Fran Gagnon Films Blog

The Haka

fgagnon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:04:48 +0000

Haka (singular is the same as plural: haka) is the traditional dance form of the Māori of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.[1]

Just when I think I’ve seen it all at Weddings, the Father of the Bride decides to organize a tribal war dance called The Haka in honor of Her Rugby loving Daughter. Apparently this dance is performed by the New Zealand Rugby team as an intimidation tactic before their matches. Exactly why it’s being performed at Rebecca and Bryan’s wedding is anyone’s guess. This was only one small event at Rebecca and Bryan’s colorful and very fun Wedding reception at Beth El Synagogue in West Hartford. Here is The Haka -

Lauren and Kevin

fgagnon — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:00:39 +0000

If you knew Lauren and Kevin you’d know that there’s no way I could use a slow sappy song for the highlight portion of their DVD. It just wouldn’t fit their personalities. I think this song fits them and their day perfectly. Take a look -

trailers

fgagnon — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:44:25 +0000

I’m really starting to enjoy doing trailers. We’re now offering these as an option for Couples who can’t wait to see a preview from their Wedding Day. We guarantee our trailers will be posted on line with 3 days of the wedding and the couple can e-mail a link to their trailer to all of their Family and Friends.

Here’s an example of one we did on July 4th weekend. Congrats to Morgan and Kate. They’re truly a special couple.

A Winter Wonderland

fgagnon — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:54:27 +0000

I love it when I find new or unusual music to work with while editing. I bought the rights to this little ditty and I thought the mood of the song really matched Beth and Keith. This couple had a beautiful Holiday wintertime Wedding. Despite the low temperatures ( and man, was it cold!!!) talented photographers JC Carley and her assistant Lunell Troy braved the elements to capture some stunning nighttime images. The entertainment for the evening was provided by my good friend Rob Alberti from After Hours D.J. service in Holyoke, Mass. Please enjoy this brief highlight clip from Beth and Keith’s Wedding.

Monique & Bobby’s Photo Shoot

fgagnon — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:03:54 +0000

Gotta love working with my Photographer Friends from Studio 1923. In addition to being fantastic photographers, Jerome and Jen Braga are alot of fun to work with. Add a super couple like Monique and Bobby to the mix and… well, take a look for yourself here - Incidentally, it was awfully cold on this particular day but you’d never know it by looking at the pictures.

Monique & Bobby’s Photo Shoot from Fran Gagnon on Vimeo.

A Thank You note

fgagnon — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:49:43 +0000

It’s always great to unexpectedly hear from a past client. Here is an e-mail I received yesterday. It’s from Summer, one of our Brides from the fall of 2008. If you ever wondered about the value of Wedding Films please read on. I couldn’t say it any better myself -

“I just watched our wedding video today and again, it brought tears to my eyes. You captured everything I wanted to remember about that day. It’s amazing all the little things you forget as time passes, but watching this video brought back all the feelings of excitement, joy and happiness of that day. In my mind, it was always a perfect day, but seeing it now, almost a year and a half later, with the way you captured all the special moments, makes me truly grateful for all your time and effort which went into making our video. It means the world to me to have a video that captures our wedding day so perfectly.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the planning and stress involved with a wedding. Looking back on everything, this video was the best decision we made. I appreciate that more now, after time has passed, and I can only imagine how much more precious and valuable this video will be to us as time goes on. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything. I would refer everyone to you. You were great to work with and your end product was amazing. I’m just sorry it’s taken me so long to thank you.”

Ewelina & David

fgagnon — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:34:22 +0000

Ewelina and David didn’t let the mid-summer heat affect their Wedding Day. Please enjoy this brief highlight clip from their special day.

Lindsey & Michael

fgagnon — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:03:15 +0000

If smiling were contagious I’d be fully infected after this Wedding. I’ve never seen a happier couple than Lindsey & Michael and this highlight clip set to their first dance song proves it.

Angie & Sean’s Ceremony

fgagnon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:35:55 +0000

During an appointment last week a prospective Groom uttered a statement to me that makes me cringe every time I hear it - “Nobody watches the Ceremony anyway…we’ll probably just fast forward through it”. Naturally I immediately jumped to the defense of our work - Perish the thought! How could someone dismiss the work that I spent hours fine tuning in the editing suite?

Anyway, the point is, Ceremonies don’t have to be boring on DVD if they’re edited properly! Through the use of layering, compression and time shifting we strive to make the Ceremonies actually exciting to watch! In fact, our short form style enhances the significance of the Ceremony without compromising the integrity of the music or religous rites. Here is an example of a 50 minute Catholic Ceremony edited to 7 minutes. Pay Particular attention to the quality of the audio

[See post to watch Flash video]

Welcome

fgagnon — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:11:58 +0000

I’ve finally decided to join the 21st century by adding a blog to my portfolio. (I know, I’m only about 3 years late with this!). Seriously, I aim to keep our clients abreast of the latest trends in Wedding filmmaking as well as what’s new at Fran Gagnon Films. I hope that you find the information useful and the video clips entertaining. Check back often. I’m planning on adding to it weekly!