Futureproof

I was up until 1 am last night finishing some DVD's and Blu-Rays that we are delivering today. I always get so excited to put the finished product in the hands of anxious newlyweds. There is something exciting about getting a phone call the next day saying "oh my goodness, this is the best thing that came from our wedding day. What would we have done without this..". Its funny: when you have something you can not live without, but never knew existed before...I remember when nobody had a cell phone. Now EVERYONE has one and can not leave home without it.

I was thinking...In today's fast paced culture where a new computer is considered an antique in 3 months, DVD is going to Blu-Ray and we get a new cell phone every 6 months, it is hard to stay "current". It started with Flat screen tube Tv's, then moved to the $10,000 plasma tv's then LCD then HD then LED, now 3D in HD. HOW ON EARTH DO WE EVER KEEP UP?!? When Blu- Ray first came out, I thought " how could ANYTHING be better than DVD?" When I saw Blu-Ray, I had to have it. Now a regular DVD just doesn't to it for me...

Blah Blah Blah...techie talk could go on for hours...

The reason I titled todays blog Futureproof is because I want to make a point about your wedding video. If you got married in the 90's or even later, you probbly have your wedding on tape. Now you have to have it put on DVD. Whats next?!

So to prevent this conundrum from ever happening we provide you the digital video files of all the finished segments on a hard drive of your choice. That means if DVD, Blu-Ray or anything else is obsolete, your wedding is not. Pretty cool huh?

What does this all mean? It means when Forever Films shoots your wedding, you will never ever have to deal with this confusing mess EVER.

Remember if you love our work, Share it.
See you soon,

Charles

The Movie Fireproof

It was probably a year and a half ago when Mike (my best friend and business partner) said casually "hey, you should go see that movie Fireproof". At the time, I was in fact a firefighter for the city I lived in at the time, so I noted it in my mind to go see it sometime. I did not think much of it, and had not even heard of the movie.  It then came up a couple weeks later when Jessica and I had a date night, went to the theatre and it was still playing. We decided to go see the movie. All I can say at this point is that the movie changed my perspective on marriage and relationships forever. "Fireproof" was written by two brothers (Stephen and Alex Kendrick) in ministry with a church called Sherwood Baptist church (http://sherwoodbaptist.net). They had also done the movie "Facing the Giants" (http://www.facingthegiants.com/home.php) which was a movie that blew me away.
I am not sure why you go to movies, but most people go for entertainment and maybe a good message. When Jessica and I sat down in the theatre to watch "Fireproof" we did not expect to learn life lessons. By the time the movie was over, we were wrecked. It changed my perspective on everything. Not only was it full of humor, action, romance and drama, it had a life lesson worth learning. To say the least, it is defiantly on my list of all time best movies ever.
Mike and I had a serious conversation last week about the future of Forever Films. We spent a good amount of time taking about what we want to do with Forever Films, what we stand for, what we are all about, what we do, and what we do NOT do. This is not a post to explain those things. What I will share with you now, is what I believe to be one of the best ideas we have come up with to this day. In every package we do, when we ship the final product to the newlyweds, we will include a full length copy of the movie "Fireproof". Mike and I want our wedding films and videography to be a tool that honors marriage, and helps couples see the power and commitment they have had for each other. I finally got the guts to email Alex Kendrick today. He was the Director/ Writer/ Producer of "Fireproof". I have not heard back from him, but who knows, maybe I will...

If we have not and will not be doing your wedding film (because you are already married or for some other reason) go out and BUY a copy of the movie (http://fireproofthemovie.com/) (http://www.marketamerica.com/jessicadennison/affiliate-34683908/fireprooffacing-the-giantsflywheel-3_discs_.htm). I highly recommend it. If you are married, single or dating... it is sure to impress you. If we are doing your wedding, buckle your seatbelt, you are in for a real treat...

Thats it for today.

