Meant to be together since grade school | A wedding in the heart of Austin, Texas

Meant to be together since grade school | A wedding in the heart of Austin, Texas

We use the term high school sweethearts to describe couples who have been together a long time. They met young, figured out they were the one for each other, and stuck together for years until they got married. But what if they met before high school? Before middle school? What if they became friends in the third grade?

Elementary school sweethearts doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. But for Kelsey and Josh, that’s where the story starts. And after many years of friendship, and when I say many I mean close to 20, which included multiple proms, homecomings, high school graduation, breakups, and three and a half years of college, they were finally together.

The groom looking down and smiling during the getting ready portion of the day
Downtown or not, the morning always starts the same way.

Mexican Food And A Wedding Logo

Whenever my wife and I finally sat down with them it was, of course, over Mexican food. And listening to their vision for the day, it was incredibly apparent that these two had a style entirely their own.

Watch the film and you’ll see it. Palm fronds. A geode wedding cake. Edison bulbs draped over the dance floor like a willow tree. Kelsey even created a watercolor wedding logo that tied the whole theme together, which is not a thing most couples think to do, and it worked.

The groom in a dark suit and checked shirt before the ceremony
Watch the film and you’ll see the style. These two had one entirely their own.
Close-up of brown leather dress shoes being tied on a patterned carpet
Details are where a downtown wedding gives you something quiet to cut to.

A Wedding In The Heart Of Austin

Most of the weddings we film sit out in a field somewhere, which is beautiful and also means the backdrop does a lot of the work for you. This one was downtown, right in the middle of Austin, and downtown is a completely different job. You’re shooting against glass towers and crosswalks and traffic, and you’re doing it in the middle of a working city that has no idea a wedding is happening.

Bride and groom crossing a sunlit downtown Austin street lined with buildings and parked cars
We managed to not get run over while filming this wedding…

Worth it, though. You get shots you cannot get anywhere else, and the city ends up as a character in the film instead of just a location.

A downtown Austin street corner with traffic, a cyclist and office buildings
Most of the weddings we film sit out in a field. This one was in the middle of a working city.
Wide view of the ceremony under a covered rooftop space with the Austin skyline behind
You are shooting against glass towers and crosswalks instead of trees.
The couple at the altar under a palm frond arch with downtown towers behind them
Palm fronds, and the city ending up as a character in the film instead of a location.

The Reception

The Edison bulbs are the thing you’ll remember. Strung low over the floor, they turn the whole room warm the second the sun goes down, and they gave me something to shoot through all night long.

Reception tables lined with candles and glassware while the live band plays behind
The Edison bulbs turn the whole room warm the second the sun goes down.

They also had a live band, which changes the energy of a reception in a way a playlist just can’t. People stay on the floor longer, and the first dance has a room full of musicians reacting to the couple in real time.

The couple's first dance in front of a live band on stage
A live band changes the energy of a reception in a way a playlist just can’t.
Guests dancing with their hands in the air on a warmly lit dance floor
People stay on the floor longer. That is the whole argument for the band.

The Music In This Film

Licensed from Musicbed: “Dancing to the Radio” by Awake or Sleeping, and “Visitors on the Bow Wave” by The Echelon Effect. Licensed from Marmoset: “On Echo” by Mree, “Parachute (Pledge Remix)” by Blue Ember, and “Blackwood Canyon” by Marmoset.

Color graded with my LUTs.

The Gear I Filmed This With

Having A Wedding That’s Actually Yours?

If you’re building something with your own style all over it, we would love to film it. 🎥 Get in touch with us at FilmStrong.

And if you’re the one behind the camera: 🎬 my wedding film editing course is how I teach a film like this getting built, ►► my free guide to booking more wedding clients is a free download, and ✌ the Learn Wedding Filmmaking Facebook Group is where the rest of us hang out.

Want The Short Version?

Here’s the highlight cut of the same day, if you’d rather have the three minute version than the full film.

