Look Park

Took a walk around Look Park in Northampton today after dropping off my kids' carpool at school. I haven't been there for a while, and didn't realize the the Willow Lake dredging project had already been completed. The lake now looks to be in great shape. The bandshell by the lake makes a great location for weddings, if you're looking for a beautiful spot outdoors. And if you don't want to travel to another location on your big day, the Look Park Garden House is a great place to have a reception.

Rudy Wilson Galdonik

I was in Greenland, NH, yesterday, taping Rudy Wilson Galdonik. Rudy is a humorist, speaker and author—in her words, a nearly bionic "menopausal mom with an attitude". She addressed an audience of women at Bethany Church and will use the footage on her website.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and best wishes to all of our clients. More great videos to come in 2012!

Bat Mitzvah Video

On Saturday, I was in Florence, MA taping Olivia's Bat Mitzvah. The service was at Beit Ahavah (they use the Florence Congregational Church), and the reception was at Mill 1 at Open Square in Holyoke.

It's always nice to return to Beit Ahavah. Rabbi Riqi Kosovske leads an inspiring service. It was my first time at Mill 1 in Holyoke, and I enjoyed videotaping in the space, which is a large, open, brick-walled room in an old factory building. Klezamir provided great music, there were games for the kids, and there was a photo corner where the kids could get pictures taken while dressed up in crazy accessories.

Amazing Designer

Just finished up a quick video for an amazing Northampton designer, Jon Schluenz. Jon does fantastic interior design and artwork, and needed a video to apply for a reality design show.

Check out his website if you need interior design work and to see some of his artwork. He also recently curated an art show at Whoo Space in Northampton.

Smith College Panel

I was at Smith College last night, videotaping the panel discussion Beyond the Smith Bubble:
True Stories of Life After Smith. It's part of an ongoing series under the Women's Narratives Project, and it's been very interesting.

Tapestry Health

Spent the last two days videotaping interviews and other footage for a promotional video for Tapestry Health. The focus was their programs for the homeless and reentry populations in the Springfield, Massachusetts area. On Tuesday, we interviewed some counselors, participants, and Tapestry Health founder, Leslie Laurie.

I rode along with a counselor around Springfield on Wednesday, getting shots of damage from the June tornado, shooting galleries (for drugs) in the woods and by the railroad tracks, and some economically depressed neighborhoods where their clients live. It was eye-opening to see that side of the city. I was in awe of the task facing Tapestry employees, and impressed by their passion.

From their website: "Tapestry Health is a locally grown community-based provider in Western Massachusetts that offers affordable, high quality care. Our services include family planning, reproductive health exams, STI screenings, HIV counseling and testing, insurance enrollment, needle exchange, community education and outreach, medical case management, a family nutrition program, legislative advocacy, and much more."

Wedding in Brookline & Wellesley

This Saturday, I had the pleasure of taping Maureen and Matt's wedding. They were married at St. Mary's Church in Brookline with a reception at Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It was my first time working with the photographers from AMW Studios. Ariel and Matt were great to work with, and I could see that they were efficient and fun in working with the bridal couple and their family and guests. Brendan Howard of Murray Hill Talent was their DJ, and he kept the party moving along effortlessly. Overall coordination was handled beautifully by Erica Jones of Events by Sharon's Daughter.

QR Codes

You've probably seen these funny looking black and white squares while out shopping or reading the newspaper. QR codes, short for Quick Response codes, are often used to give consumers more information about a product or business. Use can use a mobile device with a camera to view the code, which then links you to the information, which could be a website, video, PDF, etc.

Here's the QR code that will take you to the Klituscope Pictures website:

A client recently used QR codes to link to videos that we produced to explain how to use one of their products.

New Ad for Film & Video Transfers

We're trying out one of those ads on a restaurant placement advertising our work transferring home movies—films and videos—to DVD. It will appear at Adamo's pizzeria/restaurant in Easthampton.

Here's the ad:

Corporate Video—Great Review!

Just received a great review for my work on a series of enrollment videos for the Hartsbrook School!

Thank You Note

Lately received a thank you note from Sara and Billy, who were married at the Most Holy Redeemer Church in Hadley, MA. Their reception was at the Sheraton Springfield.

