The fantastical story of a  chef and pastry chef respectively.  Pure fun!

REAGAN & AILEEN LOVE STORY from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

I loved how this INC wedding ceremony was held in traditional Filipino.  Makes you appreciate the beauty of the language.

I had to whip up my translator and ask my big brother who is a Baptist pastor - “what is the direct translation of “uliran”  in English?  So you shall find out.

Melody and Marvin: Iglesia ni Kristo from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

I met Kyla and Migs last year in New York City, the night after Kanye dissed Taylor onstage at the VMAs.  To this day I still regret not whipping out my 200mm and go all gangsta paparazzi outside Radio City Music Hall.

I digress.

Nine months later I barely recognize Migs in his barong and sans glasses.  Kal El took of his glasses and you bet he was Superman that day waiting for his Lois, Lana or Diana (depending which universe your follow.

Kyla and Migs: SDE from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

It was a treat and amusing to know that Kyla’s mom, Shirley, said that I looked liked an ex-boyfriend.  I could have passed off as a son had the union been consummated. Twisted right?

I choose these words to describe their video, no frills, no excess, just a simple and truthful presentation of the wedding day.

It was evident that since the morning we arrived at the hotel that there was no other better, more meaningful way to tell the story.

Watch for yourself..

Reina and Amar: SDE from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

PS.  Indians and Scots party harder like no other.  We couldn’t help but partake of the free flowing alcoholic beverages while swaying to Indian dance music.  Usher and T-Pain got nothing on DJ Anuraga.

Oh, Amar also shared with us his custom bottled bubbly during the dancing - Armand de Brignac, the finest champagne in the world - I’m partying with Jay-Z next time.

For every one thing he does that infuriates me, he does ten more things that make me fall in love with him all over again.

Admit it, nobody’s perfect.  But our leading man comes pretty close, save for the velcro chain wallet and penchance for street food dates.

Enjoy this presentation!

Rachel and Lee: An Almost Failed! Love Story from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

(An SDE in HD)

Twice in Waikiki in four weeks?  Crazy right?  Well we were never known for our sanity.

You then realize how Hawaii is a favorite destination wedding location - the perfect weather, the laid back vibe and the kind and gentle people.

…

Friday morning.  It was chaos entering the bridal suite.  A good kind of chaotic - the happy, excited anxious, let’s rock this joint kind!

The groom preps were no less frenetic.  With the cute bearers almost upstaging the groomsmen (as you will see in the video).

We shot in the same church as before - St. Agustine, but this time around, we had the dinner-party at the breathtaking Lanikuhonua.

…

Thanks for having us guys!

Grace and Laurent from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

We had the wonderful opportunity again to work with Randy Panado (colourcraftmedia) and Joel Campos (StudioRed). And of course, It was lovely to shoot alongside Hawaii’s finest photog - Frank Amodo.

(An SDE in HD)

I haven’t had the good fortune of shooting an Indian wedding yet.  But this one comes very close.

Gretch and Chuck from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

(still courtesy of Doods Tanabe)

I had to post his right away as soon as I got Gretch’s email … (I didn’t want to get mobbed)

Kinukulit na ako ng mga tao to upload your video but i can’t seem to post it i guess the file is too big or something and i don’t have a converter hehe.

gretch

Proudly presented by Bob Nicolas, Threelogy, Cinemaworks and myself …

Perya (Town Fair) - a Canon 7D Short from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

————————

Canon Philippines lent us a pre-production model of the 7d.  We got it Tuesday 6pm and had to return it the following Thursday at noon.

We wanted to document something truly Filipino and came up with the idea of shooting a “Perya”.  There really is no direct equivalent in English. It’s not as grand as a carnival, not as permanent and posh as an amusement park, there are no pumpkins nor cows in competition like a country fair.  It is what it is - a Perya.

Shot in 1920 x 1080 at 24p.  Transcoded to XDcam codec.  Edited in Premiere Pro CS3.

No color grading was utilized.

No additional lights used.

How exactly do you make a wedding video without a “wedding” to speak of?

That was what was going through my mind taking the flight to Malaysia Thursday evening. You see, the actual legal matters are taken care of prior to the “wedding”.  What’s left to do on the actual day is a frenzy of fun activities and ceremonies so different from the Catholic norm.

As my easy going bride said - Just go with the flow!

Ann and Jeff from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

Door Games - aka the torture session: The bride’s friends hold the bride “ransom” and ask the groom and his friends to do various tasks and activities. Think Fear Factor and The Amazing Race rolled into one. Among others, Jeff was asked to write a love poem in both English and Bahasa (the native language he’s not at all familiar with), drink a hellish concoction of vinegar, soda, tabasco, and whatetver they could find in the pantry.

Tea Ceremony - A tradition akin to the Chia Te of the Filipino Chinese. Giving tea to the family members in exchange for Ang Pow.

Yum Seng - two words - Drunken Yelling!

What an amazing experience! Thanks for having us Jeff and Ann!

(This Same Day Edit was shot and edited in HD.  Thanks to Sean Seah for the tips!)

Don’t worry no technical mumbo-jumbo here (well at least it’s kept to a minimum).

HD - short for High Definition.  Simply put, it’s higher quality video made available for your wedding day.  The recorded image is much much bigger, clearer, more vibrant and life-like.

So, why go HD?

1.  You want to maximize that 42 inch LCD or Plasma TV you’re buying for your new home.
2.  You’re  getting your husband that PlayStation3 or Bluray player for Christmas.  (In exchange of course with that Tiffany charm bracelet)
3.  You want the best possible recording technology available today to preserve your wedding day memories.  Nuff said.

Why HD?  It’s 2008, I guess the better question is - When HD?

With screen size alone the difference is pretty obvious (HD is 1440×1080 pixels, Standard Definition DVD is 720×480, YouTube is a mere 320×240).  To give you an idea, here’s a relative comparison chart:

The proof is in the pudding you see.  Better take a look at this web encode of an HD clip we made.

http://vimeo.com/1811941

Please email me for the password. Enjoy!