Casimir {and} Andrea from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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This was a wedding we filmed in Indianapolis, Indiana at the beautiful St. John’s Catholic Church in downtown Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Central Library. Casimir and Andrea dated briefly in High School and went their separate ways. As fate would have it, they reconnected while attending Purdue University and now they are Husband and Wife. We are always intrigued by our couples relationship, how they met, and little twists of fate, their family, etc. There is always a story to tell. They had a beautiful wedding all the way around. We enjoyed once again working with our good friends Brock and Stefanie Childs of SB Childs Photography.

Vendors

Hair and Makeup: WIP Downtown
Photographers: Brock and Stefanie Childs, SB Childs Photography
Wedding Coordinator: Nora Kuzel, Central Library
DJ: Jason Fritz, Pro-Sound Entertainment, Inc
Florist: JP Parker Flowers
Cake Artist: Willow Branch Bakery

Stefanie {and} Bryan from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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This wedding will go down as one of the upper tier most beautiful weddings we had in 2010. A credit to Stefanie’s vision and Kim King Smith Events. We always seem to luck out and get great couples with equally great families. The wedding was at St. John’s downtown, which is one of our favorite old churches to shoot at. The old churches really have a lot of character and there is a certain romance about them. We shot quite a bit of 16mm film and Super 8 film for this wedding. There is some black and white film that was shot and this is true black and white film stock. Film always adds to the romantic feel of the wedding. Film has natural grain in it and imperfections that give the wedding film some texture.

The reception was at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, which is also one of our top places to shoot. The reception was over the top beautiful. How about that cake from Heavenly Sweets…it tastes as good as it looks.

Thank you Stefanie and Bryan for choosing Northernlight Filmworks to film your wedding!

**Photo credit: Video place holder image is courtesy The Studio Photography.

Church St. Johns
Venue Indiana Roof Ballroom
Event Planner Kim King Smith Events
Cake Heavenly Sweets
Flowers McNamara
Photography The Studio
Band Zanna-Doo

Scott {and} Stephanie from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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What a classy family! We had the pleasure of filming this wedding in Indianapolis, Indiana. Such a great family on both sides. We felt so incredibly welcome. The Bride, Stephanie, had this perpetual smile all day long. She has one of those infectious smiles. One of our favorite times of the day is the morning when the Bride is getting ready. We don’t film that entire time but bits and pieces. It is during that time we see the relationships and the personalities of the Bride’s family and friends revealed to some extent. Scott was in such a great mood all day long and they both really just soaked it all in. Below is the e-mail we received from Stephanie.

“The movie along with the ceremony and reception were awesome!! We couldn’t be happier! The filming and production…everything amazing! Thank you so much! We also loved the special touches on the DVD cases. ~ Stephanie”

Photographer Jennifer Driscoll
Venue Central Library
Band Cocktail Sax Band
Florist Coby Palmer Designs
Cake Heavinly Sweets

**Photo credit Jennifer Driscoll for video place holder image. It rocks!

I spent 3 days last week in the West Indies on the island of St. Lucia for a shoot. This was a very last minute shoot and was on the plane within 24 hrs of accepting the job. It was rush getting a few things packed and my gear organized and strategically packed. I traveled alone on this trip but I don’t mind this. I do enjoy traveling with my wife and family but there is something about traveling alone that causes you to focus a bit more. I find that I meet more people this way and I love talking to people to get their story.

My connecting flight out of Atlanta I sat in the middle seat. On my right was a man named John and to my left a woman named Karen. John and I talked quite a bit. He is a biology professor at Saint Mary’s College and he was on his way to St. Lucia for a job interview at a university on the island. John is originally from Trinidad and his wife and 2 children are still there. I learned more about his areas of expertise. He is currently working on research involving antibiotics to try and resolve why they sometimes cause hearing loss. Instead of lab rats, they use Zebra fish to run tests. One of the most widely researched fish in the world with an immense amount of data about this special fish. John was an interesting person. Karen was on her way to St. Lucia to go on a barefoot cruise. She was an emergency room nurse and actually was a consultant for the TV show 24.

As I sat quietly, John asked me where I was staying. I told him I had no idea. He gave me a puzzled look. I said “really, I don’t know, they never told me”. He asked if I was going to be on the north or south end of the island. I just shook my head, shrugged my shoulders and told him that I really didn’t know but I would meet up with my contact at the airport. I was ok with this but John in his accent said, “no way would i ever do that, it would make me too nervous”. I told John that I just look at these trips as adventures and just go with the flow.

The island was just breathtaking to see and I stayed in a beautiful villa. The water is turquoise blue as is typical for the caribbean. I always find locations like this very peaceful. There were pocket of St. Lucia that reminded me of things I saw in Haiti. I always come away from places like this realizing how blessed we are in America. The hospitality incredible and I felt very welcome. There is so much to do in St. Lucia but really didn’t have the time to do them. I did get a hike in to a fort from the late 1700′s. I tried some local cuisine and loved everything i tried. I even tried coconut juice from a street vendor who used his machete to cut the coconut open. It was kind of a bland taste.

I met some very fun people. Asha, Tyrone, Bridgette and Agnes. They are all from St. Lucia with the exception of Tyrone, who I discovered grew up in Gary, IN. I really enjoyed the short amount of time I spent working with them.

This is an incredible place for a destination wedding. There are so many places to choose for a destination wedding here.

My first full day of shooting, I was up before the sun at 4:30am. I did not crawl into bed until 1:30am the next day. My last day in St. Lucia, I went to a local beach for a morning swim with Bridgette and Agnes. The caribbean water was the perfect temperature at 8:00am. We talked about the history of the island. I remember floating on my back looking up at the sky. The water covered my ears so I couldn’t hear. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

I look forward to returning some day but would like to take Jen with me on the next trip.

