Teaser Video
 

We had the chance to shoot a wedding this past weekend at a plantation home in Mississippi and it was gorgeous. I was so eager to play with the footage that I made a little teaser video for the couple to email to friends and family. It's not really a trailer, so I think the term "teaser" works better. Maybe I can put a little marketing spin on it and say it's a Silver Media style trailer.

www.silver-media.net/ryanteaser

Beautiful. I loved the shots and the editing, especially the editing. Plus you made it just the right length. Long enough to be interesting but short enough to serve perfectly as a teaser. Usually I see people make the teasers too long.

"Coming spring 2008"! Holy backlog, Batman!

Beautiful video. I'm sure they'll love it.

Funny.
I put spring 2008 cause "coming sometime late 2007 early 2008" just didn't have the same ring to it.

I could have gone with the super honest "coming sometime before the end of the year depending on how many days I waste emailing, reading DVINFO, sleeping in, or staring blankly at the wall thinking about all the work I'm not getting done while staring at this wall... or maybe even early 2008 now that I think about it"

Omigod! We have the same disease!

I gotta say I'm now more partial to the latter title option . . . d:-p

Only if that disease is being super cool, ultra sexy wedding videographers.... yeah.

I wish my name was half as cool as Vito DeFilippo. I'm jealous.

I'm thinking about writing into my contract that we only shoot at plantation houses on perfect fall afternoons with attractive couples from wealthy families. Oh, and I'm raising my prices to $30,000 per event. Think it'll fly?

Well, it's not as cool as you might think:

Me: "Hi, my name's Vito"
Some Guy: "Nice to meet you, Peter."
Me: "No, it's Vito."
Some Guy: "That's what I said..."

I also work as an actor (you can see on IMDB, if you're bored enough), so it's a bit of a tough name to work with. I considered making up a stage name, but felt too silly.

Vito....ah yes, i remember seeing you as the Public Works Guy in the Secret Window :)

seriously, well done...working as an actor hasn't put you off this industry of filming/directing/editing!

That was fun, because Johnny Depp was such a nice guy to work with. I had an incredibly small role, practically extra work, but it was nice to be there. The only tough part was that I developed a tooth abscess and was unable to get antibiotics where we were shooting. That was painfull, let me tell you!

Not at all. I got into video work originally because it's too hard to make a living just acting, but I wanted related work.

Anyway, my apologies to Ethan for taking his thread off topic.

That's fine with me. The topic of "hey, look at my pretty video and tell me how great I am" already ran it's course. I got the love and acceptance I've been searching for, now my therapist can take a break for a while. This is much more interesting anyway. [/dry humor]

Hello Ethan,

The clip is great! I know you probably already sent the clip to the Plantation Home and the photographer. Which plantation is it, I don't recognize it?

I didn't... this is why I'm a terrible business person, I never think of these things. I'll send them the link right away. Thanks for the tip.

It's Dunleith Plantation in Natchez, MS. I don't know a whole lot about it except that I loved shooting there.

Plantations are a beautiful thing!

You might also want to send Dunleith a dvd with the clip on it. They just might pull it out and show it to one of their brides. At least it will keep your name in front of them.

Ethan,

Totally spectacular. That is some high grade stuff.

As a side note, I too have that disease (emailing, reading DV forums and trying to figure out what I am going to do for my latest video, while staring blankly at the wall). And I'd go along with your new business idea if I was you (The one about only shooting beautiful, wealthy couples at plantations and charging 30 grand) That sounds like a good business plan to me. One of these I may post some of my own admittedly inferior work to look at. At least the background is pretty being here in Alaska and all.....one of my better looking ones had the couple being married in front of a glacier.

That clip looks like Hollywood to me. And if it does look like Hollywood to me, then it will look like Hollywood to many, many other people... No wonder you Americans make better movies than us Germans, even your wedding videos are better than most of our cinematography ;)
Seriously, that clip is amazing! The sunset between the pillars, the lighting in the last shot... wow! Not to mention all the dolly work for ALL of the other shots. I hope you are getting paid a lot of money for this, because it's worth every cent!!!