Our Technique, philosophy and FAQ's

I love weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and family events! This is real life, and you don't get a second chance to get it on video! Words of love from grandma... your uncle's healthy, strong hug... a kiss on the cheek and a quick word of advice from your dad... a laugh shared as you cut your cake... These are priceless moments, and you want confidence your videographer will expertly capture these memories.

If you have questions not answered here, call me anytime, at 304-546-6726. Ask for me (Greg)  personally.

Our goal is always this: to give you the best service, attention, and final digital video memory that you can find anywhere -- a final product so beautiful, emotionally moving, and real that the next time you hear about your friend's wedding, birthday celebration, bar mitzvah, or other family event, you, as their good friend, will feel you MUST tell them to call us.

Your day is worth celebrating with sensitivity and care. Always unobtrusive and sensitive to your guests, your still photographer, and the needs of the day, GM Productions will capture your dream wedding or bar / bat mitzvah in a natural documentary style combined with the best of classic videography.

People come into my office to discuss their wedding video and leave with a big sigh of relief -- having seen wedding video samples that speak right to their heart. That's when I know I'm doing something right. See our sample highlight videos now.

It's not a simple thing to shoot a wedding or a bar/bat mitzvah -- there are many moments where you have ONE CHANCE to get it right. Our wedding videographers are top professionals in shooting television, meaning that they are experts at capturing right the first time those fleeting and important never-to-be-seen-again moments. Our videographers are easy going, calm under pressure, unfalteringly reliable, unobtrusive, and technically highly skilled -- they have to be all this or I would not bring them into my company.

So your finished wedding video will be a rare gift -- a combination of an elegant classic style and video journalism that will last forever -- a video that will touch your heart, entertain your children, and rekindle your love.

Clients ask me all the time, "Your samples are so different than anything I've seen. I feel as if I am getting to know the bride and groom! What are you doing that is so different from other videographers?

We like it real. So no cheesy effects, and we don't cover everything with music -- on the video you actually hear your family and friends talking! We tastefully edit using music, bring to your event small, highly sensitive video cameras (no camera cranes), and create the most beautiful, heartfelt, and moving video that will capture the essence of you, your family, and your friends. We were the driving force in what some call wedding video journalism, also known as photo journalism or documentary wedding video production, an exciting, personal way to have your wedding video become a real, lasting heirloom for your family.

You'll hear your fiancée express dreams for your lives together, and you'll feel his excitement and joy. We use only the most beautiful and subtle film effects -- a process that can create a widescreen filmlook, gentle sepia tones and black and white, slow motion, and other organic effects that our clients love. See what past clients have said about our unique style, first-class service, and pro videographers!

Capture the emotions, the sounds, the love, and the wonderful details that you dreamed about since you were 5 years old -- by having your video professionally recorded and beautifully edited by an experienced videographer.

Your video will beautifully reflect your unique personality as your wedding day unfolds. You are unique, and your wedding video should be unique too.

How do we create a video that reflects your uniqueness? We are keen observers of people. We ask questions, and we listen carefully to your answers. What you want is what we want, and we customize everything, from the shoot, to the music, to the editing style. You'll notice we take careful notes at our meeting to be sure we forget nothing.

Take the next step. Come in and meet with us to see if we're right for each other. Call or email now to find a good time for both of us.

We look forward to giving you first class service and memorable results -- the same as I'd want from my wedding videographer.

All the best,
Greg Michael

Frequently Ask Questions

Why do you shoot with more than one camera?
 Additional cameras allow us to cover more angles as well as different events happening simultaneously. It also adds interest for the viewer. Can you imagine watching a tennis match or football game taped by one camera?

Will bright lights and cables distract from the atmosphere of our event?
 If you are asking this question, then you have probably attended a wedding where the videographer held a huge camera with an even bulkier light attached to the top. The cameras we use are ultra sensitive in low light. In the darkest of situations we have a soft halogen light so that you will still get a good image on the final product yet not ruin the atmosphere. We also have extended life batteries on our cameras with back-up batteries in the chargers and ready to go so we are not tethered to the nearest electrical outlet while we're trying to catch the next event.


How many hours of footage do you shoot?
 A good estimate is that for about 8-10 hours of coverage, we will probably shoot 4-5 hours of footage between the two cameras. We have reached the level of experience where we know which points justify filming and which parts are just plain boring. We don't leave the tape running from beginning to the end but we can usually anticipate when to start rolling should something memorable start to unfold.

How does your DVD compare with a "Movie Rental"-produced DVD?
 To answer that question, we need to explain to you the replication process by which we create your wedding DVD, see below!

 Replication Process
 The DVDs you receive through us are produced through a burn method, similar to the method by which CDs are created on your home computer. This is in contrast to a DVD that you rent from your local video store which is mass-produced from master glass disks which are then replicated in a factory by a stamping process. This is quite expensive and most production houses have minimum order requirements numbering in the thousands of disks. If you check around, you will find that pretty much every wedding videographer will provide a DVD produced through the burning method. We burn each DVD by doing them one at a time!

 It is important to note that about 10-20% of the DVD players on the market do not play burned DVDs -- most older players are not formatted to read such disks as this type of technology has only been available on the consumer level for a few years. Fortunately, upgrading to a new DVD player is not very expensive. Just check to be sure that your new player can read DVD-R/DVD+R disks.  You should know that your DVD player should be a "progressive scan"  player for best results. For certain packages we offer, we even send you a new "free" DVD player.....to keep!

Labeling
 We print our label graphics directly on the DVDs themselves. We do not use paper labels. The use of paper labels tends to unbalance the disk in the player and increase the likelihood of skipping.

Skipping problems?
 So your current DVD player will play our disks, but they skip at various places each time you watch them. No problem, you just need to clean your player's laser reader. You can buy a cleaning disk at your local WalMart or Circuit City. Burned disks do not have the same protective coating as "stamped" disks (the Hollywood kind, see above) hence they are more susceptible to skipping. If your DVD skips at the same place each time or the audio has dropped out in one section, please contact us. Something messed up in the burning process? Just return the defective disk to us and we'll send you a new one. We  watch every DVD before it is shipped.