Joy Marie, Rocks!

So many times this year, I show up to shoot a wedding film and this is what I see. Joy Marie. She also got me hooked on drinking RockStar's during a shoot which I must say, Rocks! Thus the blog title, " Joy Marie, "Rocks"....get it? (Ha-ha) Gotcha! R.

16mm Motion Picture Wedding Cinematography

Little time for blogging lately. Been busy crafting my latest masterpiece. That didn't sound too humble did it? Sorry. What I mean is that 16mm Film is my favorite of all media to work with and that masterpieces inherently belong to this gorgeous film stock. Arguably I presume, but who cares! 16mm is sooooo hot! It's warm buttery lens takes my eye to an amusement park of wonderment and excitement. Oh, don't get me wrong, Super 8mm is cool, very very cool, no question but 16mm film is hot! Smoothe and luscious. I love the 16. I think I'll marry it and guess what?, yep!, film the wedding in........you guessed it, 16mm motion picture film. Ha-ha!

I think the summer heat is making me loopy. Anyway, take a peek at my latest creation on Stellar Films website under; "film clips". The bride is the "Farmer John Hotdog Heiress" and the groom is the head chef at the Dodger Stadium. Ironically, the Dodger Stadium is famous for their "footlong" hotdogs right. Guess who makes the Dodger Stadium's "Footlongs"? Farmer Johns of course. I'm telling you, there's a story here folks, I'm only telling the love story of their wedding day however, in my favorite of all films......16mm!

...............xoxo Russell

I can't help it... I love this car.

1957 Porsche Speedster 356

What drives an artist? I don't know the scientific answer, but I'm an artist, and I'd sure like this sweet ride to "drive" me. (ha-ha) No but seriously, in case you were wondering, the image you see above keeps popping in on my thoughts all throughout the days of my life. Sooooo, don't be surprised if you see your wedding cinematographer, Russell, show up in this elegant wonder on wheels some day soon! - Yep.

x....Russell

Lounge Monkey

The Hahn Estate 

Montecito California

photo: BB Photography by Brian Charette

Planner: LaFete

Guy Kicking Back on Couch: Me

Brian and Brady of BB Photography have been referring their clients to me for their videography and cinematography for quite some time. Little did I know that they have been snagging pop shots of me at work, or rather, while lounging on the job. Ha-Ha! Great! 

The Hahn Estate wedding was truly amazing. Colette and Kaitlin of La Fete Weddings and Special Occasions put on this very lavish and austere wedding ceremony and reception at Hahn Estate. The bride and groom were so much fun and beyond gorgeous not to mention extremely photogenic. When BB puts up photos from this outstanding wedding I'll be sure to link to it for you. 

Ok..., back to the photos below that Brian shot of me chillin' on the couch.... Yep, it's a "video" camera you see there.  As you know, I'm a cinematographer, and I normally shoot with "Motion Picture Film Cameras",  but when I do shoot "video",  I roll with this little baby. Weather I'm shooting Super 8mm, 16mm or even video, Canon cameras are definitely my preference. I've been in love with Canon ever since they sponsored me for producing  my extreme sports "Unleashed" surfing TV Show" for DirecTV pay-per-view. Sooooo much fun that was!  Well as you can see, I love my job! Thanks for the photos Brian. You rule! 

Film Facts FAQ's

Every now and then I get asked, "what is the difference between "Film and Video"? They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I love to try to keep it simple, so here is one picture of film....1. Film gets loaded into a very cool vintage camera, 2. artistically composed, hopefully, 3. shot, then 4. developed at a specialty lab for 5. color correction and then 6. telecine transferred to digital tape for 7. editing.

A lot of important factors and steps in there!

Sooooo it's real important that you make sure that you as , "the Producer", or in this case, "the Bride", hire a very good and well established "Cinematographer" to shoot your film along with a very good and well established "editor" to tell your story for you. I think it's further helpful if your cinematographer and editor think along the same lines for cohesiveness. Stellar Films weddings are all shot and edited by me, Russell Fowler. However, Bon Vivant Cinema being my associate company, has well established crews of shooters and editors who handle those weddings. What's the difference? Well, the Bon Vivant Cinema weddings are shot mostly with video with incredible attention to detail as with Stellar Films and I personally review each wedding before it goes out to ensure consistant quality. What you see on the website clips should be what your own wedding video looks like. I'd be glad to make a separate post on this topic, just ask and I'll fill you in.

(SIDEBAR NOTE)...MY SCREEN NAME ON MY CELL PHONE IS "STORYTELLER" - Can anybody figure out why?

Cheers,

Russell