December 28th - Xmas at the Aubert's

December 17th - Holiday Discount!

Happy Holidays everyone! This is the time of year for gift giving and Aubert Films isn't unaffected. Starting today and lasting until Friday January 18th, all regular Aubert Films packages come with $500 off their starting price! For those of you who have not yet booked but what to lock in the lower price, call or email me to discuss the details.

Happy Holidays!

Darrell Aubert
610.653.4200
darrell@aubertfilms.com



NOTE:
* The $500 discount only applies to the three regular packages and does not apply to any specially quoted packages.
* This discount is only available for weddings taking place in the 2008 calendar year.
* The final date for this discount is January 18th, 2008.

December 10th - Rock Band!

My friend Glen had a little get-together this weekend and we all played the new Rock Band game for PS3. I can't say that I'm very good at it but I'd like to think I look cool with the guitar! You be the judge...

December 2nd - A Thank You Letter

Dear Darrell,

Mike and I just wanted to send you a quick note to say “Thank You” for the wonderful job you did on our wedding video! We were so excited to receive the final version and when we were actually able to sit down and watch it, we were speechless because your video captured every aspect of our wedding – the emotions, the setting and all the fun we had! It brought tears to my eyes watching the “highlight reel” portion of the video as the music you chose for that portion of the video was absolutely perfect and blended in so well with the video. Your attention to detail and hard work certainly paid off. Everyone who has seen our video thought it was absolutely amazing and a wonderful memory of our special day! I have met several people and have friends who are planning weddings and have not hesitated in recommending your services. I have no doubt you can capture the special moments of their wedding day as well as you did ours!

Thank you again for your hard work and best of luck!

Sincerely,

Michael & Mary (Garza) Hodrick

November 28th - A New Trailer

Yikes! I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. It's been so busy with editing and shooting here that I must have lost track of the blog!

Anyways, I wanted to quick stop in and share a recent trailer I finished. Check it out below!



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October 15th - Featured in Event DV

The big event I was talking about it earlier posts was an article Event DV is publishing about a shoot I planned with a few other videographers in Las Vegas during the WEVA Expo. I invited the "Godfather of Dress Trashing" John Michael Cooper to shoot photos with us.
The reason I, and my fellow videographers, decided to do this shoot was to show people in the industry the importance of "thinking outside the box." We wanted to show people that getting out there and trying new things, working with fellow vendors, is the best way to improve you abilities.
Anyways, here is the web version of the article. The print version will be out in a few weeks and this article will be the cover article!!

Special thanks too:

-John Michael Cooper - For finding the location and shooting some awesome pics
-Chris P Jones - Being my partner in crime and the story teller
-Kristen Souders - For the support and film!
-Robert Neal - Backing me up with some HD awesomeness
-Steven Nathans - For writing the article and driving the car!

October 11th - Some News

So I spoke at LIVA (Long Island Videographer's Association) last night at the Marriott Hotel in Uniondale, NY. I had a great time seeing all my NY buddies and I think my seminar went over pretty well. Hopefully some of LIVA's members feel "inspired" enough to go out and try their own Trash the Dress shoot using some really cool stabilizers! haha.

Something very cool is going to happen in a few weeks that I've been waiting for, for quite some time. I've been told that I'm going to be on the front cover of Event DV! I should say that my picture isn't going to be on the cover, but the article is about something I did. Anyways, I'm really excited because Event DV is the largest magazine for the Wedding Video industry!

In another, unrelated article I will be in Event DV again in December! Twice in a row! It's really something else!

Keep wathching... I'll post the article as soon as I get it!

Oct. 5th - Seminar at LIVA

As you might be able to notice... September was a very busy month! I promise I'll post more this month!

Anyways, Pete Lombardo from LIVA (Long Island Videographer's Association) asked me a few weeks back if I could come up to NY and do my Beyond the Tripod seminar. He also told me he was very interested in the Trash the Dress shoots I have been doing and asked me to speak on that as well! So if you;re in the NYC area and would like to hear all about stabilizing equipment AND Trash the Dress... get to the next LIVA meeting on October 9th!

September 17th - Paint the Dress!

A photographer I work with occasionally, Karen Jennings, approached me about a month ago with a Dress Trashing idea. She really wanted to trash her 80's era wedding dress with super large shoulder pads. You can imagine how excited I was to ruin that thing! Anyways I came up with the idea to use paint as our "trashing" method and invited my good friend Mark Gardner to help me brainstorm ideas shoot some photos. Karen wanted to focus on the fact that she has been married 15 years, has three kids, and a whole ton of stress. Mark and I decided to use this at the central story of our production. I think it turned out really well and I had a great time working with my buddy Mark all day. Karen was a blast as well, I still can't believe she let us cover her (and the rest of her family!) with paint from head to toe!

