Shining
News, WEVA 2007
August 2007
2007 WEVA HIGHLIGHTS
The
wedding and event videography field is changing with both the times and tech.
By David E. Williams
If anyone was counting,
"tapeless" was perhaps the most frequently heard word at the 17th
annual Wedding and Event Videographers Association Expo, held Aug. 13-16 at the
Bally's/
If the submissions
to WEVA's Creative Excellence Competition Awards program was any
indication, it's clear that stylish, high-end video production has become an
important element of the nuptials ceremonies for an widening array of ethnic
groups, as many of the creative nominees featured Latino, Asian and
African-American families.
Reflecting this, WEVA
chairman Roy Chapman opened the awards ceremony by announcing the launch of
WEVA Latino Internacional. This initiative - created in tandem with PUNTO, a Los
Angeles-based association of several thousand Hispanic videographers, and
AMPESAV A.C., a Mexico City-based organization that is the largest organization
of its kind representing Mexican videographers - seeks to unite and help better
Spanish-speaking video professionals worldwide through information, education
and networking.
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An indicator of another
shift in the business was the WEVA Awards nomination in the Social Event
Coverage category of a dramatic production depicting the honor service and
funeral of a fallen firefighter, which included emotional testimonials from
friends, family and colleagues of the departed.
"Just a few years
ago, this sort of production would have been very difficult, if not impossible
to do because people would have thought it in questionable taste," said
videographer Alan Naumann. His company, MemoryVision (www.memoryvision.tv), a
full-service Minneapolis-based production house, in part specializes in
memorial and funeral projects and had a booth at the Expo. "But
today," Naumann explains, "people are more comfortable with cameras
around them and want to have something to help them remember both the person
and the event. And something tastefully done can really deliver that. We use
original material as well as still photos and sometimes home movie footage to
craft a memorial that will be something can be watched by children or
grandchildren years later to help them understand who that family member was,
and that's important. It can also be sent to someone who could not attend the
service for whatever reason." He adds that local
While Panasonic - at WEVA
touting its P2 systems - and other leading manufacturers are leading the way to
tapeless production, many other companies are helping to shape the way the
business moves in that direction. One such company, Shining Technology (www.shining.com), used the
Expo to demonstrate its CitiDISK on-board FireWire/USB HDV drives - which can
affordably and instantly upgrade any digital camera to "tapeless,"
adding functionality and possibly years of life.
Across the WEVA floor,
Michael Poegl, vice president of Used Camera Buyer (www.usedcamerabuyer.com),
was seeking to take advantage of the industry's move to tapeless and purchase
"as much video gear as I can." His company, which has long worked
with still-photography equipment, was exhibiting at the Expo to foster
relationships with shooters seeking to divest their old SD and tape-based
cameras. Used Camera Buyer purchases the old gear and then ships it overseas
"to developing countries that can't afford the latest technology, but want
to get into the production business. A lot of this equipment is still very good
and has a lot of life left in it."
Other exhibitors on the
WEVA Expo floor included Adobe, Azden Corp., B&H Photo Video Audio Pro,
Bogen Imaging, Dynashoot, Grass Valley, Hoodman Corp., JVC Professional
Products, K-TEK, NewTek, Schneider Optics/Century, Sennheiser Corp., Ste-Man,
Inc., Supacam and VAAST Training.
Complete background and
information on the 17th Annual WEVA Expo can be found at www.wevaexpo.com.