Be blessed,
Charles

Written goals come to life

I woke up this morning to another cold winter day here in Minnesota. It is nice because I live close to Minneapolis with out living in it. I let Nala(our 7 moth old 50 pound German Shepherd "puppy") out to do her normal morning routine. I soon realized she was dancing. I was confused. I though "why is she doing that". I soon realized that the ground is so cold that it was hurting her feet. Wow. It is way too cold for way too long here.
This has been an incredible week. On Monday, Mike and I checked off of our list, the final goal we have had on our white board for over a year. We went to Micro Center (a computer store here http://www.Microcenter.com) and purchased all of the components to make a new editing machine. 8 hours later and much frustration after building our first computer, we had finished assembling the baddest, meanest, most powerful editing computer alive(to us). It has 12 gigs of ram, 9.5 terabytes of hard drive space, a Blu-ray burner, and a whole lot more good stuff I don't understand. Needless to say, editing has been a lot more fun, and fast paced the past couple days.
Yesterday I went flying (in a small private airplane) with a good friend. Tim is in aircraft sales and can take me flying anytime I want to go. I don't know if I have mentioned this but I have my private pilot's license. I got it when I was 18. It has been a while since I have been up, so yesterday was a real treat.
Today I spoke with Sherwood pictures (http://www.sherwoodpictures.com/). They are the group that made the movie "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". We are in talks to put a copy of "Fireproof" in every package we deliver. We feel it is such a great movie and a perfect movie to start out as newlyweds. So if we do your wedding film, chances are you will get a copy of the movie in your final package.

On to the title of today's blog: Write down your goals. We have accomplished ALL of our purchasing goals just one short year after writing them down. We could not have done it without written goals. Mike and I just added a new goal to the list. An Airplane. We want to travel the country shooting wedding films in our own Forever Films company airplane. Nothing Fancy just a propeller plane. How fun! I can not stand commercial air travel. Crazy huh? We don't think so. After all: we have now written it down.

Charles
It has been an incredible week.

A new video for you to watch...

Here is the wonderful wedding we did in Stillwater, Minnesota! Kristine and Derek were amazing. Enjoy!



Video by us (forever films)http://www.ForeverFilmStudios.com
Photography by Chloe Photography, Stillwater, MN: http://www.chloephotography.com/
Planned by Danielle!
Shot at The Outing Lodge bed and breakfast in Stillwater, MN:http://www.outinglodge.com/

Go and vote

Rarely do I EVER post more than once per day, however, I need your help:

Minnesota Bride Magazine is having a contest of best vendors.

If we shot your wedding: click the link and fill out the form

If we did NOT shoot your wedding this year but still want to help us out: Click on the link. You must fill out the form and submit at least 6 vendors. Just make sure Forever Films is under BEST OVERALL VENDOR and also VIDEOGRAPHER

http://www.mnbride.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&type=InfoRequest&mod=Informatoin+Request&id=0C247FD01DE94ECE8F3D4F3CD07B04A1&level=1&tier=1&AudID=1FBA61BBC0AD495CA1ED91B7A1568EC6

Thanks,
Charles

Winter wonderland wedding

It is funny. Every time I type the word "Videography" it puts the little red squiggly lines under it. I think I am starting to develop a paranoia of poor spelling. I am not sure if Videography is not a real word, or if someone just forgot to add it to the dictionary. At any rate, I think I will just add it myself.

I think hard about the word videography and how it relates to the wedding business. I must admit, before I started doing wedding films, I thought of wedding videography as a cheap, cheesey boring video of you wedding. I don't know about you, but I think this is the case for many people. In some cases, the bride or the groom has to plead to their fiance to have video. What blows me away is that everytime we deliver it, the "skeptic" contacts us and says the same thing. The words change a little bit, but the message is the same: "I had no idea...i am so sorry I was against this in the beginning". Now they have another reason to be happy they married the person they did!

Mike and I have spent a good amount of time today talking about the future of Forever Films. We have many great things on the horizon. Many weddings for 2010 already booked. We have started to grow our staff, and enjoyed every minute of it. David Fink (a local film maker) is joining our team! He has an incredible talent for doing what he does. David and I shot a beautiful wedding at "the Outing Lodge" in Stillwater, MN last weekend. The Bride was stunning, the groom was happy as ever, and it was a GREAT time. We used our new Glidecam to shoot the wedding, and I must say, the footage is amazing. I can not wait to get working on this project! I will say, I had a blast with award winning photographer, Chloe and her husband Brant. The photos will be amazing. Also I must mention that the planner Danielle was wonderful. She truley impressed us. I do not think the day would have been such an overwhelming success without Danielle. If you are planning a wedding HIRE A PLANNER. They are invaluable. They save more than they cost.

On to the part that I am very excited about: we just got asked to be featured in Maple Grove Magazine. We were contacted by the editor yesterday, and they want to feature us in their September issue. It may seem like a ways away, but we do the interview in May. WOW! I must say, it makes me a little nervous to be interviewed for something like this. We have never been published in an article before...it makes me smile just writing about it...

Although I could probably blog all day, I must get back to working.

Until next time,

Charles