The video I put together is a trailer for the final video. I really wanted to get something together fast for various reasons, including some I will share shortly. Check it out and let me know what you think via the "comments" button below.

BTW... be sure to check out Mark's awesome pictures on his blog!

August 31st - Something A Little Different

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of shooting Jim and Angela's wedding in downtown Allentown. Usually I'm driving down to Philadelphia to shoot weddings so it was a pleasure working in my own backyard for a change. Every location was less than 20 minutes from my house! My friend, Karen Jennings (their photographer), introduced the couple to me a few months back and they became one of my first Aubert Films projects. Karen and I are trying to convince Angela that trashing her dress would be really cool... hint hint!

Anyways, the "Something A Little Different" is their trailer. I'm usually more of the documentary kind of guy who uses lots of ambient audio in my pieces. I am not a huge fan of the very dramatic, slower paced edits that some are so famous for. This wedding, however, stuck me quite differently than most. Usually I gloss over things that were said during the day since I'm concentrating on shooting the best video ever. During the ceremony, the priest was giving his homily and his words really stood out to me. He was talking about love. Almost every pastor or priest talks about love during weddings but the way this priest delivered his speech and the things he said really stood out to me. I stopped paying attention to what was going on with my camera (don't worry Jim and Angela!) and I listened to what he had to say. After he finished I knew that I wanted to do something special with what he said so I used his talk about love in this trailer.

"What is Love"

August 23rd - Back from Cali and Vegas

So I got back from Vegas earlier this week after another exciting WEVA convention. I had a great time hanging with all my friends and visiting the trade show. I also got a chance to work with the famous (sometimes infamous) John Michael Cooper. I planned a Trash the Dress shoot with a few other videographers and John. Enough about that, I will post about that in a few days.

The real reason I'm posting is because the GPVA (Greater Philadelphia Videographer's Association) entered a contest called the Battle of the Associations at WEVA. Basically we had to create a 60 second commercial advertising wedding video and WEVA. Last year we entered the contest with a montage of our best footage and won. This year we wanted to do something totally different. This year we made a spoof of the popular Mac vs. PC ads Apple is currently running. There were 6 other associations who made videos this year so the competition was steep. But in the end we made it through and overwhelmingly won again! I really wish I had the ad to show you but as soon as I get it I will post it here.

Here are some pictures of us after winning:

The project team

The attending GPVA members

August 11th - San Francisco!

Sorry for the delay in posting! I've been very busy preparing for my trip to San Francisco and the annual WEVA convention in Las Vegas.

I flew into San Francisco yesterday on this really cool airline called Frontier. I had never heard of them but apparently they're pretty big on the West Coast. Whats really nice is that every seat has its own LCD tv and 25 channels of live television! It was so cool watching CNN at 36 thousand feet. Plus the seats were really nice had had these pillows you can adjust to fit your head, haha.

When I arrived I took a quick nap and then headed out to China Town. Ever since my month long stay in Beijing last year I've always tried to find REAL Chinese food. I've gotten close but I figured in San Francisco I could get what I wanted. I looked for over an hour! I couldn't find any real authentic Chinese food! I was pretty upset but I felt better after I found a Chinese bakery that did have some treats I remember eating in Beijing.

Today I will be traveling to Napa Valley with Kristen, the videographer who hired me to come out and shoot with her. We're doing a wedding at a recently built castle and I expect it to be really cool! We're going to chill the rest of the day out there until tomorrow when we shoot the wedding.

I'll see if I can get some pictures up.

July 24th - Some Great Photographers

Yes I know... more news about the AC TTD shoot right? Sorta. But I swear this is the last time!!
Anyways, while at the shoot I had the chance to work with some really great photographers from around the country. It's always fun to see how other people work and learn from them. Even though I'm a videographer and not a photographer I still am inspired by their work.
Here are three of the photographers I got to work with who I think are really good at what they do. These aren't the only ones and I will probably post a few more in coming days so stay tuned.

Mark Gardner

Mark is located in Maryland (Close to Delaware, so Philly Brides he's the one for you!) and does some awesome work. He was leading one of the groups at the AC TTD shoot and can be seen in my video toward the beginning. His photos are stunning and I really hope I get a chance to work with him again.

