artisan wedding videos by studio msv

Four Seasons, Westlake Village

A few weeks ago I realized I was gaining weight. Not enough sleep, a lack of exercise, and too much soda catches up with anyone. Even those with a historically fast metabolism like myself. Couple the weight gain with an unfortunate haircut and suddenly my face looked like a Marie Calendar's apple pie. Not cool.

So I started running and trying to eat better which has helped tremendously. The cool thing is this:

Last week, my friend, Julie from Elysium Productions - a wedding videography company in Orange County sent me a direct message on Twitter (follow me on Twitter here!) that asked if I was free to help her shoot that Saturday. But, unfortunately, I replied I was already shooting a wedding (at the beautiful Ritz Carlton SF, in fact.) But she clarified that it was the NEXT weekend that she needed me.

So after some text messaging, some emails, and a few phone calls, I found myself staying at Four Seasons, Westlake Village (nestled between California's Simi Valley and Malibu Hills) for a corporate job that Julie and the Elysium team didn't want to pass up.

I shot there for three days total and culminated the weekend with a Same Day Edit. Well, I guess, technically, a three-day edit that consisted of footage from all three days' events. I won't be able to show the video here just yet - Julie gets to blog about it first, of course - but after she blogs it, I will be able to show it.

I shot the first two days with my friend, James Burkart of Burkart Video Productions and the final day with one of Julie's trusted second-shooters from the LA area named, Chris Aguilar (of Soul Surf Media.)

And the cool thing that I was alluding to is that the event was unique because it was held at the Westlake Village Four Seasons which has a world-class wellness center built into the facilities. It's one of only a few of its kind in the world.

I got to sit in on some talks led by industry leaders on health, nutrition, aging, and wellness. Listening to them talk about these topics from the stand point of being world leaders in their field really gave me a great perspective on how I should treat my body. So I continue the journey - like many of us - to try to do better in taking care of ourselves. I'm on this journey with you so let's encourage each other to do our best!

(And, since we all know blog posts are better with photos, here are some pictures I took while in LA for this shoot.)

^ At the Saddlerock Ranch

^ Saddlerock for dinner

^ Live music

^ "A Vanity Affair" closing night soirée

^ Four Seasons Logo Gobo projected onto a hillside about 300 yards away

Caffe Mediterraneum, Berkeley

I had the best latté I've ever tasted at Cafe Mediterraneum on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. Go there. You will not regret it.

I never would have found it except that I offered to help out a friend who was in from out-of-town. Here's a short video of the excursion.

Bay Area Wedding Network

A few weeks ago I attended my first Bay Area Wedding Network (BAWN) event. It was held at the James Leary Flood Mansion in San Francisco and was sponsored by numerous wedding and non-wedding vendors from around the Bay Area.

I went as a guest of Lea McIntosh who generously paid for my registration fee (this time, that is! We've agreed that I would pay her fee for the next one...) and had a good time catching up with friends and meeting some new people as well.

One of the main reasons I wanted to attend this one was because Stacie Tamaki, my friend and founder of The Flirty Guide, was a part of a panel on internet marketing, blogs, and social networks. I think of myself as fairly well plugged into that scene and didn't necessarily go to "learn something" - I've never excelled at "learning things"; just ask my high school world history teacher, Mr. Neiman. But I did go for moral support and to see Stacie Do Her Thing.

Here's a picture of a Kobe Beef Mini Burger that was one of several excellent hors d'oeuvres that were served that night.

Here's Stacie during the panel discussion.

Here's Stacie taking a picture of me taking a picture of her before the session began.

For a complete list of BAWN sponsors, continue...

Cheesecake and then Some

I'm posting this via iPhone so please excuse any typos. Last saturday I shot a gorgeous wedding with photographer friend, Jen Skog, designed by wedding coordinator extraordinaire, michelle barrionuevo Mazzini. The event was held at the westin st. Francis' Alexander Room on the top floor. Everything was beautiful -- including the dessert served for the vendors. A berry cheesecake for each person was all I needed to leave that niht with a smile! (antioxidants = Healthful!) Imagine my delight when MB saved me a piece of the wedding cake by I Dream Of Cake! I was kind of full so I didn't really want any, but MB insisted. And I'm glad she did because After one bite, I remarked, "oh. So this cake is made out of magic." More on that later...

 

Father's Day Comes Early

Tonight, in honor of Father's Day, my wife, son, and daughter took me to A.P. Stumps in San Jose for a sit-down dinner and good family time. The food was not bad and the service was decent, but it was the family time that I valued most.

You may not know this, but today was the first day of Summer Vacation for my kids and it's been such a great year for them. We moved twice in the last year and that was really hard on them. But now they're very happy and finally feel that this is their home. Watching my kids grow up and culminating the school year with this great celebratory dinner was so special! My wife is rad and I'm very lucky to have her celebrate me in such a meaningful way.

You know why else my wife is rad? Because she bought me Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patirots for the Playstation 3. I've been wanting this game for two years. Now it's finally out and I have it in hand! (My daughter bought me the Die Hard and my son made the artwork. Also awesome gifts!)