"1 word—Fantastic! We love it! Thank you so much for all your work and amazing talent! It is wonderful that there are extra copies for our families! Great Christmas Gift! We truly enjoyed and loved seeing the finished product. We got so many laughs and saw so much we had no idea of. This video will be a continuous reminder of what an amazing day we had. Again I can't thank you enough for the wonderful work you did with our wedding video. I will certainly recommend you to any couple planning a wedding."

New Year's Eve Wedding

On New Year's Eve, I was in Longmeadow, MA for Meaghan and Tom's wedding. They were married at St. Mary's Church with the reception at the Longmeadow Country Club. A bit of snow throughout the day made for a beautiful setting, and I got home in time for the New Year's countdown with visiting friends from Virginia!

Hartsbrook School Video Online

Today I'm uploading the Hartsbrook School's enrollment videos to Vimeo.com. There are three, one for the early childhood program, one for the elementary school, and one for the high school.

Hartsbrook High School Enrollment Video from Tom Klitus on Vimeo.

Amherst College

On Saturday, I was in Amherst for Krista and Aaron's wedding. The ceremony was at the Johnson Chapel on the Amherst College campus, with the reception at the Lewis-Sebring Commons, also on the campus.

Great idea: turning their wedding program into a fan, so guests could keep cool!

Got to work with some new (for me) vendors there. Becky Kusek was a great photographer to work with. You'll see great work on her website—I especially like her nighttime exposures using streetlamps and marquees. Dana Collins was the DJ and kept the party moving. And Erica Kates was the wedding planner who kept everything running smoothly.

Linden Hill School

The last two days, I've been in Northfield, MA, taping the end of year ceremonies at Linden Hill School. I believe this is my fifth year taping there. Thursday night is their awards night, where they hand out sports and academic awards. Friday morning is Prize Day, graduation for their 9th graders who are moving on to high school.

From their website: Founded in 1961, Linden Hill School is the nation’s oldest junior boarding school for language based learning differences. Linden Hill’s highly individualized approach to crafting a learning remediation program for each student has gained Linden Hill an international reputation as a leader in language-based learning remediation for middle school boys.

Bat Mitzvah

On Saturday, I was in Florence, MA taping Izzy's Bat Mitzvah. The service was at Beit Ahavah (they use the Florence Congregational Church), and the reception was at the Log Cabin in Holyoke.

Sports Recruiting Video

On Saturday, I was at the New Haven Track & Field Center, shooting a recruiting video for two runners, a brother and sister. Sports recruiting videos are often used to give a college coach their first impression of a high school athlete. They are more commonly used in basketball, soccer, baseball, or football recruiting.

I taped each athlete running a 1600m race, and they each won their heat! What's usually done next is adding graphics & text, like a short bio or list of accomplishments. Freeze frames and graphic arrows can be used to highlight a player, so the coach knows who they're supposed to be watching.

With scholarship money hanging in the balance, recruiting videos are becoming a common investment for potential college athletes.

Chuppah

I love when these connections happen!

I e-mailed a prospective bride a few months ago, and she recently responded. She was watching the "Ron & Jen" wedding video on my website, and absolutely loved their chuppah. She e-mailed me to find out where they they got it. I e-mailed Jen, who explained that she made it herself, but had blogged about the experience and sent me the link. Actually, Jen reposted the very detailed information onto her newest blog, Willow Street Creative, and the prospective bride was very thankful. It's a must-see!

Jen is an amazingly talented illustrator and artisan who crafted a lot of her wedding accessories. Her blog is filled with detailed descriptions of her handmade wedding items and with great wedding advice, all accompanied by photos. Ron and Jen were married at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, MA.

Wedding at St. Michael's in East Longmeadow

On Friday, I was at St. Michael's Church in East Longmeadow, MA, to tape Theresa and Ben's wedding. Theresa's cousin flew in from Ireland to celebrate the wedding Mass. Though it was raining on and off most of the day, the bride and groom seemed to avoid the heaviest downpours. The reception was at La Renaissance in East Windsor, CT—a great place to accomodate a large wedding.

Totally new to me was the Photo Booth, which you can rent for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, reunions, etc. It's one of those boardwalk photo booths that take your picture four times, then spits out a strip of black and white photos. It was a huge hit! There was a steady stream of guests using it for all six hours of the reception. Guests were encouraged to leave their favorites in a basket for the bride and groom. Scissors provided.