Friday, January 7, 2011

Radha & Mahesh - My Personal Opus

I think I now know what giving birth is like,  metaphorically of course. I have finished my biggest wedding ever and it felt like I was in labour for days, one month to be exact. It took me one month to edit down one terabyte of footage to a one hour and ten minute artistic edit. This was no easy task and I am a stronger editor for doing it. Possibly closer to insanity but better for it.
Radha and Mahesh gave me the perfect wedding film situation, one that every wedding filmmaker dreams of. It was a perfect combination of color, texture, beauty, location, exotic performances, emotion, elephants, music, family and artistic creative freedom. They wanted me to be me. I love them for it. So what follows is almost every montage in the wedding. Why, you ask? Ego, pure indulgent ego and the need for self gratification. That, and it is really, really good and Radha and Mahesh would love to share it. So you know, clients needs alway come first. So Radha and Mahesh this show is for you.
The first clip I will share with you is Radha's Henna night followed by each of the couples Grah Shantis. Any one who knows me can attest to my love of a good Bridal Prep and this my friends is one hell of a pre-wedding day Bridal Prep. What I love more than the Henna's great visuals, is the true level of love and emotion both families show to each other at their ceremonies. Truly beautiful to watch that love.

Radha & Mahesh - Radha's Henna & Grah Shantis from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Mehndi
Where there is Henna there is a Mehndi Party. This was the first time the two families are together and they waste no time on having a good time. More beautiful colors, great music and a room full of love and happiness. This is my second night of really good Indian food and a great cup of Chai. They really welcomed me and I got the ink to prove it. Yes I got a Henna and no it is not just for girls. My symbol meant 'Bad Ass'. Why all the girls kept giggling at me when they saw it, I will never know.

Radha & Mahesh - Mehndi Party from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Garba Rass
Garba Rass means to dance. Not only did Radha and Mahesh dance but so did most every guest at this beautiful event. To top that off they had professional dancers really add a unique and authenic touch. I love the human body in motion, especially when the rhythm and movement have the art of telling a story, communicating an emotion. Wow, I am sounding a little pretentious. It is all part of the ego thing. Any way I found this great piece of music and I hope I captured a little Bollywood vibe.

Radha & Mahesh - Garba Rass from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo
Bridal Prep is usually one of most emotional times of the day. It offers a great combination of mood, drama, beauty and detail. Radha gave me a great combination of both and a very interesting shriek. This strange noise is well known among Radha's friends and family. How can you keep a bride calm who is about to view her husband to-be riding in on an elephant? You don't do a thing but keep rolling. I can only imagine how much extra she weighed after all the adornments and clothing that is lavishly put on.

Radha & Mahesh - Bridal Prep from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Baraat & Procession
I love the movie Slumdog Millionair. Danny Boyle is pure genius. When Radha and Mahesh suggested in using this song and one other from the movie it was a no brain er. Now, we are at the elephant. I was giddy like a school girl at the mere mention of the elephant when I first met with the couple. Like the scene in Jerry Maguire with "You had me at hello", I was "You had me at the elephant".

Radha & Mahesh - Baraat and Procession from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Post ceremony and pre-reception gave us more great opportunities with the elephant and a jib. More Bollywood inspired shooting here. We really wanted to shoot a music video with Radha singing to one of her original songs but we couldn't fit it in. Besides, we have an #$%!ing elephant to play with. By the way, when you hear rushing water when you are near an elephant, run! In the middle of some great Bridal Party shots, the elephant had do some elephant business and lets say it was a lot. The couple was energetic and ready to capture some great footage.
The decor for the reception was outstanding. Most wedding filmmakers love detail and a great room setup. This had it all plus very professional lighting. Any filmmaker who does not like a room filled with professional light is either blind or not very good filmmaker.

Radha & Mahesh - Post Ceremony from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Radha and Mahesh's First Dance
Pardon the pun 'It's the same old song and dance'. But for most part that is what the first dance is. I have seen my share of great first dances. They consist of a great music track, a beautiful couple and a few months of dance lessons. Well Radha is a great singer and her brother a great musician and the combination came up with four original songs composed and performed by the dynamic sibling duo. So now take the formula and add an original song, original choreography and stage lighting. This one will be a very tough first dance to beat.

Radha & Mahesh - First Dance from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Hey, who invited Cirque du Soliel?
So I mentioned Ravé, Radha's brother is great musician. Well just a speech from the brother may seem a little anti-climatic once you write music with your sister. So Ravé performs an original composition called 'Rain'. Oh yeah, and he performs it blindfolded. I was hoping he was going to light the piano on fire and go into full Rock Star mode, complete with set destruction, but I can settle for this. The beautiful dance and acrobatic performances where a stand alone show but they seem to fit perfectly with this song.

Radha & Mahesh - Ravé performes 'Rain' from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Lets just finish up with some great music, great dancing and very happy families. The rest of the night was just a great party.

Radha & Mahesh - Reception from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
All wrapped up in a pretty bow.
So this is the final montage, the Cinematic Recap. Normally I can create one of these in half a day or so, but try to take 18 hrs of footage and edit it down to five minutes. Lets just say I cursed and spat at my timeline. Too many shots hit the cutting room floor painfully. I almost broke my rule of only one song for the recap. I stayed true to my mantra and eventually shed enough tears and sweat to get it down to one song. I hope this gives you a great general overview of this wonderful event. I really enjoyed shooting and editing this. Would I tackle another four day marathon, who knows. If they had two elephants, I would be there.

Radha & Mahesh - Cinematic Recap from Perfect Sky Productions on Vimeo.
Credits:
Cinematography-Perfect Sky Productions
Coordinator-Christina Horton
Photography-E.P. Pro Studio
Make up-Evelisse
Henna-Sangita Patel
Decor-Suhaag Gardens
Ceiling Drapery-Special Event Decorators
DJ-Dudha Productions
Lighting and Performers-EC Model and Talent
Audio/Visual-Swank AV
Location-Hyatt Grand Cypress
Elephant-Animals in Motion