Stillmotion Evolution Experience – Day 1

All I can say is WOW! These guys are truly master storytellers.

There is so much to learn from Patrick, Konrad and Amina. Our first day at the workshop taught us so much about building a good engaging story of the couple. They have helped us to really see the inner meaning of being a wedding filmmaker as opposed to an ordinary wedding videographer.

The storytelling process is so detailed. Everything we do, from the composition to the music selection places meaning to the entire story.We were constantly challenge to ask why do we shoot or edit the way we do. What is the purpose of that shot? Why do we choose that piece of music? Why the camera movement? By constantly questioning the motive of every shot, that ultimately differentiate a wedding filmmaker from a typical videographer.

Konrad even went through with us the art of the same day edit. They do not have special hidden superpower that enable them to produce their SDE. Its all hard work and they think on their feet as they go. Its really amazing to see how their first same day edit was like and how it evolve to what it is today.

If you asked me to name just one highlight of the day I enjoyed the most, I would say it was Stillmotion’s full feature length wedding film. We were the first batch of Evolution Experience attendees to be able to watch it. It lasted less than 20 mins but told a very strong story of the couple and the wedding day.

After going through today, it inspires me to rethink how we do things at Wedding Story and why we do it. Do we shoot everything for the sake of just needing to document it? What value would it be adding to the story with every shot?

Patrick Moreau of Stillmotion, Canada

This is the place we stayed in Sydney.

Self portrait of both of us at Sydney Opera House in the evening.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge that connects to the CBD

Stillmotion Evolution Experience – Day Zero

Its Monday. Our Stillmotion Evo Experience started today.

As the workshop started at 5pm in the city of Sydney, we took the earlier part of the day to visit Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay. Thank God the rain stopped. We bought a 7 day pass for unlimited travel on their Cityrail subway trains. The Sydney train network is so huge. The trains are double decker and mostly filled with seats for commuters.

We spent about 3 hours at Cockle Bay taking pictures and enjoying the harbour view while having lunch. Some of the places you can visit are the Sydney Wildlife World, Sydney Aquarium, Australian National Maritime Museum and LG IMAX Theater there. We crossed the Pymont Bridge which dates back during the colonial times. The middle portion of the bridge can swing sideway to let vessels below to pass through.

Just right outside the Australian National Maritime Museum, there were a few military ships that were docked there. The one that caught my eyes most was the barge. Its so huge and nice.

We took a 20 mins walk to Vibe Hotel to attend the pre-workshop session that started with an introduction of Stillmotion. The rest of the evening was filled with everyone presenting their work. It felt like we were on American Idol as Patrick, Konrad and Jaime gave their constructive critiques. We truly learn a lot from this session. Most of all, we were given tips on how to improve our pieces.

When I got home, it already got me start thinking about how we do things and some of the changes we need to make. Its amazing what we learnt from just 3.5 hours listening to them while learning the works of others. Also, its awesome to see some of the best cinematographers work in Australia. I am all excited for Day 1!

Oh, did you know that the sky starts to get dark only at 8.30pm here? We are enjoying the long daylight!

We’ll be in Australia

I have been keeping this news for the longest time except to a few close industry friends. I have been waiting for this since early 2009. I am totally excited and grateful. Sharon and I will be in Melbourne and Sydney in a weeks time. The highlight of our trip there would be attending a workshop conducted by one of the world top boutique wedding film studio: STILLMOTION.

Ever since I started Wedding Story back in 2006, I have been educating myself via the internet. Despite there is a yearly WEVA EXPO in USA, we just couldn’t afford to go. The only way we educate ourselves was to buy training DVDs and build relationship with successful videographers in the world. We owe our success to people like Jason Magbanua, Loi Bahn, Chris Watson, Mark and Trisha Von Lanken and Louis Pang who are so willing to share when we first began our journey.

I am glad Stillmotion is able to bring their Stillmotion Experience workshop to Australia. Even though the workshop fees are steep, we exhaust our resources to make this trip happen. Why? This is because we believe in investing in education. We want to be better in what we do and how we do it. We want to rekindle the passion in us. We want to be able to make greater wedding films for our clients and friends.

So, while we are away, if you send us an enquiry, do be patient with us. We will revert asap.

BTW, many of you may have heard of Papercranes. Yes, they will be our classmate! Yay! Its so wonderful to be surrounded with so many world class wedding filmmakers!

-Kee Sitt-

The Wedding of Leslie & Angeline, Kuala Lumpur

Protected: Wedding of Adrian & Marie

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