MADISON, WI, USA—February 25, 2010—EventDV magazine has unveiled the 2009 EventDV 25, and William Gaff of Midlothian-based Humanstory was named to the list for the second consecutive year as one of the 25 hottest and most influential event filmmakers in the world. The honorees were announced in a four-part awards show presented this week on EventDV's online video channel, EventDV-TV. 

 “As the event filmmaking industry’s one and only all-star team, the EventDV 25 gives us the opportunity to recognize those filmmakers who are wielding the most influence today, through their innovative work, educational efforts, and outreach to other studios around the world,” said EventDV Editor-in-Chief Stephen Nathans-Kelly. “To make sure we recognize the right people, we turn the selection process entirely over to the ‘fans,’ and let our readers pick the team.  This year's team reflects the increasingly international flavor of the business, with representatives from five countries and four continents.” 

 In addition to voting for their selections, readers had the opportunity to supply a brief description of their chosen candidate’s merits. Of Gaff, one voter wrote, “A truly authentic, inspirational, and humble filmmaker, William creates films full of meaning and emotion.”

 EventDV, the Authority for Event Videographers, is published monthly by Information Today, Inc. and read by over 20,000 event videographers and independent video producers around the world. For more information on EventDV, visit www.eventdv.net. To view the 2009 EventDV 25 awards presentation online, visit www.eventdv-tv.com.

Thank you to the readers of EventDV Magazine.   I really love being a part of this industry and with all the amazing talent out there, I  am grateful that people have included us in this list.  -William

To be honest,  I tend to appreciate and connect with the groom and what he goes through on the on the wedding day.    Like many men, I've been there.  I can also empathize with the father of the bride. I think about my two  daughters and their future during every father/daughter dance I shoot.  

However, as a storyteller, I try to final the common human themes that connect me  with all the other characters on the wedding day. This can be a little challenging, in some cases.   The most challenging one of all is the bride.   Its hard to put myself in her shoes.    Its not just a guy thing, though.   I don't think that anybody can truly understand what she is going through on that day.

Even other women,  who have made the trip down the aisle themselves,  can't possibly know for certain what this specific bride is experiencing on this specific day.   Her experience is uniquely her own.

Even the bride does not know for certain how she will be her wedding day.  For this reason, the bride is an exciting character for those of us that tell wedding stories.     She is the true heroine of our story and one that is often out on her own and often misunderstood.  

Kate thought about her wedding day long before it arrived.  By her own admission, she has been planning this her whole life.  She even became a Bee on Wedding Bee and has been helping other brides plan for their day. But dispite all the planning in the world, there were still surprises,  some not so good and others, simply amazing.

Kate really amazed and intrigued me.  She experienced such a wide range of emotions on her day. From fear to total excitement to deep and committed love for her husband, family and friends.   In the end, it was a great day.  One that, I bet she will cherish for the rest of her life. 

Kate and Brian were ideal clients for many reasons.   But, the main one was the simple fact that they knew that there were stories to be told on this day and that these stories would be the ones worth telling and the ones that may never see the chance to be told again.    They were right.

Ceremony:  Sacred Heart Cathedral, Richmond, VA

Reception:  The Jefferson Hotel

Wedding Planner:  Windy Jennings

Photographer:  Jessica Oriole

It was such a great learning experience for me, not only because of the speakers but also because of the wealth of information and conversation provided by the attendees.    Getting the chance to hear so many stories and experiences made the trip so valuable for me.

 I was very honored to be asked to speak on Storytelling and interviewing.   Although it was my first public speaking engagement and I was quite nervous, I survived.   The best part was that I had the opportunity to talk with other event filmmakers afterwards about their experiences with documentary style event films.   I was very happy to hear of other filmmakers around the country  using interviews in their wedding films.

I would like to thank Julian, Chris, Don, Terry and Joe for their hard work over the last year putting this together.    I also wanted to thank all of the attendees for traveling  to Austin and creating such a unique environment that resulted in the sharing of ideas and the strengthening of our community.

