Wedding Trends
Whether your wedding is this Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, it’s no longer 2014, so don’t get stuck with last year’s trends. They are all over Pinterest, Facebook and every other social media platform.
To make sure you’re kept in the know, here are some trends we are seeing for 2015:
Drama
In 2015, bigger is better. Bigger flowers, larger displays and more decoration. LED-lit signs, ceiling decorations, and more. No empty spaces will be left behind.
Creative Drinks
Do-it-yourself and create-your-own drinks continue to be hot. Traditional drinks will always have their place, but in 2015, wedding guests will enjoy innovative cocktails and drink stands that stray away from traditional wedding classics.
Themes
Themed parties are a blast, so why keep the themes out of one of the biggest parties of your life? Create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you and your guests with costume contests and themed decorations.
What’s your favorite trend for 2015 so far?
Make the moment special with Wedding Videography by MJR Visuals. Our goal is to make your special day last a lifetime. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
Aputure AL 528 W LED Light Review
Today I am going to review the Aputure AL 528 W LED Light.
Why am I reviewing this light honestly because when i’m location and I run into other videographers they alway ask me, hey where did you get the light, Does it get hot, are they heavy, does it flicker, and how much does it cost? I normally have to reply in short concise singular words, Amazon, no, not really, nope, and cheap. When I do a review I like to talk about the function-ability of the product, I always say I’m self financed but I say that because I want you to understand that before I buy anything I read reviews, look at the specs and gather as much information as possible before I lay down any money because equipment is hard to purchase regularly and I understand that. Before buying these LEDs, I looked at a number of similar products. They ranged from the higher end models to the lower end models. What I was finding out is that LEDs that were more expensive were possibly a better build but offered the same light exposure while LEDs that were on the lower end tended to have less exposure and at the same time be less durable. The Apture 528 LED was perfect for me. I do a lot of on location or run and gun style shooting. I of course shoot corporate interviews with them but I have shot music videos, short films, broadcasted commercials, I have even used them for green screen application that is currently running on air. I found that the usage of these are actually limitless, well almost don’t shoot super slow motion because they do flicker with the higher frame counts.
Lets jump into it, Aputure lists these LEDs as being 9.4 inches by 7.5 inches by 1.3 inches and they weigh 1.2 pounds. They come in a black carrying case that holds of course the light with a shade, the wires and a tripod adaptor. The unit turns on with a switch and it tells you the percentage of power it’s using for the LED. That’s enough on specs any more detail you can find it out their web, war you can’t find is, dose it work. Pluses for the light is it’s extremely portable. It comes with a decent looking black bag that can hold the light and it’s tools, there is even room to put some extra stuff in there just in case you need it. Aperture gives you the option to run the LEDs off of ion batteries . Now there are other LEDs that allow you to run off one battery but with these you do need to use two batteries per light but that’s a small price to pay for the longevity. In any case I would rather have to much power then not enough. I have used it on batteries alone for up to 6 hours with no issue. You just have to make sure that the batteries are completely charged and that’s another great thing about this light it shows you the charge power you have left before it goes out. The light gives you the option of mounting either horizontal or vertical which allows you to change the shape of the light being emitted. Is it bright. Yes. When using it for a two person interview I have a three light set up and have the ability to set my camera be it the DSLR or Canon c100 at a 160 or 320 ISO respectively with a 5.6 aperture. No shadow no dark spots. . I do have 8 of them just because of the versatility and the price point make it a great investment for the mobile videographer….
The 3 Steps to Creativity
There is more to creativity then a camera, a lens, or the graphics - we state that videography is about creativity. Here are our steps.
3 Steps to Creativity from MJRVisuals on Vimeo.
Google Analytics Data.
Google Analytics Data. Data. Data. Data is a powerful tool. With data, you can gain insights, learn from your mistakes and even predict the future. Oftentimes, data is overlooked and left behind, never to be learned from or utilized. But, why? You're missing all of the fun!
Google Analytics is a necessity when it comes to getting data from your website, and now, Google has introduced the new and improved version, Universal Analytics, to the public, but it is still in testing mode. Google has invited its current Analytics users to upgrade to Universal Analytics, and new users can select this when they first get the code to place in their website.
If you haven't already installed your very own Universal Analytics tracking code on your website, now is the time. Let me tell you why.
First of all, it's free. And, if it's your unfamiliarity with websites that's holding you back from digging into the analytics dirt, just send the code to your web developer, and they can put it in for you.
Goals are a great feature of both Universal and regular Google Analytics and give webmasters the ability to track and define the successes on your website. For example, maybe you'd like to get more people signed up for your newsletter or fill out your contact form on your Contact Us page. By setting these up as goals in your Universal Analytics platform, you can easily see if you are reaching them or not. Google gives you four different types to choose from, the ability to apply monetary values, and templates to help you set them up. You can even see just how the goal is reached.
Annotations are another valuable benefit of both Universal and Google Analytics. Annotations give you and your web team the ability to leave placemarks when you updated specific parts of your website, started a social media campaign, or began your television advertising campaign. Marking these as annotations in your timeline allows you to put a cause with an effect if you see a spike in traffic in a particular area and takes out the guess work.
With Universal Analytics comes User IDs. If you use a CRM that creates unique user IDs, you can integrate this with Universal Analytics. With this integration, your users can now be associated with their sessions on your website. This allows you to identify problems with user experience, see your customers' behavior on your website, and much more.