But I promise you guys - I will not slack in my editing just because I got some great games beckoning to me (I also picked up Grand Theft Auto 4 and Call of Duty 4 just this week!) In fact, I will use my desire to play those games as motivation to finish my work!

If you're wondering what the big deal about MGS4 is, check out the video below:

All Work and No Play...

... makes Andrew a dull boy. :-)

This last week was a busy one for me - not only have I been editing like crazy and trying to launch a new project, I was invited to three different parties! It's always great to have some time to relax and hang out with great friends.

Let me recap:

Monday was Michelle's birthday party at Bliss Bar in San Francisco. I couldn't take any pictures there because it was too dark for my poor little iPhone. (I did manage to catch on shot outside though.) For many great photos of MB's party, visit Augie Chang's blog HERE. Maria of Professional Makeup Artistry, Skogie (that's my pet name for Jennifer Skog) of Jennifer Skog Photography, and Augie carpooled in my car from our 'hood in the Tri Valley to the City. It was really fun just to hang out and get to know each other better.

 

Then Wednesday I had a blast at my friend Tanja Lippert's house where Tanja and her husband Ryan hosted a great little cocktail party - just because! Tia Reagan, the other half of Tanja and Tia (a.k.a., T&T Dynamite) was in town from Oregon and it was great to see her again too. I can't name everyone that I met or that was there that night, but I was happy to meet some new friends like Jen from Jen's Cakes and Gabbi from Gabrielle's Bridal Boutique in Los Gatos. Gabbi and I had collaborated on a project but until that night, we hadn't met.

Here's Jill Johnson and Tanja with Flamingo (who is becoming increasingly famous.)

 Here's a picture of Nicole D'Ambra and her husband Matt. (Great guy! We talked about video games all night.)

Here is Jason, Tia, Tanja, and Braylon checking out some of my videos...

Ryan, Crystal, Jonathan, Linnae, and Skogie

Sunday night was Laura's birthday party (Laura as in Laura and Beth from Dekker/Muse) and that was fun too. There weren't a lot of the usual suspects (because, I suspect, many people were still working receptions and such) but I did meet many of Beth and Laura's friends from back in their Sausalito days. A real fun group of people, for sure! Very nice, too.

Here's me and the birthday girl.

Beth and Justin Ferar of Weddings on Film... bona fide rockstars!

Me, Georgina, Jessica, Eric, and Justin.

Oh, did I mention there were go go-dancers? Great idea!

It was a busy but fun week and now I have to REALLY get back to editing... :-)

Busy Thursday

Yesterday was a fun but busy Thursday.

I started out blogging about my new Professional Covert Proposal Videos - a Bay Area first! The pre-written post was supposed to be published at exactly 8am but because Typepad is pushing out a bunch of beta software, bug nuked my post and I had to retype it all over again from scratch.

Then I was off to have an early lunch with my friend Jennifer Skog. We talked about everything under the sun and had a good time making fun of each other too.

 Overheard:
Me (looking at a photo of Skog and her husband): Scott is a giant!
Skog: He is only 6'2"; I guess he is a giant... compared to you.

Me: I can become a photographer faster than you can become a videographer.
Skog: I wouldn't want to be a videographer.

OK, so mostly it was her capping on me. But I was too much of a gentleman to cap back. (But not too much of a gentleman to let her pay for lunch. ha HA!)

Then I headed home for some editing and getting ready for the Dekker Studio Grand Opening at which I was a sponsor responsible for creating a promo video. (More on that in days to come.) Traffic on the way to the city was sucky but I managed to get there just as the party really started. It was a really good time... I'm sure bloggers will be posting plenty of pics soon. I'll try to wrangle some later on.

After the party ended, I headed out with a bunch of vendor friends to get some late-night pizza and libation.

I got home at around 11 pm and got back to editing again. Just when you think things are all fun and games...

Last Weekend

Over this past weekend I took my wife on an overnighter in the City. It was good to get away from the kids for a couple of days and to do grown up things without the kiddies hanging on our sleeves.

We roomed at the Mosser Hotel (next to the Container Store) on 4th street between Mission and Market.

I know the manager of the Mosser and she was kind enough to make sure we were taken care of during our stay. The Mosser is a charming old-time hotel of the 40's and 50's era that has been completely renovated to suit today's modern traveller. Swedish designed furniture set the tone of each room while minimalist artwork and flat screen TVs adorn the walls. We were only there one night but we would have loved to stay longer.

We lunched at the hotel restaurant, Annabelle's, the first day - and I must say - that must have been the best thin-crusted Hawaiian pizza I've ever had! Yum! Incidentally, "Annabelle's" is named after Mr. Mosser's ex-wife. (Well... one of them.)

We did a lot of shopping at the nearby Westfield mall and I managed to wrangle a new pair of kicks! I have to admit that - in the words of legendary toughman, Arnold Schwarzenneger - I'm kind of a shoe queen. I bought a pair of Kenneth Cole "Cut the Rug" shoes but in cream, not black (not pictured.)

[Nordstrom's shoe shine - only $2.50!! I still paid $10, though. View of Metreon from our hotel window.]

