phoeben teocson cinema

man oh man. this time, it sunk in quick! we are voted by the w@wies as one of the top ten suppliers in 2009 and i just can’t be grateful enough. back when i started, i dreamed about this. in the philippine wedding industry, it’s like an oscar and i wanted one so bad. for the second straight year, i’ll be receiving this award and again, i can’t be grateful enough to all the brides who voted.

putting the words together to describe how i’m feeling is not an easy task and no matter how hard i try, i end up going back to the day when i first started. wedding videography back in 2006 wasn’t as popular as it is today. as a matter of fact, playback (the name of my company back then) offered photography services. business, for me, was, well, bad. i had one event per month (including the merry month of december) which included three weddings, a couple of baptisms, a birthday coverage, a number of corporate events and a funeral. with the exception of the latter, i enjoyed every second working. i was able to travel to tagaytay, baguio, and puerto galera. i answered emails, i met with clients, i was shooting during the event, i edited each video personally, i laid-out the albums, i had the photos printed and binded and i delivered the output right at the client’s doorsteps. one person, no exaggerations. i was earning more or less three thousand pesos (divided by two) a month but i was happy nonetheless.

marketing, perhaps, is the trickiest thing. with no money for magazine advertising, i posted ads at the w@w website and i spammed every single email address i found that were potential clients. i tried joining bridal fairs but found myself getting swallowed whole by the more affordable photo and video companies.

then came a couple who got us to make an avp for their wedding. everything went well until the presentation of the first draft. the output was so horrible i made the bride cry. i went back home with a two-day deadline and forty eight hours without sleep after, the couple were applauding the avp. editing for two straight days changed me big time. i felt like i grew ten years older and i realized that i needed to take this job more seriously.

meet-ups after meet-ups, i stumbled upon this bride who, while watching the highlight of our second wedding, with me beaming with pride, told me while shaking her head in disapproval “huwag niyong ipalabas ‘tong video na ito, hindi kayo bebenta dito…” i was crushed. in all fairness to her i wouldn’t last ten seconds if i watch that highlight today, but the way it was delivered was just cold-blooded. well, the video definitely didn’t help me to get her to book me but i had the impression that she was looking for video services cheaper than P8k with award winning cinematography.

2006 is a long way back. weddings at work has been very instrumental in the success that i have today. i will always be thankful to my good friends john and benz for creating such a wonderful community and to all the w@wies who trusted me to be a part of their big day. i am honored to be in the top ten w@w suppliers again. two in a row baby!!! i am supposed to be in boracay for a quick honeymoon getaway but i just couldn’t miss this. see you at the blue leaf on november 27, 2009. =)

october 16, 2009//shrine of st. therese//hotel intercon//blue leaf

the shrine of st. therese didn’t look as big as it did the last time but it was breathtaking nonetheless. this church is still one of my favorite in the metro. the long blue carpet and the peach colored walls make beautiful cinematic compositions and are always refreshing to the eyes.

it has been a rough october for me and my team in more ways than one and we are so glad to have such a nice and beautiful couple in irving and lorraine. enjoy their onsite video. =)

october 4, 2009//crowne plaza//mary the queen parish//wack wack golf and country club//photography: jeff and lisa//photography: raymond fortun//wedding gown: veluz

eleven years is a very long time. isn’t it amazing how two people can stay that long with all that changes and end up in the altar together?…and yet, right in front of the church door, when the doors were about to open, joey, who was almost in a state of panic, asked not to open it for just a couple more minutes.

a storm was supposed to come but that day, the weather can’t be any better. a perfect beginning.

september 20, 2009//transfiguration church, calaruega//chateau royale sports and country club//hmu by angie cruz and ogie rayel//coordination by events by clarice

it’s almost two o’ clock in a monday afternoon. by this time, most people have already gotten over sulking about the weekend that always seemed not enough. =) i understand the feeling. it’s just that monday, in most times, is the day that i look forward to having. i just came home from a three-day wedding shoot and my body is beat. my schedule is set for the day though. after blogging, i’ll be eating my first meal i call very late lunch. a little bit later, i’m off to carriedo to buy stuff. i should be back before five pm for a meeting. after that, i’ll be editing ’til maybe around three am. i love every second of my busy life. =)

let’s see…it’s more than months since barney and althea’s wedding. i know they’re waiting for this for quite a while now. =) it’s always fun shooting at the beautiful calaruega chapel. we did however, had a little scare when it rained while we were on our way to the church. a beautiful day, nonetheless, for the charming couple. enjoy the video.

september 19, 2009//bellevue hotel//st. james the great//att. raymond fortun

yes, an opm song…just one of the many things i love about this sde. it was the same day i took the seminar for…now i am not sure what that seminar was for! all i know is that the next time i’ll be at st. james the great, i’ll be in a tux without (hopefully) holding a video camera. =)

i saw at least four of my future brides that day, that’s a record.

september 12, 2009//san agustin church//manila hotel//paul vincent photography

if you like pictures as much as all the people i know do, you’re in for a treat. =) don’t let the floating restaurant’s movie house setting fool you, this video is have as much stills as it have moving pictures. enjoy.

september 26, 2009 – st. ignatius chapel
crowne plaza
photographer: redsheep photography

i do not have an ondoy story. on that fateful day, during the worst typhoon our country has experienced for more than four decades, i was on the sixteenth floor, safe and dry. no walking for an hour to get to a destination, no hour-long traffic jam encountered, no flood, no landslides, no floating cars, no power interruptions, not even internet connection problems. as a matter of fact, i had no idea how bad the situation was until our bride turned on the television some time before lunch. it was then that i realized that i was very lucky.

i remember sleeping the night before, at about 3 a.m., it was already pouring hard. when i woke up, there were no signs that the rain was slowing down. the most challenging part of the day was getting into our vehicle. one of my shooters was wearing his third outfit when he successfully got into the car.

it was just another day in the office. the trip to the hotel didn’t take more than thirty minutes. the rain was worse than ever. a couple of hours later, our bride was receiving text messages that people won’t be able to make it. soon, phone call after phone call, the bride and the groom finally decided to talk about the whole situation…we waited…

i do not have an ondoy story…but i had a couple who had one…and i was lucky to be there to witness and to capture that one epic moment of their lives.

it was a sad day for the country. when i got home, the horror was unbearable. then again, this exact same thing happens every single year in our country. only this time, it hit manila. i am glad to see a lot of people lending a helping hand. i am trying my very best to do my part and i am positive that somehow, someway, like we always do, we are gonna get through.

september 9, 2009 – our lady of lourdes
one tagaytay place hotel suites
photo: wally gonzales

for a moment let’s forget about the onsite video. oh it is special, it’s just that i don’t feel like talking about sde’s today. i want to tell the story of how can an avp be so effective. a video so nice they had to play it twice!!! people needed to see it again!

follow these steps on how to make a roof raising avp:
1. choose a song. (something donna cruz sang will definitely be a huge hit! trust me, everybody’s gonna be singing on their way home!)
2. get yourself a choreographer.
3. get yourself back-up dancers with colorful outfits.
4. learn how to break dance.
5. everybody dig love triangles.

…and bam! you got yourself a hit!

the couple’s onsite video, it wouldn’t disappoint either. check it out. =)