John

Jenny {and} Dave from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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This was a wedding we filmed at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) for Jenny and David. We had an opportunity to learn more about them before the wedding in filming a couples interview. This is a great way to document how they met, the proposal and how the relationship developed. This interview was woven into the fabric of the wedding film. We spent the morning with Jenny’s family as she prepared for the day and they made us feel so welcome. We always enjoy this time because it gives us an opportunity to get some candid moments and to see some of the personalities come out. The wedding was so beautiful being on the grounds of the IMA. We loved the sonnet that David wrote for Jenny, it gave the ceremony a personal touch. Jenny’s Maid of Honor is a concert pianist and she played a couple of pieces during the reception and she was phenomenal. It was amazing being that close to her and watching her hands and fingers take over that piano. We worked again with Photographer Andrew Scalini and Event Planner, Casey Scott.

Here is a very nice note received from Jenny and Dave.

“Hi Jennifer and John,

Many Thanks!
Jenny and Dave

Toby {and} Ashley from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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This was a beautiful intimate wedding we filmed at the Conrad, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. We met Ashley and Toby and they are such a great couple. Toby is so energetic and we loved that about him. Ashley looked so beautiful on her wedding day. Love the bird cage veil and her dress was amazing. That morning we stopped by Red’s Classic Barbershop to get some shots of Toby and his brother getting a classic shave. This was one of the coolest barbershops we have been in. It was great working with photographer Angela Talley.

Bridget {and} Eric – Notre Dame Same Day Edit from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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This is a Same Day Edit (SDE), which we produced for Bridget and Eric. The couple wanted all their guests to experience the day with them and this was shown at the reception right before open dancing. We filmed the wedding at one of our favorite places, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame. When you walk into this church, it presents jaw dropping beauty and a certain reverence about it. We enjoyed spending the day with the couple and their friends and family. Another great wedding with heartfelt speeches will make this an heirloom for the couple.

So what exactly is a Same Day Edit? Throughout the day, our team is very focused on filming as they always are. But in the case of a Same Day Edit, conscience and focused decisions are made on identifying clips that will be used for the edit. It’s about finding moments to use to help move the story forward of how the day unfolded. Footage is aquired and we are constantly working on ingesting the footage into our system and editing throughout the day on our laptop. Pulling one of these off requires special attention to logistics and making sure that we have the right people in the right places when needed. We are still editing even during the early stages of the reception. Once we have the sequence down, we adjust audio, color grade and export the movie. We arrange audio with the DJ or band and it’s showtime. The most enjoyable thing about a Same Day Edit is seeing and watching the reaction of the couple and their guests. Producing a Same Day Edit is very stressful and does a number on your physical and mental energy. But when you observe the couple and their guests laughing, crying and sometimes cheering, it is well worth the time and effort. If you are interested in having us produce this for your wedding, let us know and we can talk it over.

We enjoyed working once again with our good friends Kevin and Alicia Monahan of Kevin Monahan Photography. The reception was held at Morris Park Country Club and we enjoyed working again with Anne Landis, who did an amazing job designing this wedding. A special thanks to Shawn Saros of ProShow for getting us some awesome audio for the SDE. Shawn kept the crowd energized.

Comments are welcome.

When the wedding season finally winds down a bit and the weather is starting to turn colder in Indiana in November, Jennifer will be heading out on a Royal Caribbean Cruise.  As Co-Founder of POSH, she and Reagan Zugelter of Studio Z Films will be leading a group of talented female filmmakers and photographers for a retreat.  This is the first of it’s kind.  The retreat was specifically designed to give the participants a chance to relax, network and learn some things along the way.  There will be some on hands shooting on a private island.   The size of the group is limited in order to keep it intimate.  Learning in this type of atmosphere allows more hands on training and it allows participants to connect with other females in the industry to talk about their experiences and to learn from others.  Many times it is the casual conversations where people potentially learn the most.

This is also a great opportunity for photographers who have an interest in exploring the world of filmmaking.   Many of the same principles in photography transfer or relate to cinematography.  The use of light, exposure, composition, etc.   Working in both disciplines are complimentary to each other and will make you a better visual artist.

The deadline to signup is rapidly approaching.  Visit POSH for more information.

Dani {+} Dan from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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Wow…what a fun couple this was. We really enjoyed working with Dan and Dani. The wedding was at St. Jude Catholic Church and the reception was held at the Indiana State Museum. We loved the energy of all of their friends, it made it so much fun. We tried something new on this to see how it would work. We gave Dan’s brother Bob one of our small cameras to document some of the behind the scenes things. You will see a small excerpt of the footage in this highlight. The “un-censored video was so funny”. We will definitely do this again. That camera is now affectionately referred to as the “Bob Cam”. Dan and Dani will get a full chapter with just that footage.

We enjoyed working with one of our favorites and good friends Amanda and Kyle Wilcher with Amanda Wilcher Photgraphers. They captured some amazing images that day.

Thanks to Dan and Dani, it was an adventure

Heirloom Session – Moore Family from Northernlight Filmworks on Vimeo.

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Northernlight Filmworks is teaming up with Carpenter Photography Design for a product we have developed called the Heirloom Session. Watch for these sessions to evolve to a more dynamic representation of your family. Each of these sessions are custom made according to the client. Whether it is a simple documentation of the session itself to authentic interviews from the family. Either way, the Heirloom Session is meant to be just that, an Heirloom.

After you watch this video, visit Carpenter Photography Design to find out how that special Mom can win a free session.