Jason Domingues

Jason is probably one of the coolest photographers I've had a chance to work with. He's cool as hell and fun to be around. I spent some time with him at the AC TTD shoot and made a new friend. He's out of Kansas City but does several weddings in the Philly area each year.


Mark Eric

Mark Eric is founder and admin of TrashTheDress.com and is really responsible for brining this cool new trend into the limelight. Mark is a great guy and a classic Southern Gentleman. He was a pleasure to shoot with in AC and a great guy to be around. Mark is located in Alexandria, LA but also travels around the country.

July 13th - Trash The Dress

What can I say? The Trash The Dress event in Atlantic City was a blast! There were 11 brides trashing their dresses that day along with 50 plus photographers shooting stills. I got to work with some of the best in the industry including; John Michael Cooper, Mark Eric, The Wiebners, and Jason Domingues. Below the pictures, check out the video I put together for the event.

The Wiebners snapped some photos of me shooting during the event:

July 10th - Dress Trashing in Atlantic City

So the largest Trash The Dress event in history is going on later today.... and I'm the videographer for the event! I'm really excited! This will be my first official Dress Trashing so I'm unsure of what to expect. I know though that its going to be a lot of fun!

The event is being held at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. I'm assuming we'll do some downtown shooting and then head over to the beach for some sunset shots.

There will be over 40 photographers attending with about 10 brides who will be trashing their dresses. Some big names like John Michael Cooper, who started the Dress Trashing trend, and Mark Eric, founder of trashthedress.com, will be there. A real star studded event tomorrow!

I will try to get an edited video up soon so you all can see how cool this thing really is.

June 29th - WEVA Podcast

So for those of you who don't know... there are two national videographers associations in the wedding and event industry. WEVA (Wedding and Event Videographers Association) and the 4Ever Group (Don't ask me to explain that name....).

Anyways, WEVA was kind enough to ask me to do a podcast for them in their "Tech Talk" series with Al and Kathy Ritondo acting as interviewers. Unfortunately you need to be a member of WEVA to hear the podcast... :( But I can assure you it is really good and informative!! Here is WEVA's news release about my podcast and a few others.

Also, WEVA's annual convention and expo is this August in Las Vegas. I can't wait!

June 21st - Aubert Films

Some Big News going on over here! I just launched a new company, Aubert Films. Aubert Films will be an ultra high end video production company. With three camera productions, Aubert Films will concentrate on a documentary style video catering to the clients who value a product of that caliber. I've been planning this out for months now and I'm so happy that this big step is finally over! I'm so excited! Pretty cool to have my name in a company...

Check out the site and the new "Live Chat" feature I added. Let me know what you guys think and if there are any spelling mistakes... haha.

BTW - This blog will soon be transformed into the Aubert Films blog.
Oh and don't worry... Event DVP won't be going anywhere either...

June 14th - The Iron Videographer

Wow! Long time since my last post! I've just been so busy the blog sometimes gets pushed to the side. I've been to NYC 3 times in the last 2 weeks and that has really been stressful! Ahhh!

Anyways, the Iron Videographer Competition hosted by LIVA and the 4 Ever Group was this past Tuesday night. My buddy Glen Elliott and I faced off for four hours editing a highlight. There were three judges, a coordinator, a photographer, and a recent bride. In a 2-1 vote... Glen Elliott won! Congrats to my buddy.
One thing I would like to point out though is that the judge who voted for me was the BRIDE! So any bride who is ready this should know... I will produce a video you'll like!! Haha, anyways, congrats again to Glen and hopefully next year we can do a rematch.

Check out my edit below - ***Warning*** I only had 3.5 hours do to this and is not an example of my usual work! With that said... Enjoy!

May 31st - Houston, Here I Come!

I think the South has some kind of hidden attraction to me... I'm back down there this weekend! Louisiana last week, now Texas for the weekend! I swear I'll be in Arkansas or something next week! haha.

Anyways, I'll be in Texas Friday through Sunday shooting a wedding with my friends Sandy and Steve. I'm also giving them a personal stabilization training session so they can start using new techniques to improve their video productions. I have a feeling its going to be a lot of fun! I really want one of those cool cowboy hats....