For dinner we enjoyed The Fifth Floor, a French fusion fine-dining experience located on the Hotel Palomar's fifth floor. (duh!) This is the second time we've ever tried FF, but the last time I went there with some friends, we ordered entrées and I left somewhat underwhelmed. This time, however, we ordered the tasting menu and the experience was delightful!

[We were the fourth-to-last patrons to leave because our seating was at 9:30pm. "Late Night Dinners" - add that to the list of things you can't do with kids!]

Here's what we got:

We started with a vichyssoise appetizer... I can't remember what was in it. It wasn't on the menu.
St. Jacques au Caviar d’Aquitaine - Flash-pickled diver scallops with Aquitaine caviar, green apples
and smoked lardon jus.
Saumon - Slow-cooked Loch Duart salmon, essence of walnut béarnaise, salsify croustillant and watercress salad.
La Cruchade au Civet - Traditionally prepared corn polenta with Ossau-Iraty cheese, rabbit civet and roasted hazelnuts
Pigeonneau - Roasted squag, foie gras, carmelized chestnuts, orange and plack peppercorn jus
Camembert Cheese - with a sort of carmelized Granny Smith Apple
Macarons Au Chocolat -  Chocolate macaroons with chocolate sorbet

At less than $100 per person, this definitely qualified as a great deal!

In our short getaway, we also managed to squeeze in Iron Man and trip to Japantown for some candy shopping. Mmmmm... we love Hi-Chew!

Then, finally, on Sunday night, we had a birthday dinner with some friends and we all headed back to our place for some poker.

Now that I'm refreshed and re-energized, I'm ready to put my nose back to the grindstone!

Breakfast?

Despite the perennial reminder that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day!", I'm dubious of that statement's veracity.

I often skip breakfast because my mornings are pretty loaded with morning activity and I still feel fine throughout the day. (Or at least my stomach cramps and headaches aren't things that Aspirin, a nap, more coffee and additional snacking won't cure.)

I would love to have a balanced breakfast of granola, unsweetened yogurt and a grapefruit half, but usually, when I settle back down from dropping the kids off at school (or, in today's case, from dropping kids off at school AND from buying brine for my water softener at Lowe's,) I'm just ready to sit down at my computer and start editing (or, in today's case, blog then edit.)

Sometimes I'll have breakfast. Like maybe I'll drink a cup of coffee as my breakfast. I know, that doesn't sound very healthful, but I submit to you that it's better than you think! Studies have shown that caffeine has many beneficial side effects. Or if I don't have coffee, I still might have a good, healthful breakfast... like yesterday, for instance:

For breakfast, I had this delicious tart from Whole Foods. First of all, it's from Whole Foods. Don't they always feature products that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats? That's got to be good, right? Plus, I hear they promote organically grown produce and support local growers.

Additionally, look at all the delicious berries! It's chock full of antioxidants! This is everything a growing boy needs.

Well, anyway, it was downright yummy so, whatever.

Martini Madness @ the V Bar

Tuesday night was the first ever South Bay Martini Madness mixer. For those who are long-time fixtures of the SF wedding and event scene, you know Martini Madness as the regular ultra-swank cocktail mixer that Duncan throws to keep all the vendors in touch with one another. What's the purpose of that? Well, consider this: suppose a super chic wedding videographer is booked for your wedding date. Wouldn't you want him to be able to refer you to another super chic videographer in whom he trusts? How would Videographer-A know about Videographer-B if they don't get together regularly to chat and connect?

So you see - even though it seems Martini Madness is just a way to get together with other cool folks, relax, drink, socialize, gossip, feel hungry, wish you could sit because you've been standing too long in high heels, spend 45 minutes looking for parking and then end up with a parking ticket anyway, ultimately get home later than you planned and be tired the next day - it's actually a service to you!

Here are some screen grabs from the 30 seconds of video I took of Tuesday's Martini Madness, at San Jose's upscale Santana Row.

Hotel Valencia's V Bar - almost at capacity!

I'm a fan of cool shoes. I don't always have a huge budget to buy the ones I love, but my favorites brands are Kenneth Cole and Dolce and Gabbana. I'm not a women's shoes connoisseur, but even I think these are pretty hot. $10 if you can guess who's shoes these are and another $10 if you can guess the brand.

I'm not really sure what's so funny, but it does look like they're having a good time, doesn't it? The four pictured in the foreground, from left to right, Tanja Lippert, Maria Chang, Jennifer Skog, Armando Serbia. No hyperlinks for each name... just check out my preferred vendors list in the right column -->

If I can get these two to submit their interview answers, Armando and Claudia Akers will be featured in upcoming Take-a-Look Tuesday Vendor Spotlights! Here they're just shootin' the breeze.

Let's play Two Truths and a Lie. Read the following statements...
A) Jennifer Skog never went to Barbizon School for Models.
B) Maria Chang has never gotten into a fight.
C) When asked who would win in a dance-off, Skog said of Maria, "She'd kick my @$$ at dancing AND in a fight!"

Of the three statements, which one is a lie?