Every couple adds a unique flair of venue, to the universal event that a wedding is. Umair and Adeeba held their Mehndi and Valima events at a banquet hall like every other couple. But unlike every other couple, they decided to celebrate their Nikkah ceremony (the vows ceremony) in their backyard. A marquee housed the event, with close friends and family in attendance. It was an unusual venue, but no less striking than any other that we’ve encountered.
Umair and Adeeba found out about us at Fahad and Khatidja’s wedding and ever since, had their hearts set on our cinematography services. While Umair was pretty laid back (as most grooms tend to be), Adeeba knew exactly what she wanted and conveyed her ideas without hesitation. Coming from a family of five sisters, she drew inspiration from each of them and brought together multiple ideas with sophistication. And Umair, as the eldest in his family, took on the responsibility of ensuring that everything went smoothly and according to plan. These two make quite a team:)
Based on true story of Monika & Ashish’s 12 year journey of falling in love, growing apart and then falling in love again.
Production Notes:
Monika & Ashish came to us in Fall of 2009 for wedding cinematography services. After sitting down with them and learning their story, I knew there was a story at hand to be told. I proposed them the idea of a short film.
Naturally, they don’t have any acting background, so they didn’t welcome the idea that much. But after speaking to them continuously, they bought it into the idea and hence began the scripting stage.
We heavily involved them in the scripting process so their story is told properly. Our goal was to make something with light humour.
The concept of Same Day Edit integrated with their story was something that I never told them about. I wanted to see surprise faces on the wedding day but the whole concept was always there from the beginning.
PRODUCTION
Once the production began, we spent a lot of time rehearsing and driving and more driving:). Both Ashish and Monika were extremely busy with their professions so it took a while to get the production going. Initially, we filmed b-roll footage that we knew we might end up using in the film but it was mainly shot for the teaser trailer.
That being out of the way, we then filmed scenes in chronological order. The story was given a little more weight thanks to their dance video from 1997 that brought them together.
Aside from our Canon 70-200mm lens falling and splitting into 2 pieces and then fixed again, we didn’t have any other problems (trust me that was enough; a short film on it’s own as to how it happened)
Although, we did rehearsals to make sure there is a believable story, I was a bit surprised by both of their acting abilities. Especially, the opening scene at the locker surprised us quite a bit.
Overall, I was pleased with how things turned out including couple’s performances.
We also filmed 3 additional scenes which didn’t make the cut. Although 2 of 3 scenes weren’t that critical to the story, I wish that we were able to put 1 of the scenes in there. But it will be included as a Deleted Scene on the final DVD.
We filmed at a high school thanks to couple’s friend Nupur and UofT Scarborough Campus, thanks to Vinay. We also got a chance to film at Toronto Curling & Cricket Club where Team Canada’s national matches take place. A big thanks also goes to Vikram for allowing us to film in his office.
This short film was edited on Adobe Premiere CS 5.
Ronak and Swetal’s interest in our Studio was sparked with the online debut of Main Aur Mrs. Verma. They approached us this past spring requesting a similar production, but one unique to them and their story. Since both lived and worked in a different city altogether, they were unable to arrive at the studio. But over the next several months we maintained constant communication with them, via emails, phone calls, and even some web conferencing.
The project was one of our most ambitious up to date and despite some major production hurdles, it was not only a huge success but it also far exceeded expectations.
While we, as always, put forth all our efforts and resources towards our goal of product excellence and couple’s satisfaction, the project could not have been the huge success that it was without Ronak’s and Swetal’s devotion and excitement. So of course, congrats to the couple—the project would not have come into being without them and their special day. But for this final product, I gotta say: Congrats to the production team: we did grrreeattt guys!
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Weddings are just such occasions. They take our breath away. Not just by the beauty of the décor and not just by the great food or venue but above all, by the people who partake in the event: the families that are brought together and the guests that are invited to share in the celebration of the union that a wedding is. Vik and Manisha’s wedding did just that: it took our breath away.