See you next year. 

Our goal is to keep everything we do as simple and honest as we can.  Our films reflect this style.  We want our clients to experience the whole process this way too.  Simple and honest.  This is a work in process, but we are commited to this goal.

The look of the site was an important part of communicating this idea.

I wanted to thank Jen from  Miss Pickles Press.  Jen designed the new logo.  She did an amazing job.  She got to know me and the company and put together the perfect design. She was a pleasure to work with.

I also wanted to thank Daniel from LightPress.Net. He did an amazing job designing the site and even helping with some of the content.    I cant recommend Daniel and the company enough.   He really understands humanstory and worked hard to create the perfect site.   Minimalist design like this is no easy task.  It is a lot harder than most people realize.  He nailed it.

Thanks Jen and Daniel for helping to set the tone for humanstory in 2010.

Take care.

William

Alex & Taylor's story reminds me of a 1950's Hollywood romantic comedy. I had a great time with this couple, their families and their friends.    This was a beautiful day to film a wedding in Washington D.C. .

I am very grateful to have had the chance to meet and work with some really amazing wedding professionals.

A. Dominick Events, Aimee Dominick

Jay Premack- Photographer

Evan Reitmeyer-My DJ

Woodend Sanctuary 

Westin Grand Hotel

Venue-  The Barns at Wolf Trap

Photographer- Katie Stoops

Event Coordinator- Maria Cook- Ritzy Bee

Flowers- JM Flora

As often happens, I didn’t get the chance to meet with Pia and Micah until the day before their wedding.    I did however have several really great and insightful conversations with Pia on the phone and though emails.   What struck me from the start was her amazing awareness of why documenting the wedding day with photo and video is so important. 

I liked her quote so much, it is now on the back  cover of my demo dvd.

 “It is more than just the event, it is about how these people came to be who they are, how they found each other and the impact of the moment on those closest to them.” 

-Pia

I love that quote.  Pia really gets it.    And, if I didn’t   understand why she gets it, all I had to do was to meet her, Micah and the people that love them.   Pia and Micah’s family made it very clear how important those two are to them.   They are everything.

It was a great event. 

All of the the wedding activity was in and around the New York City area.

Pia and her bridesmaids got ready at the beautiful W Hotel in Hoboken while the ceremony and reception were in Brooklyn.   The reception was at Stage 6 at Steiner Studios, a working film and television studio that happens to have a great view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn  Bridge.

I also had the pleasure of meeting photographer Punam Bean.    That in itself was a great experience.  Her work is breathtaking.    You can always tell when a photographer really loves life and loves people, not just by where they aim the camera or what moments they release the shutter but also by the photos they choose to show on their blog.  Punam is one of those photographers with a joy and style that has a way of reminding my of why I love photography.

Thank you to  Tracey Goldstein  of Polka Dot Events for all of you help.   I also wanted to thank documentary filmmaker,  Alexis  Neophytides for making herself available to film the event with me.  She is not only very talented, but a lot of fun to work with too.

And, thanks most of all to Pia and Micah for asking me to take part in this weekend.  Congratulations.

Planner: Polka Dot Events – Tracey Goldstein

Venue: Stage 6 at Steiner Studios

Photography:  Punam Bean

All photos in this post by Punam Bean.  Video to come soon!

Oh my!  I was totally shocked to hear this news.

The nominations were just announced for the 30th Annual Emmy®  Awards in the News and Documentary categories.    I was so thrilled to hear that Documenting the Face of America received the nomination for Outstanding Historical Programming-Long Form.

http://www.emmyonline.tv/mediacenter/news_30th_nominations.html

The film was produced by Jeanine Butler of Butler Films and was edited by William Gaff (me). 

It was really an incredible experience to work with Jeanine, Catherine and Alistar of Butler films on this project.  

It was also a great opportunity to work with a good friend and amazing designer, Dave Swain.  Check out his work.

