nice to see. I like different. I mean don't get me wrong, I love tuxedos and the traditions of a wedding, but when you see the same things week in and week out its nice to see something different!

During the ceremony music was incorporated with not only singing but also instruments. What sounded like an irish style band got people seated and down the isle. From there there was a solo guitarist who sang a song, an elderly woman in a wheelchair who belted out a beautiful song and then one of the flower girls accompanied by an electric guitar, sang "Grow Old With Me" which during the whole song you couldn't help but smile at how cute it was to have someone so young sing such a meaningful song, and do it well! Some people cried, some people smiled, but everyone enjoyed it!

During the reception they had a band play. This was not your typical wedding band - infact I dont think they do weddings. They were a funk band that were just amazing. Before the band even got to start though, Bridget and Brian did their first dance to a performance by two of their guests. The choreogrpahed dance flowed nicely with the music.



Following dinner, the band hit the stage and not too long in, guests were called up to play along with them. Members from the band Deep Banana Blackout hopped on stage and completely amazed the whole crowd. The last hour of the reception was basically a concert! Along with the band, the flower girls hopped on stage and did a little background singing to a few of the songs.

A night fulled of music, fun, dancing and originality, it was a great day!

Congratulations Bridget and Brian!

Alison and Tim

On Saturday I had the pleasure of filming Alison and Tim's wedding.

The day started off on a sour note. Storms ripped through the state late morning/early afternoon and knocked the power out in the hotel where the guys were getting ready. A little perturbed with having no power, Tim didn't really let it bother him. The guys had a blast getting ready and Tim seemed at ease with the whole day.

My assistant Stacey (who also happens to be my girlfriend) was filming the girls getting ready. Alison was calm cool and collected the entire time.

The ceremony went off without a hitch and it was time to head to the beach for some pictures.

The photographer was Lunell Troy from Troy Photography. I have worked with Lunell (and her husband Noel) for years. She is an amazing photographer - she works quick but gets everything you want in such an organized manner the day just runs smooth with her around.

After the beach pictures it was time to head off to the Great River Golf Club for some more pictures and of course the reception.

Alison and Tim arrived to the reception sitting on top of Alison's dad's 1958 (I believe) classic Corvette. It made for an amazing shot and just a great entrance.

After some more pictures it was time for the reception. The DJs were Jason and Jeff of CT Party Pros. I have done a lot of events with these guys, in fact, they are DJing my sisters wedding at the end of this month! They do a great job of mixing up the music and playing to what the crowd wants to hear. They had people up dancing all night long!

Alison and Tim were dancing machines! Almost the entire night was spent on the dance floor.

The day went off with a few minor hitches, none of which bothered the happy couple. It was a great wedding and a great time!

Congratulations Alison and Tim!

Matt...the Actor?

So I have always had an interest in acting, but never really explored it in any form.

About 6-7 years ago a professor at my college set me up with a local casting director who mainly focused on filling extra spots for local shoots but also on occasion had some good spots to fill.

He immediately booked me for 2 seperate gigs, both belonging to the WWE or at the time they were still the WWF I believe.

They were international commercials promoting two different pay per view events.

the first one, if you look closely, you can see me (about 80lbs heavier) getting speared in the middle of the ring by a little person.



The second one you can see my face and my wonderful acting skills - the look of astonishment - still about 40lbs heavier than I am now.



Both of these were fun to do, but on set I was way more interested in their cameras, lights and other various production equipment. Between takes and during breaks I would find myself behind the scenes trying to help out, asking if they needed anything and just learning. I find myself much more comfortable behind a camera than in front of one although I wouldn't mind trying to act in some form in the future!

From this casting director I did get a few more offers, a few main stream movies as an extra (Stepford wives) and one speaking role in a national commercial, but with business being so busy I have had to turn down most things that come my way. Did I have a future as an actor? Probably not...but I had fun being an extra while it lasted!

Dancin'!

Throughout the years I have been filming, I have seen A LOT of dancing. Some good, some bad, some funny and a lot of old school dances like the running man and well I could go on for hours on the kinds of dances I have seen!

