Justin + Kajal – Next Day Edit
Justin + Kajal – Next Day Edit from Film Style Weddings on Vimeo.
When a couple sits down with us for consultation, our goal is to get to know them as much as possible. In our 1-2 hour consultation, we like to give as much as information possible about who we are and try to get out the nitty gritty details about the couple, their story and their interests.
When Justin and Kajal met us, one thing that we learned was that both were playing opposite gender roles. Whereas Justin was so organized and detailed about his version of the story, Kajal was the exact opposite. And we tried to tell their wedding story with that mind. If you understand the lyrics, it clearly represents that story is mostly from Kajal’s perspective.
La Famiglia (The Family) – A Short Film by Jawad Mir
La Famiglia (The Family) – A Short Film by Jawad Mir from Film Style Weddings on Vimeo.
Sometimes, you capture a couple’s story by laying it in the actual context of its occurrence.
Other times, we lay it out against the backdrop of a fictional setting.
This fictional backdrop lends a strange authenticity to a couple’s story. For while the story in and of itself may not be uncommon, its presentation is what defines it, sets it apart. And when presented as a culturally recognized plotline, that story becomes all the more memorable, fun, and ironically–unique.
That’s precisely the manner in which we approached Justin and Kajal’s story, and demonstrative of their mutual love of mafia films.
When they came in, I made it clear to both Justin and Kajal that whatever we end up doing as a concept film, it will take a huge commitment on their part which will include a lot of rehearsals, travelling and a # of days of filming. Once they agreed, we decided to figure out how to approach their story. In our discussions, one thing that stood out the most was their mutual interest in mafia films. They were a fan of everything from ‘The Godfather’ to ‘Boardwalk Empire’. Justin’s bedroom is draped in classic mafia film posters. So we took their story of how they actually met through friends at a restaurant and their interests and hobby and tossed that into a fictional setting. From the beginning, I wanted to give tribute to these classic films by tying them into the story and not being cheesy.
After the scripting stage, we did at least 2-3 rehearsal sessions with the lead actors involved and 1-2 with the rest. Like any production, the idea behind rehearsals of course to get things right before the production. Believe me that makes a big difference on production day. Because on that day, there are all these unexpected problems which did happen to us. Here are few ; while filming at Kelsey’s for the opening scene, there was constant background refrigerator noise and it being restaurant, that couldn’t be turned off. And then on top of that, we ended up getting just 2 hours to shoot the scene as oppose to 3 hours originally planned. 2 hours are decent, if you have one set up and rehearsals. But we had at least 4 set ups for coverage purposes. For each set up, lighting and make up needed to be adjusted and then making sure timing of actors entering is dot on for continuity sake.
So all in all for Day 1, the production lasted 6 hours, with 3 hours dedicated to b-roll footage (couple hanging out together). Add another 2 hours to make up:)
Day 2 lasted 8 hours. It started with Make Up by Huma’s Bridals (who btw did a fantastic job) followed by 5 scenes. Originally we were planning to do only 4 scenes. The Pie scene was planned for another day at a BMW dealership but since that wasn’t 100% go, I decided that we should film it just in case we can’t access to other location. And guess what, it never worked out so we saved ourselves
Day 3 consisted of two final scenes all in one location. The fact that this was the third day and actors involved were used to screen direction, it flew by. We spent 2 hours in Bombay Bhel and wrapped it all up.
A special thanks goes out to Kelsey’s, Bombay Bhel Thornhill and The Vig Law Professional Corporation for providing us with some key locations.
When we decided to tell this story, we knew it would be a challenge during the production. With so many different set ups, indoor and outdoor scenes, we wanted to use the right tools but in a limited way. Thanks to ‘Cinevate’ and ‘Small HD’ we were able to do that. We used Cinevate’s Atlas 10, Pegasus, Durus Follow Focus and Cyclops during this film. Our original plan was to use Pegasus quite a bit for in door scenes and Atlas FLT for outdoor scenes. However, due to time constraints we ended up using Pegasus a lot less than we had anticipated. Not because it wasn’t a good enough tool to work with but more so due production hurdles. We also used Cinevate’s Durus Follow Focus with 15mm rails. It’s one of the most versatile Follow Focus on the market. While some may argue that Cinevate’s Cyclops is not a great viewfinder due to it’s size, I would disagree. For us, it has been a great tool as it allows you to give a full perspective with both of your eyes instead of one.
When deciding to use a monitor, SmallHD was the obvious choice. In my view they make the best DSLR Monitors. Again we utilized this for indoor scenes while we stuck to Cyclops for most of the outdoor scenes. SmallHD 1280×720 resolution really made our life a lot easier on the set. In the web design world, there is a term WSYWIG. What you see is What you get. And that’s the bottom line for SmallHD.
Again thanks to everyone involved in the production, my crew who did a great job, Huma’s Bridals for a marvellous job, the cast and of course our supporters who helped us made this film
Salman + Arooj – Wedding Trailer
Besides sharing a vibrant chemistry, Salman and Arooj bring similar family values in each other’s lives.
As always, our goal is to reflect couple’s personality in our wedding films and we made an attempt to keep the essence of their Next Day Edit. But we also wanted to give this wedding trailer an emotional touch.
We proudly present Salman + Arooj Wedding Trailer filled with tears, laughters and endless joy.
Have a look.
Kulsoom + Hadi – Next/Same Day Edit
Late bookings are a rarity. But Kulsoom and Hadi were a couple we just couldn’t turn down.
It was their down-to-earth nature, their honesty and humility that drew us in. But even these words fall rather short of describing them aptly and fully.
The coverage began with the Nikkah ceremony held at a Mosque and was followed by cultural traditions. The Nikkah took place in the morning and was followed, at night, by their vivid Mehndi ceremony, full of colour, life and energy.
The next day was the Wedding Day. Our goal in the Next/Same Day Edit was to incorporate the getting ready footage as well as the reception entrances. And yes, we pulled it off and completed the final edit a tight ten minutes before the viewing.
Destination Winnipeg – Suri + Ruben – Reception
In June of 2010, we received a phone call just as we were closing office for the day. A Suri Dhaliwal from Winnipeg was calling to inquire about our Cinematography & Photography services. Normally, we request the client to call back during business hours, but on a whim, I asked Suri to call my cell 20 minutes later.
Twenty minutes later, I was out shopping with the family when Suri called back accompanied by her fiancée, Ruben Karla, on speaker phone. While my wife carried on with the shopping, I wandered around aimlessly, immersed as I was in the conversation, which lasted about 30 minutes. Even though I’d never actually met the couple (not yet that is), they struck me straightaway as clientele for whom we would no doubt do something very special.
Two months later, when the couple flew down to Toronto to visit Suri’s sister, we met up with them, even though it was our busiest weekend of the year. I had 45 minutes to spare in between a ceremony and a reception taking place at the Bellevue Manor in Vaughan. Suri and Ruben drove down there, where we discussed among other things their wedding
While we were in Winnipeg for 6 days, our team provided coverage for the couple’s pre-wedding events including mehndi, mayyun and chunni rasm, which was later followed by the Sikh ceremony and reception.
We always feel that getting to know the couple is the most important part of our service and in Ruben and Suri’s case it was no different. It was because we spent such a great deal of time with them that their chemistry translated onto the screen as beautifully as it did.
