It's so great to be able to capture dance recitals once again! I've been invited to work with various student dance groups at Boston College this year, and the performances have been spectacular! So much energy, such skill, it's amazing to these dancers in action. And yes, while COVID restrictions are starting to lift across Massachusetts, I'm still wearing a KN95 when I'm working in theaters (at least for the time being).
Wedding Teaser Film - Jaclyn + James at Boston Park Plaza
We had such a great time working with Jaclyn and James at their super elegant black-tie wedding. We still have a ton of footage to review, but here's a "teaser" film to see what's coming. Enjoy!
Classy Boston Wedding
Congrats to Jackie and James on their "Great Gatsby themed" black-tie wedding over the weekend. We had a great time working with the couple and their friends/family at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.
As we're going through the hours of footage, I thought it might be fun to share a few freeze-frames from their wedding day! More to come soon!
We've been featured on WeddingRule!
Editor’s Choice Award 2021
WeddingRule.com
Thanks to WeddingRule.com for posting an article about me and True Focus Films! We're thrilled to have been selected as a top wedding film vendor in the Boston area for 2021 (two years in a row)!
Check out the full article here!
Backyard Portraits
What a fantastic afternoon capturing a few shots of siblings Hugh and MaryKate! So adorable!
It's starting to feel like summer!
Woohoo, it's summer!! Time to celebrate with farm-fresh strawberries!! If you're looking for a fun outdoor activity, try fruit picking at a local farm. We're fans of Parlee Farms and they have some of the best tasting fruit in the area! Here's our haul from over the weekend!
Calling All Wedding Couples! Save up to $1500!
Getting married this spring or summer?
We’re looking for wedding couples who are active on social media to spread the word about our services. In return, we’ll offer up to $1500 off your wedding film package! Details can be found here.
Dates are limited and we expect strong demand for this promotion. Once the dates are booked, they’re booked! So contact us today for best availability! We can’t wait to work with you!
Exploring macro lenses
We use macro lenses for every single wedding shoot, usually for wedding rings, jewelry, and other small detail shots that we want to make appear larger than life! But I recently decided to try out my macro lens on a lone sunflower that my daughter brought home one day, and the results are stunning!
We won an award: Top 10 Wedding Filmmakers in Boston!!
We're thrilled to have been recognized by WeddingRule as one of the Top 10 wedding filmmakers in the Boston area for 2021! Woohoo! Thanks to all our wedding couples for providing such wonderful feedback to the WeddingRule team. We love you and are thrilled to have been part of your amazing wedding days! And thanks to WeddingRule for the 2021 Editor's Choice Award!
Fall in New England
Yup, it's fall again... one of my favorite times of the year. The changing of the leaves to their deep red and orange hues makes for some amazing imagery (and great backdrops for fall weddings and photo shoots)! Just took this picture (via drone) overlooking Burlington, MA. Happy autumn!
Four Seasons Hotel Boston Wedding Videographer
Fantastic time working with Jim Greene from Boston Wedding Films on a recent wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. Jim asked me to shoot 2nd camera for the day, and we had a blast capturing all the fun and love. Here's a link to the couple's highlight film! Enjoy!
https://www.bostonweddingfilms.com/post/cortney-arlen----boston
Four Seasons Hotel Boston Wedding Videographer
Some cool images from a wedding we helped film at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston last weekend! Great couple and stunning decorations! Thrilled to capture the champagne toasting flutes wide-open with the Canon 50mm f/1.2L lens for some beautiful bokeh!
Wildwood Park :: Burlington, MA :: Samantha and Ben (Family Portraits)
I met up with Samantha and Ben (and their two adorable children) to capture some stunning fall portraits last weekend. We started our session over at Wildwood Park and then slowly worked our way over to Simonds Park. Based on these images, you would never know there was a soccer game (with parents on the sidelines) going on just outside the view of the camera (woops!). Luckily, this family was super fun to work with and had great big smiles. Awesome day for fall-themed family portraits!
Lake Quannapowitt :: Wakefield, MA :: Cecilie and Spencer (Family Portraits)
And now, time for something a little different. Many of you know us for our cinematic wedding films, but every once in a while we like to throw a few different types of work on our blog. Today is one of those exceptions! We had the pleasure of working with Cecilie and Spencer (and their adorable daughter Lucia), and caught the late afternoon sun at the majestic Lake Quannapowitt. The orangey-red hues of the just-fallen leaves were the perfect backdrop for this adorable family's portraits... there truly isn't anything as spectacular as fall in New England!
Here are a few of our favorite pics from the shoot! Love the smiles!!