A dramatic story of how an unlikely group worked together for social change and ended up creating one of the most astonishing portraits of America ever compiled. The Farm Security Administration /Office of War Information photographic archive chronicled the heartbreak of the Dust Bowl era through the forced relocation of Japanese-Americans at the outset of WWII. This vast collection of photographs remains hauntingly relevant to our lives today. -PBS

“Documentary TV at it’s best”  -NY Daily News

For more information on the film visit.  

http://www.documentingamerica.org/Program.html

The film will be broadcast again nationally on PBS on August 10th.  Check your local listings for times.   It is available for purchase on ShopPBS

Congrats to everyone who put their time and their hearts into this film.   You should all be very proud.  I know I am.

Julia and Ryan got married at Celebrations at the Reservoir just south of Richmond Virginia.   Which happens to be less than a mile from my home.  Gotta love that!

Like a lot of outdoor weddings, everyone was afraid of what happens if it rains.   Well,  it rained and I hear to tell you that all was still  went very well.   A few people got a little wet and the harp player had to race the 7 foot harp to cover.   But the rain stopped, they dried off the chairs and the harp and went on with the ceremony.   Rather than getting stressed about it, Julia and Ryan just rolled with it and trusted that, no matter what, they were going to get married.     

Julia and Ryan had friends and family there to help them to enjoy their day.    It was great to see everyone pitch in and get involved in making sure that Julia could just enjoy the day and not worry about anything.      Alyssa from Celebrations was also there to contribute to that end as well.     Alyssa made herself available to help me and the other vendors too.   It is such a pleasure working with her.

Julia and Ryan have a really nice story to tell.   I was especially impressed with the great lengths that Ryan went through to make the proposal one that she would never forget. 

Julia is the last of 3 girls to get married.   Her older sister Angela, an ordained minister, was the officiant of the ceremony while her other sister Dana,  was the matron of honor.      Ryan is an only child but has some very close friends that  stood up for him as did his father as the best man.

This was the first time I got to work with Eric Cunningham of Choice Entertainment.

Eric was a great guy to work with and really turned the reception into quite a party.   This includes his coordination with Ryan and Julie in their “surprise first Dance” (See below)

The event was photographed by Bruce Ellis.   It was a pleasure working with Bruce.        

I really had a great time.   Thanks Ryan and Julia.     

Take care.

William

There are a couple of reasons that I like it when a bride gets ready for her wedding day at her home.

First and foremost, there is usually good food there and the moms always feed me.

Second, is that this environment can help the bride to be more comfortable and she also tends to reflect more on how her life has brought her to this moment.  The home creates such a beautifully personal and rich background for a wedding film.    

Julie wanted to be at her childhood home on the morning of her wedding.   She wanted her parents, sister and the girls she grew up with to be there with her too.   And, she asked me to be there to document it.    I’m glad she did.    Judging by the comments from all the people I talked to, it is clear that Julie is well loved.  She is a beautiful person in every way. 

Jeff (also known as Opie) has a slightly larger than life persona.   Everyone knows and loves him.   He is fearless, funny, sincere and  just an all-around great person.   The two of them make a really fun couple.    It was a pleasure getting to know them and their family and friends.   

May Lee shot the event with me.  May is absolutely one of the most talented video journalists I know.  During the shoot,  we each went in our own directions gathering a ton of great interviews and footage over the course of the weekend.   When we shoot a wedding film, we often come away with 7 to 10 hours of footage and interviews that we then weave together into the story of the couple and of the day.     May is a real storyteller and a good friend too.   I am grateful  for her and the amazing work that she does.

I also had the great pleasure of working with Maria Cooke of Ritzy Bee Events. Maria did the day of coordination for the reception.    I have been wanting to work with her for quite a while and was thrilled to have the chance.   Thanks Maria for helping to make it a great experience for me.

The wedding was held  just outside of Baltimore at the Towson United Methodist Church.  The reception was at the Valley Mansion in Hunt Valley, MD. 

Congratulations Julie and Jeff.   Thanks for the stories.