My Finding Creative Success Podcast Interview With Matt Peet

Finding Creative Success podcast promo, portrait of bearded Matt Johnson beside the episode 026 title card

Finding Creative Success podcast promo, portrait of bearded Matt Johnson beside the episode 026 title card

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Matt Peet of the Finding Creative Success Podcast and talk about *drumroll please* how I found creative success! Okay, it wasn’t quite that literal of a podcast, but we did get to touch on a lot of great topics such as, helpful advice when starting out filming weddings, how to get more clients, and what to do to grow your followers online. I even revealed one of my biggest failures as a wedding filmmaker! Overall, it was a really enjoyable 40 minutes that passed very quickly. You can listen and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or in your web browser at the Finding Creative Success website.

If you have any questions about anything we discussed in the podcast, please leave a comment below or feel free to get in touch.

How To Study For And Pass The FAA Drone Test!

How To Study For And Pass The FAA Drone Test!

About 9 years ago, before I was even considering pursuing a career in making videos, I entered a video contest put on by Texas A&M University called “Why I’m an Aggie.” My entry featured students speaking about why they chose Texas A&M and what they enjoyed about the university. Throughout the video, I featured pretty shots of campus that I shot with my trusty Sony HDR-UX1 (recording to mini-DVDs, SD cards weren’t fast or large enough yet).

The shot that set my contest entry apart from the others though, was an aerial video of campus that I filmed from a plane. Yes, I actually rode in a plane over campus to get a shot for my video! This blew away the judges considering that aerial video was still relatively rare (unless you happened to have a pilot father – thanks dad).

Nine years later, aerial video is now mainstream. People are buying Millennium Falcon camera drones, stuffing their dead cats and turning them into quadcopters, and anyone with a cell phone can purchase a flying camera for as little as $20. My aerial video in 2008 that took so much effort and timing, could now be accomplished by any kid with a drone Christmas present. It would probably look smoother and be better colored too.

In August of 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration passed their official rules for commercial drone usage in the United States. Up until this point, if you wanted to make money flying your drone you had to apply for a Section 333 waiver and actually possess a pilot’s license to fly a drone.

You can eat your drone, but I wouldn't recommend it.
You can eat your drone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

This all changed with the FAA’s Part 107 ruling, which made getting a license to fly your drone for commercial purposes as easy as taking a knowledge test, no pilot’s license required.

Now when I say easy, I mean easier than getting an actual pilot’s license, not that the test itself is easy. Which brings us to this video that I created today, which is all about why you should take the knowledge test, and how to study for and pass it.

In the video, I detail the exact resources that I used to pass the Part 107 knowledge test. These resources are now listed below in order that I speak about them in the video. If you study these materials, you shouldn’t need to spend any extra money on any courses or classes for the test.

But, if you find that you benefit more from a classroom setting, I would recommend checking out Drone Pilot Ground School and Remote Pilot 101.

Here are the study resources that I listed in the video, in order:

BASIC DRONE KNOWLEDGE
– http://www.knowbeforeyoufly.com

PART 107 TEST COURSES & CLASSES
– Remote Pilot 101
– Drone Pilot Ground School

AMERICAN FLYER’S TESTING CENTERS
– American Flyers

FAA OFFICIAL STUDY GUIDE
– https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

FAA Advisory Circular
–https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_107-2.pdf

SECTIONAL CHARTS VIDEOS
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLBz8Z1w4PQ
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ITjUfl80bs

FAA TEST SUPPLEMENT BOOKLET
– https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_questions/media/sport_rec_private_akts.pdf

COMMERCIAL DRONES FM PODCAST EPISODE 6
– https://commercialdrones.fm/home/faa-part-107-test-study-guide-test-prep-drone-pilots

FAA PART 107 PRACTICE TEST
– https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_questions/media/uag_sample_exam.pdf

JONATHAN RUPPRECHT FAA PART 107 PRACTICE TEST ANSWERS & STUDY GUIDE
– http://jrupprechtlaw.com/part-107-knowledge-test
– http://jrupprechtlaw.com/part-107-test-study-guide

3D ROBOTICS PART 107 PRACTICE TEST
– https://3dr.com/faa/drone-practice-tests/

OTHER RESOURCES NOT MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO
– SkyVector
– AIRNAV

That’s it! Read and study these articles, listen to the podcast, take the practice test, and when you’re ready, go and take the real thing. If you take your time and prepare, you’ll pass like I did.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave one below or get in touch.