May 29th - The Iron Videographers

The 4 Ever Group is running a national contest this year called "The Iron Videographer." It's based off the popular TV show, The Iron Chef. Great show! I like the Japanese version better myself, but lets not digress. The way the contest works is that 8 contestants are chosen from around the country. 4 regional competitions take place, then 2 finals, and at Video 08 the final match is held. I've been fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the 8 contestants! Thanks to everyone who voted for me!
My good friend Glen Elliott was also chosen. He's a really good editor and I think It's going to be a really tough match.

In anticipation of this event, Glen and I got together and made a fun video promoting the event.

*Disclaimer*

Please don't take anything we say seriously. We're just goofing off. This was also not a sanctioned promotion, just a fun video we did together.

May 27th - Back From Louisiana

Got back from Louisiana late Friday night. I had a great time! Thanks to my buddy Josh for taking me around and showing me the sights and wonderful food! By the way... fresh catfish should really be a must up here in the North. Anyone know of any good places?

May 20th - Wedding at a Castle

Yesterday's weddings was a blast! The couple, Laura and Anthony, were a pleasure to work with, very passionate, and in love. The photographers were also a great group. John Molar and his daughter Rebecca were real fun all day. The band was really good too! One of the best I've worked with in a while!

What was the coolest part about yesterday's wedding was that it was at a Castle! Yes... A Castle! Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, PA was built at the turn of the century and is still a sight to see! The architechture really added something to the video.

Anyways! Here's the trailer from the wedding. Feel free to share this with friends and family:

May 18th - Out of Town

Just a little update on whats going on over here. From the 20th to the 25th I am going to be hanging with my buddy Joshua Smith from Cinematic and Elegant Productions in Louisiana. We're going to have a blast shooting models and doing photo shoots all week. I'll see if I can't do a vlog of my experiences. I'm looking forward to some spicy cajun food! Josh tells me he already has a list of places we're going to try out.
We're also thinking about taking a trip to New Orleans to visit some of my other videography friends and to see the French Quarter. I'll keep everyone updated on whats going on.

If you need to contact me, please do so by my cellphone - 610.653.4200

May 7th - Event DV Magazine Shoot

Event DV Magazine is going to be featuring me along with three other videographers in an upcoming issue of their monthly publication. When they asked me for a high quality portrait of myself I relized I didn't have any! My buddy Jordan Oplinger is also going to be in the article so we got together this weekend to take some snapshots for the article. Below is a sampling of my pictures. Let me know which one I should submit, haha.

May 7th - Bethlehem Steel Montage

Part of my recent project with the Dietrick Group was a montage of photographs taken at Bethlehem Steel to some opera by Pavarotti. The photos were powerful, and so was the music. I decided to make the montage as simple as possible so as not to distract the viewer from the beauty of the pictures themselves. I chose to do simple fade-in and fade-outs matching them to the music. It was shown, along with nearly a dozen other videos I had produced, at the Rave Theater in Center Valley, PA. My client from the Dietrick Group told me that several members of the audience who had worked at Bethlehem Steel before it was closed were crying by the end of the montage. This was a real ego boost! That kind of reaction, even from a video so simple, is what makes this job so great.
Below is the montage:

May 1st - The Doubletree Hotel

Today I had the great pleasure meeting with Lisa Deluca from the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Philly. We had a nice lunch at the Standing O Bistro with some delicious cheesecake for dessert! For those of you who don't know, cheesecake is my absolute favorite! Haha. Anyways, Lisa was kind enough to give me a quick tour of their facilities and tell me a little about their services. For anyone interested in having their wedding or reception at a great downtown hotel, please give The Doubletree Hotel a look. Here's how to contact Lisa.

April 30th - Video 08

The 4 Ever Group just announced their third annual convention in Orlando, Florida from January 21st - 24th! Last year I was invited to speak about different camera stabilization techniques in front of an audience of other wedding videographers. It turned out really well and this year I have been invited back to give another seminar. I'm still working out ideas as to what I want to speak about but I have a feeling it's going to cover similar topics as last year and be a bit more hands on. Stay tuned for more information

April 30th - Fun Photo Session

Hey guys! I've been trying to spruce up my website and also my demo DVD for the past week or so. One of the things I'm doing is swapping out video clips so everyone sees fresh material. One of the videos I just added to both the theater section of my website and also my demo DVD was from a wedding this past October. Great Couple! A lot of fun to work with, we really had a great time.

Anyways, here's the video. Edited by Jordan Oplinger.