The décor by Dream Party Décor was phenomenal. But even more phenomenal was the couple’s calm and certainty despite all the stress and distress that a wedding usually entails. I first met Manisha, last year, at Priya and Angat’s wedding. Her eyes lit up as she told me her plans for her big day. She was very clear on what she wanted.
I then met her and her fiancée Vik at the studio where they gave us further details of what they wanted. When they left the studio, they were confident in our ability and we were confident in their vision.
And their vision, coming to life, was indeed a grand success. Catch a glimpse of it below in the “Next Day Edit.”
(Next week we will feature the entrance video, highlighting the wedding prep., but for now, feast your eyes on this).
Cultural traditions retain a beauty all their own, but when those traditions merge with another culture’s, a whole new tradition of beauty is formed. Such was the case with Barinder and Melissa’s wedding. These two had a two day wedding, each day a tribute to their separate but now converging cultural and religious traditions. The first event, which took place on May 22nd, 2010 was a tribute to Barinder’s background: a traditional Sikh wedding. The second event, on May 23rd, 2010 was a tribute to Melissa’s: an outdoor Church ceremony.
Originally the plan had been to complete a “next day edit” for each event, but upon discovering the multitude of similarities between the two traditions, we decided to do a single “post-ceremony” edit. And so, the final S/NDE included footage of not only the traditional Sikh wedding but also the outdoor church ceremony, which took place just an hour and a half before the video was shown to the guests.
Few weeks ago, we posted our Journey to Bahamas which set the stage for Deepan + Ausra’s love story. This was filmed with our new gear including our HD Cameras.
Note: The underwater sequence was filmed by Ausra and Deep. Now they are on our roster of creative cinematographers 🙂
The final 10 minute short film/documentary will be shown on their wedding on August 28th, 2010.
We are only less than month away from the big premiere of Main Aur Mrs. Verma which will be shown and Sapna & Shawn’s wedding on April 3rd. You have seen the teaser trailer and first batch of behind the scene images and now you can watch some more coverage by our photography department. Click on images to see larger version.
Last year, Sapna & Shawn came to us for something different not only for their wedding video but also their pre-wedding video. The moment I met them, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for their pre-wedding movie.
After hours of dance practice, sets and planning, we produced a very different kind of a short film consisting of bollywood dancing.
This is just the teaser, as the final video will go online on weekend of Wedding. April 2nd, 2010
On September 4th & 5th, Nimita & Derek had their hindu ceremony and reception in Brampton Ontario. Nimita is originally from Toronto while Derek from Chicago but they met when they were professors at St. Louis College of Pharamacy.
We never met the couple as they flew in just days before the wedding to take care of the remaining fine details which their parents had looked after. Full of energy and character, Nimita + Derek are one of those couple that immediately catch your attention.
It’s been a while since we have added anything here. The reason is no more than lots of work in the editing room.
Today we have added wedding highlights from Stephen + Shirley Wedding held on September 26th, 2009. A very humble and enjoyable couple to be with, Stephen + Shirley met us early this year and immediately booked us. We spent a full morning session with them at Niagara Falls back in May which can be watched here.
Yes, we have been slow with updates lately due to busy wedding season. With that now over, we will be posting 2-4 times a week here with photos and cinematic videos.
Evy + Richard got married on August 22nd, 2009. It was a fun Greek wedding surrounded by loving friends and family. You must have seen their engagement love story over here which was shown at the wedding before their entrance.
We will be bringing more clips from their wedding on our facebook page but for now enjoy their wedding trailer.
Brenda Mok came up to us earlier this year showing interest in our wedding cinematography work. She and her husband Jitesh had a hectic schedule as they both work in Chicago and came here to get married in the presence of their families.
Although, we met Brenda once and spoke to Jitesh on the phone, it seemed like we had known them and their families for a long time. That is one of the things we cherish on the wedding day aside from capturing the most beautiful day in a couple’s life.
The following is the ‘Next Day Edit’ of their wedding which was shown at the reception on Sunday. The following piece is something different than our normal edits where everything happens in more or less a sequence.
Here, we did our best to go back and forth between the spiritual festivities and bhangra dancing based on the beat of the music and lyrics.