Once in awhile I see a really good choreographed first dance from the bride and groom - infact one that I filmed was featured on the Rachel Ray Show a few months ago (one day I will post that!).

Anyways, with all these first dances being choreographed, I never see any dances in the middle of the reception being choreographed, until I met brother and sister Joe and Toni.

Last summer I filmed Joe and his lovely wife Sara's wedding, and with that they referred me to Joe's sister, Toni whom married Brian a few weeks ago.

During Joe and Sara's wedding, Joe and Toni broke out into what I guess is known as the friends dance. It was hysterical! Completely unexpected and just awesome! After seeing how much fun everyone was at Joe and Sara's wedding I was so excited to film Toni and Brian's, and let me tell you it was not a let down!

Rumors started circulating that Joe and Toni may bring the friends dance back which made the excitement grow more! Sure enugh about half way through the reception...


It's great to see such comradery between a brother and sister and I am so lucky to have been able share each of their individual weddings with their families and friends. Congratualtions again Joe and Sara who jut celebrated their one year anniversarry recently and Toni and Brian on their new marriage, and thanks!

Expect the Unexpected

Two weekends ago I filmed Stacey and Seth's wedding. In this business you never really know what to expect. The ring bearer at this wedding was a little ball of personality. From hiding the remote control to my DVD player to slamming ceremony chairs onto the ground while no one was looking, he was on his own agenda. When the ceremony started however he seemed to turn into a little angel until...

If you listen closly after it all, you can hear the ring bearer practically yell "I want to break that camera!"

I was scared that he may have smudged my lens and with no time to clean it before the bride came down the isle I was definitely getting nervous. All came out fine however, and the day went on with out a hitch.

A lot of unpredictable things happen in this line of work but being able to just go with flow seems to keep everything running smooth.

Toni and Brian's Trailer

This is a teaser trailer for Toni and Brian's video which should be ready soon!

Loren and David

Last night we filmed the wedding of Loren and David. The ceremony took place in Ardsley, NY in a relatively small church and the reception was at the Stamford Marriott.

I think when I film, one of my favorite moments is when the bride arrives at the ceremony. You can always see her excitement and anxiousness to jump out of the limo, run down that isle and make that final true step into marriage. Loren was no different. As soon as the limo pulled up, her window rolled down and she was all smiles. In fact I don't think there was a moment through the entire wedding I didn't see her or David smile.

The photographer's were Will and Sue of Begin with a Grin photography. They couldn't be nicer people! Not only were the unobtrusive and very photo journalistic, but they really made sure to stay out of our way and not get into any of our shots which was very considerate of them!

The ceremony was a quick full mass, about 45 minutes long and then we headed to the bride's uncle's house to take pictures.

His house was right down the road from the church and sat on a large lot with a beautiful 3 part pond that had fountains and even their own house ducks (who made their way out for a picture or two).

After a short stop there it was off to the Marriott.

Cocktail hour was held out in an open area which had plenty of room for people to move around and sit. Often I see cocktail hours that you cant even move in, but this one was nicely layed out and worked out great for not only the guests, but for us to get the shots we needed!

The reception began roughly at 7:15.

Loren and David went with the band Al Scatt's Stolen Moments Orchestra to provide the music for the night and let me tell you, they were great! They had everyone up and dancing all night long. I can only remember maybe one time where hardly anyone was dancing and that's because they opened up an ice cream and desert bar...I would stop dancing too...

Loren and David were quite the dancers - they spent nearly all night dancing. They worked the night right too. They got to eat and spent a little time with everyone, but still left time for themselves to enjoy their evening.

All in all everything went smoothly and was a beautiful day full of great vendors, great people and an amazing bride and groom!

Congratulations Loren and David!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I figured this would be much easier to do then using the small space I have available on my website for a blog.

Here you will find all sorts of great information! Reviews from weddings and events I filmed, movie reviews, random thoughts, videos and pictures and everything inbetween.

This blog is meant to give you a little bit of insight into my every day life and my job, so I hope you enjoy it!

-Matt