Sometimes eloquence lies in simplicity Although Annum and Saad’s wedding appeared to be no less than Royalty but their wedding was very traditional. Something we see very rare these days.
We met Annum mid last year but didn’t get a chance to meet Saad up until few months ago since he is from Boston. Although, it’s always good to meet the couple before the wedding, we learned a lot about Saad very much through Annum. And that really is a testament to their relationship.
We wish them all the best
Aliya and Erica saw us in action at Sapna and Shawn’s wedding, back in April of 2010 and upon seeing the Next Day Edit, decided to book us for their own wedding. Initially, they said, they’d decided against hiring any professional cinematography services, but our style was just too striking to pass up.
Aliya and Eric make quite an adventurous couple. They’re rock climbers, scuba divers and hikers. You’ll find this adventurous streak of their’s apparent in the Same Day Edit.
The wedding day started off with the usual universal pre-wedding preparations. Then occurred the park shoot followed by the Church Ceremony (a salute to Eric’s heritage). After about 7 hours of coverage, we headed over to the other end of the city to cover the Ismaili Ceremony (a salute to Aliya’s heritage) and then were back in Downtown Toronto at the Palais Royale for the Reception
The Same Day Edit features footage from the reception as well, including their choreographed First Dance. Enjoy.
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.
Common to all ‘brides to be’ is the aspect of organization. But Melissa was far more than just
organized. She was meticulous. Beginning with our first meeting with Bruno and Melissa,
right up until the final productions, Melissa remained very involved, touching base regularly
in order to ensure that every detail of production was well covered. And of course, it was.
The wedding, held at Luina Station, was as unique as the two people who were united and as
unique as their loved ones and their good friends. It was also a wedding as traditional as any
other wedding, filled with tears and laughter. Tears at the memory of Bruno’s late mother and
laughter at the soccer jokes that often erupted, since half the guests were Italian and the other
half, Portuguese. All in all, it was a wedding to be remembered.
Here is the Same Day Edit, highlighting the reception and the couple’s first dance. This was
shown approximately an hour after their first dance.