Oct 04 2010

Dan + Danielle’s Wedding Highlights

I love San Francisco weddings.  It’s probably because no matter where you go in the City, you’re surrounded by classically vintage architecture.  Well, Dan and Danielle’s wedding day took place in some seriously awesome locations.  Have a look for yourself…

There is one part in this film that affects me every time.  It’s the shot through the doorway of Danielle’s father taking photos of his family.  Something about seeing the whole family there, helping Danielle get her dress on, from the point of view of someone looking around a corner, really hits me.  It’s such a genuine moment where we are literally looking in on a family celebrating.

The ceremony was at the Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco; and let me tell you… walking in there was like walking into an explosion of cinematic-ness.  I mean, I was a billion percent blown away by the craftsmanship that went into designing and building that church.  We spent a good amount of time collecting footage of the location itself, because we really just HAD to.

Danielle and Dan’s reception was at the prestigious Olympic Club and was divided up into two main rooms.  The dance room was beautiful, with gorgeous skylights and a live band that rocked the house.  The dining room was lit mainly by candlelight, and all of the flickering looks pretty spectacular on video.

We also had the opportunity of shooting with the fabulous Ashley Maxwell whose passion for creating beautiful images is always inspiring.  We can’t wait to put together Dan and Danielle’s wedding featurette.  Cheers!

Posted in Wedding Highlights

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Sep 07 2010

Lisa + Nigel’s Wedding “The Golden Age”

This is it guys.  These are the types of films that we want to define Sandbox Love.  It’s “more than the wedding.”  It’s the relationship.  The past and the what’s to come.  Please take a moment to enjoy the film that we put together for Lisa and Nigel, some of the sweetest people I have ever met.  Their story is truly inspiring, and they express their love for each other in such beautiful ways.

I’d like to share some of the thoughts behind the filmmaking.  I wanted to frame the film in the emotion of nostalgia and to do this I did a couple things.  First, I opened the film with the familiar sound of the wind chimes that hang near Lisa and Nigel’s bedroom.  This way, every time Lisa and Nigel watch the film, they will be greeted by the sound they hear in the mornings as they wake up to another wonderful day with each other.

Second, I purposefully left in Lisa and Nigel’s natural speaking patterns.  It’s become extremely common of editors to clean up people’s natural dialogue; getting rid of the stutters and “umm’s.”  But those are the part of who Lisa and Nigel are, and their love for each includes hearing them pause in the middle of a sentence.

And third, I used a lot of old film footage of Lisa and Nigel, to keep the vibe of the film from being too contemporary.  I wanted this to be timeless, which would lead to nostalgia in the future.

All of these choices were made for one reason; to tailor this film for them.  We’re very proud of this epic result.  Major props to my team, Robby and Nick, for helping to create this masterpiece.

Posted in Signature Films, Wedding Films

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Sep 06 2010

Dan + Danielle “Later, San Francisco”

One thing I love seeing in Danielle and Dan’s relationship is the way they interact.  They have these little moments where they’ll be talking about the smallest of things, but the WAY they speak to each other shows how intimate they are.  I wanted to try to get that across in this Love Story.  The little pauses and the subtle expressions tell you that when they’re together, nothing is rushed.  It’s a relaxed form of love that I found very sweet.

At Danielle and Dan’s wedding reception, they had a big TV set up with the Love Story DVD menu on the screen.  The menu was a picture of them with a button that read, “Play Film.”  Guests would come by, see the large photo of Dan and Danielle, hit play, and watch the film.  It was a pretty cool way to incorporate the video into the wedding.

Dan and Danielle also made a beautiful save the date video which you should check out.  We’re very excited about the wedding film!

Posted in Love Stories

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Aug 08 2010

Morgan + Charlie “It’s Three Words”

Morgan and Charlie had a great idea.  They invited everybody who was attending their wedding to the rehearsal dinner the night before, and after some toasts, played the Love Story for their guests.  It was the perfect way to set up the mood for the next day.  Not to mention, it tells their story to everybody they invited.  And their story is legit.

Because Charlie and Morgan grew up together, I wanted to capture a youthful and energetic feel.  We shot at their middle school and high school to frame the film in locations that represent their long history.  Unfortunately their elementary school is being rebuilt, so we couldn’t shoot there.

It’s crazy… Morgan and Charlie had not seen the video ahead of time.  They put their complete trust in us, which has to be pretty hard to do.  When the film played, everybody got so into it.  Lots of laughter, smiles, and teary eyes.  We’re so glad we got to tell this story.  Stay tuned for their wedding film!  It was a beautiful wedding!

Posted in Love Stories

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Jul 23 2010

Allison + Craig’s Wedding

Allison and Craig got married on May 30th, 2010 at the beautiful Mountain Winery.  It truly was a day of celebration.  They came prepared to party.

Allison is one of the most chill brides I have ever met.  At one point, there was a bit of tar that got on her gorgeous wedding dress.  When she was told, she shrugged and said, “Whatever, I just want to have fun today.”  Wow.  Respect.  Her relaxed attitude totally set the vibe for a wedding packed with good times.  It was very cool to see how well the two families mixed.  It wasn’t like there were two families at all.  It was more like one huge family, all there to celebrate Allison and Craig’s beautiful wedding.

The team was Nick, Rob and Me and the film was masterfully edited by Nick.  We had the fortune of shooting again with Ashley Maxwell who created some beautiful photos for Allison and Craig.  We also got to hang out with Cassie and Dan from the Los Gatos DJ Company who played one of the songs in the film.  I was taking a break, chewing on some ice (it was a hot day), and the song came on.  I started nodding my head to the beat, wondering if there was anything else that could make this wedding better.  Then the distant lights of the city started to shine, and I knew we were going to give Allison and Craig an amazing wedding film.

-Jesse

Posted in Wedding Highlights

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Jul 14 2010

Dan + Danielle Engagement Shoot

Dan and Danielle are such a fantastic couple. They started dating three weeks into Danielle’s freshman year at college and have never looked back.

It was such a delight to see how they interact with each other. They both have this very sweet and sensitive manner that I think comes across very will in this film. Dan was pretty hilarious during the interviews, talkin’ about how he knew he wanted to marry her when he swiped his credit card for the ring and just giving her a hard time in general. You can really tell that they make a great team.

The photography was shot by Ashley Maxwell and her husband, Jason.  Both of them are phenomenal photographers and we’re very much looking forward to shooting with them again.

Posted in Save the Date

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