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