April 25th - The Dietrick Group

For the past few weeks I've been extremely busy working on a project I do annually for a company called The Dietrick Group. It's a real estate appraisal company that holds a yearly networking event where the company's owner, Linda Dietrick, gives a presentation on the real estate market in the Lehigh Valley. This year the event was held at the new Rave Theater in the Promenade Shops in Center Valley near route 78.

I'm hired to produce videos for the presentation and also to create an interactive DVD containing the videos and also the presentation Linda gives. Its a great project that I have a lot of fun with. This year the highlight was by far filming the abandoned Bethlehem Steel Plant in Bethlehem, PA. The footage was incredible!

The event was held today and from what I told, went over very well.

April 18th - Fun With the GPVA

The local Videogrpaher's Association here in Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Videographer's Association (GPVA), had its monthly meeting last night. The usual debauchery entailed as several GPVA members dressed like they were attending a wedding. Three videographers showed their shooting skills in a "mock wedding." It was a great time! Lots of videographers I know from New York, Maryland, New Jersey, and even TEXAS!! were in attendance. If you're a videographer and you're not a member of the GPVA you're really missing out!

Here are some pictures of us having a good time (Taken by Alan Robinson):

April 11th - Be Better Guys!

Alright Grooms! Listen up! You've managed to convince your beautiful girlfriends to marry you so you must be doing something right. That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't room for improvement! My new favorite "barber shop," American Male, also runs a nice website called BeBetterGuys.com. Its stuffed full of grooming, clothing, and other life related tips you might find useful. There is nothing wrong with going that extra mile to make yourself a little more gentlemanly for your upcoming wedding. Trust me guys, the ladies are going to appreciate it.

P.S. - If you're a bride and you're reading this. A "subtle" hint to your fiance might just get him to go out and make himself a little more respectable.

April 9th - Presentation at LIVA

LIVA or the Long Island Videographer's Association from Long Island, NY has just scheduled for me to come up and give a presentation on camera stabilization techniques and gear in July. Several LIVA members were in attendance at my seminar on the same subject in January at the Video 07 Convention in Florida this past January. I can't say how honored I am that LIVA would choose one of their meetings to spotlight me and allow me to share some of my ideas! I think it's going to be a great time and I know LIVA is filled with great videographers which only makes it even better!
Check out the video below for to see what kind of cool shots you can get after attending my seminar:

April 9th - Trash the Dress

For you brides that weren't already aware... there is a new fad going on in the wedding industry right now called "trashing." Here's the deal: Buy a cheap wedding dress and let your videographer and photographer shoot you in ponds, rivers, the ocean, in the dirt, mud, etc. I know what you're thinking... "I'd never do anything like that!" but after you see some of the results I think some of you might change your mind. Here's another blog a group of photographers put together to show off this new fad.

http://www.trashthedress.com/

If anyone is interested in having something like this done, I'd be glad to do it. Be the first one and I'll even do it for free!

March 29th - Dollface Studios

I had the pleasure of meeting two great photographers in Philadelphia today, Darah and Siobhan. They jointly own Dollface Studios and have been having great success in their first year of business. They took me to a great little coffee shop and a small bakery with delicious cupcakes! I had a great time meeting both of them and hopefully we'll working together in the future! Check out some of their great photos below and also their fantastic website.

March 27th - Music of the Week

Ok, I admit it, I can be a nerd sometimes. One of my favorite shows right now is Battlestar Galactica (the new one). I know, I know, "Battle What?!?" Jokes aside, one of my favorite parts of the show is the music. It consists of a wide arrange of unique instruments with an ethic feel that really make the show so great. Right now I'm listening to the Season 2 soundtrack written and produced by Bear McCreary. Bear is extremely talented and the music he creates for shows like Battlestar Galactica is a testament to his abilities.
Any of you who have visited my online theater and watched the 2007 Demo video have heard music from this soundtrack. The particular song I used is entitled "Roslin and Adama." The track comes from a scene that conveys a feeling of true love between two characters. I wanted to create that same feeling in my demo. Weddings are not just an event or tradition that couples must go through at some point in their lives, it's an expression of true love between two people and I think the track "Roslin and Adam" really helped me to express that.

I really hope some of you look into this great soundtrack!

March 23rd - Steven Kancianic

I just wanted to post about an old friend of mine, Steven Kancianic. He's a great photographer who lives in Virgina along with his wife, Rachel. A little over a month ago I completed a short video to show off Steve in action along with some of his great work. Below are some pictures from Steve and also the video I did for him. If any of you live in or around the state of Virgina, please don't hesitate contacting Steve by clicking here.