Whether you are new or seasoned when it comes to data and analytics, make sure you're taking advantage of all that Google Analytics has to offer. Google has an amazing help database covering every single facet of its Analytics platforms, so you have no excuse to pass up all of the great advantages it has to offer.
When it comes to creating a videos for your next marketing campaign, look no further than MJR Visuals. From concepting to production, it is our pleasure to connect, inspire and move your audience. Contact us for a consultation today.
The Best Season for Your Wedding
What is the best season for your wedding? The most important day of your life should be set in the perfect place and at the perfect time -- no compromises. The only hard part is, what is the best time for you? Here are some pros and cons of having a wedding during different seasons of the year.
Fall - Along with Summer, Fall is a very popular time to get married. The weather is calm and mild, in most areas, and the bold reds, yellows and oranges are plentiful. Fall is also a great time for an outdoor wedding, since weather after September is mostly predictable.
Spring - Spring, along with Winter, is a less popular time to get married, so you can enjoy off-season pricing on your facility, hotels, and more up until May. The Spring months are for “new beginnings,” since flowers and plants begin to blossom, and this can be a wonderful theme. The weather can be very mild, but but don’t forget the rain in your plans!
Winter - Just like Spring, setting a wedding date in Winter can help keep your pockets full, since it is the off-season, as well. As for scenery, snow can be an amazing asset to the wedding photos that you’ll look at forever. You will have an entirely unique display of seasonal flowers, drinks, food and more that will always be remembered.
Summer - The Summer months are the most popular time to get married. It is a great time to have an outdoor wedding with endless flowers and beautiful, green landscapes. You will pay a greater price since you’re in the peak of wedding season, but for some, it’s a no-brainer to have a wedding during the the most popular season, Summer.
With all of the stress that wedding planning puts on you and your special someone, choosing the perfect time shouldn’t be. We hope that we have helped with your decision.
Wedding Videography by MJR Visuals captures your perfect day in an elegant, lively way that helps keep your day special for the rest of your life. Fill out our contact form to see how our services are the perfect fit your big day.
Review of the Tripod Magnus VT - 300
So today, we are going to review the Magnus VT-300. You can find this tripod at any retailer from B and H to Amazon and probably any retailer on the internet. Just type in Magnus tripod. I will tell you, I have used this tripod exclusively since I found it. It’s light enough to move around quickly on location, and it’s sturdy enough to hold all my equipment. Just so you know I shoot with either a Canon DSLR or a Canon c100, sometimes I have them completely rigged out, and even with the extra weight, I have not had any issues and no problems.
Let’s start with basics, this is labeled as a Two way Fluid Pan and tilt head tripod. It has telescoping legs with flip locks, the camera is secured using a quick release plate all of which are being held to the ground by sure grip rubber feet. It’s maximum height is 64.3 inches with a listed maximum load of 15 lbs. When there is nothing on it the tripod weighs 4.5 lbs.
Let me start by saying that I’m an Indie Producer, so normally, budgets are tight; everything I purchase has to work and work well. I look for four things in any product I buy cost, functionality, usability and replaceability.
So what’s first, cost. It’s 80 bucks. Even if you have a tight budget 80 bucks is affordable. Now people tell me that 80 bucks isn’t affordable to everyone well my take is win, lose or draw the money it takes to invest into this tripod is worth it. Trust me.
Function ability. The tripod extends to a decent height. I have been on locations where I wish I had an extra few inches to get over someone’s head, grabbing a lift or a riser or even a chair when the other two weren’t an option, but if I had three wishes to use on this tripod one would defiantly go to giving me a little more height. Now the fluid pan, tilt head motion works depending on the luck of the draw. To date I have only ran into two Magnuses that weren’t as fluid friendly as I wanted them to be but with a little grease and just working them lose they became smooth. This tripod is really basic, and You adjust the freeness of the pan-tilt movement by manual dial levers, righty tight left lossy, there is no science to it. I personally like the basic function-ability the tighter I make it the more secure the head is the looser I make it the freer the pan-tilt head is. Pretty simple and really no room for mistakes.
Usability. This is probably the main reason why I use this tripod. I have walked away from a number of other brands of tripods with my gear on it for whatever reason. A big wind comes or the weight is uneven and the tripod does what either falls forward because of the weight of the lens or falls back. When that happens, what happens? Your rig is on the ground, hopefully still working. This tripod never has, and I mean never dropped my gear and I have had my rig facing either up or down, sideways, loose, everything. This bad boy holds onto everything. I’m going to use another wish, the leg locking mechanisms. They suck. when you have all your gear on the tripod and you have to increase or decrease the height, the way they are made it’s actually a pain to raise and lower your system and lets say you want to go outside of the extremities meaning you want to stop halfway in between then it’s very difficult to even out your camera and the rig; which for 80 bucks is a small price to pay.
Overall the Magnus vt 300 is user-friendly, and the basic setup leads to a ease of use. It’s a consumer-level tripod but can be used easily for professional applications. It’s inexpensive enough to allow even the most frugal videographer out there the chance to use a great tripod, but at the same time it has more then enough quality to be considered prosumer, I buy 5 or 6 ever 3 years or so, and they usually hold pretty well. They would last longer, but I’m very tough on my equipment just because of where and what I shoot. Let me know if you have any questions.