Certified Drone Pilot
It's official! I'm now an FAA-certified commercial drone operator (FAA part 107). I took the required exam (and passed!) in June 2019 at Hanscom Airport, and just got my certificate in the mail today! Woohoo! True Focus Films now has its own FAA-certified drone remote pilot, and we're ready to add dramatic aerial footage to all our projects. This shot was taken in New Hampshire, just as a storm was approaching.
What drone do we currently operate? That would be the DJI Mavic Pro. It's small enough to fit into a camera bag, but capable enough to capture just about any shot (and in stunning 4K, I should add)!
Can't wait to get on this drone-ing adventure!
Real Estate Tips and Tricks - Vicky Kustov
It was great working with Vicky Kustov (@VickyKustovRealtor) to create a series of short educational videos for real estate. Vicky's focus is on being a buyers' agent, and she has some great tips on making smart decisions when it comes to buying a home. She's a natural in front of the camera, and she has a wealth of knowledge to share. I wish she had these videos available when my wife and I were home shopping ten years ago! Oh, and we had a blast converting her living room into a mock-studio!
Deposits
Multiple Offers
Happy St. Patrick's Day
In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, here's a short clip from the Boston College Irish Dance group we filmed a few weeks ago. Such a talented group of Irish step dancers! Titled "Acappella" this performance showcases the group's amazing footwork and choreography without any musical accompaniment (except for the first minute). And yes, we used specialized stage mics to capture
all the "tapping" as clearly as possible.
Online Film Streaming is Now Here!
Happy New Year!
New for our 2019 film season, we're now offering an online streaming service for our wedding films. We've partnered with streaming service MediaZilla to provide a truly unique experience for our wedding couples. You might recall that we've been including one year of online hosting of the wedding highlight film (the shorter 5-10 minute version of the entire day). But the highlight film is only one segment of our typical wedding film service, and many couples usually want more than just the highlight film. That means we've been relying on DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and USB drives to deliver the additional content. Disc-based systems are great for having dynamic menus with scene-selection options (think of buttons to "jump" to certain parts of the movie), and USB drives make it easy to watch the content on devices such as smart TVs and computers. But we haven't been able to offer truly interactive disc-style menus with the ease of online streaming... until now.
We're excited to bring this new streaming platform to you, and we're confident this will make your wedding film that much more thrilling to watch for many years to come. Couples can enjoy their films on mobile phones, tablets, and computers. And there's even an Apple TV app that makes it insanely easy to view on a large screen.
Check out the film below to try out the service yourself!
For more information about our streaming service or wedding film options, give us a call at 617-283-5196 or send us a message. Dates are still available for 2019!
Rivermill at Dover Landing Wedding Videographer/Filmmaker :: Dover, NH :: Kaylin and Paul (Part III - Wedding Highlight Film)
Weddings are full of stories.... stories about the lives of the couple, their families, and their friends. That's part of the reason why we love capturing weddings and creating beautiful stories through which people can re-live all the best moments. And along the way, we get to hang out with some really great couples!
Take Kaylin and Paul. Their wedding at Rivermill at Dover Landing had so much warmth and personality that this quickly became one of the longest wedding highlight films we've ever produced. From the copper invitations to the copper mugs to the hand-painted welcome sign, everything about their wedding was carefully thought-out and planned. The stories about their love for their family, their work, and for life's adventures are ever so heartwarming. We are so thrilled to have been part of all the fun and excitement!
Huge thanks to my good friend and amazing cinematographer Bob for joining me on this shoot. And special thanks to the great vendors that made our jobs that much easier (see below for links to each of the vendors).
Without further delay, here's the world premiere of Kaylin and Paul's wedding highlight film. Best wishes for a beautiful future together!
CREDITS
Cinematography: True Focus Films
Photography: Eric McCallister
Entertainment: Ryan Parker
Hotel: Homewood Suites
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Rivermill at Dover Landing
Officiant: Bob Neidermire
Soundtrack License: The Music Bed
Rivermill at Dover Landing Wedding Videographer/Filmmaker :: Dover, NH :: Kaylin and Paul (Part II - Wedding Party Introductions, First Dance)
Time to kick-off the new year with some more fun from Kaylin and Paul's wedding at Rivermill at Dover Landing. It's awesome to see wedding party members get so involved in their introductions, and there were definitely some great moments to share from this couple's big day. We love Kaylin and Paul's first dance.... they just look so happy to be sharing the moment together!
Coming soon.... Kaylin and Paul's highlight film... check back again soon! Until then, enjoy this clip from their reception!