The Philadelphia Filmmakers Alliance
For a number of years wedding videographers in the Philadelphia area have looked to the Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association for education and networking. The organization now has a new name and an expanded agenda. While wedding videography is still an important, the organization hopes to widen its appeal to filmmakers in other areas. This will benefit all of us as we will have an opportunity to learn from experts in other disciplines.
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New article on video encoding
A couple of months ago I was asked by the publishers on Millimeter Magazine to write an article on video encoding as it relates to wedding videography. Since we use Sorenson Squeeze for encoding both web and iPod video, I described our work flow using that product. Here is a link to this article.
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoencodvd/revfeat/sorenson_media_squeeze_beta_1120/
We are always happy to share our knowledge with others, something that many wedding videographers do (not too many competitive secrets in this industry). I think that this is one of the main reasons that wedding videography has come so far in a few short years, the exchange of knowledge.
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WEVA Expo photos
Here is a link to some photos from the 2008 Wedding and Event Videographer Association (WEVA) Expo at the J.W. Marriot Hotel in Orlando Florida. The Expo was held between August 11 and August 14, 2008. Many of the photos are from the GPVA party on 8/13. These were taken as stills from my HV30 camcorder using the little built in flash. Not too bad considering, although I did do a lot of red eye correction though before uploading 
. Link to photos here.
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WEVA Expo
I am writing this from the annual Wedding and Event Videographer Association Expo in Orlando Florida. For the past few years I have been attending this conference regularly. I am here to learn new things from some of the finest wedding videographers in the world.
This year we are really seeing the shift toward HD. Up to now it seems that the majority of video companies were still not filming in HD. This year more than half are. We made the move to HD a few months ago and I am glad that we did.
I look at the style of some of the top videographers in the business and I realize that what sets them apart is more than just technical excellence, it is that they have a unique vision, one that sets them apart. What I take away from this is that while I can learn much from the masters, our style is still our own and that is what makes Bonnie Blink Productions unique. We cannot be everything to all people. Some couples love our style, others will prefer the work of others. We will continue to define our vision while incorporating the ideas that we get from the best in the business.
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June GPVA Meeting
The June Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in King of Prussia, PA. Featured was a panel discussion on freelancing, how to be a freelance videographer, and how to hire freelancers.
Steve Newbert of All Occasion Video showed a portion of his new documentary about the American flag called The Color Bearers, The Story of America’s Flag Passion.
Joe Bradley received a well-deserved award for his service as GPVA treasurer.
After the meeting everyone went to Champps for dinner and discussion.
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April GPVA meeting
The April meeting of the Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association was all about business. George Alford of Pro Video and Photography in New Castle Delaware gave an excellent presentation on making a profit. It certainly made me think about keeping track of all my expenses, and adjusting our rates to maximize profit, while still being affordable. George also had some excellent tips on how to make a videography business stand out from the crowd.
Henry Franz moderated a forum on contracts. There were a number of excellent ideas passed around on how to write a better contract.
To cap of the evening, there was an online chat with John Zale of WEVA. John was in Las Vegas attending the NAB show and updated everyone on some of the new products being introduced there.
After the meeting everyone went to Chili’s for dinner and talk.
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