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BRIDAL NEWS MAGAZINE
JAN - JUL | 2009

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Willow Creek offers professionalism and a team approach to wedding videography

Reviewing Scott & Angela Clevely, Willow Creek Studios

Working out of their studio in Cambridge, Willow Creek Studios prepares for and produces the final cut of countless local wedding memories. They are well-known – having coined themselves as the premier cinematic wedding videography company for Cambridge, Guelph and K-W - well-respected, and very very busy with weddings. In fact, they shot fifty-five weddings in 2008 alone.

Scott Clevely seems to have a talent for offering everything a bride wants most: a video producer whose goal is to treat her wedding day archives with care and class, and Scott says that you’ll love your video when he gives it to you, but is willing to work on any changes you want at no extra cost. We sat down with Scott and his wife, Angela, to find out more...

In a past life & in person

What makes Willow Creek Studios unique is that they're a full time video production company with nine years of experience working on professional film and television productions. In fact, Scott was an active member of the Director's Guild of Canada for years, with previous work (that took place mostly in the Toronto area) including work as an assistant director on the set of the TV series, Doc, and on movies such as Death to Smoochie and Exit Wounds. He also went to film school in Toronto.

But now Scott says it's his family, his home, this community and your wedding videos that he considers to be the most personally fulfilling projects that he works on. "It's a different career, a different life here," he explained, comparing wedding videography to his previous career. "I love it out here. I can have a family. I can still do what I love to do. And with weddings, well... there is nothing better than a wedding day." Scott added, "I always love the response we get after delivering the wedding video and a couple has just watched it. It's very satisfying that we can stir up that kind of emotion in our clients."

Video production is Scott's full time job and focus. He has hand-picked a small team of videographers and editing professionals that were chosen for their personalities, expertise and commitment to excellence. 

A team effort

Willow Creek is run by Scott Clevely and his wife, Angela. Scott is also the principle video producer, camera operator and editor and Angela is the production coordinator who works with couples to get all of the information required to produce the video – like times, locations, payments, etc. Derek Montalbetti is also a principle camera operator and editor who attended Film School in New York and worked as a filmmaker in the past. The team at Willow Creek also consists of Ryan Alexander, an assistant camera operator who studied at Sheridan College, and Holden Mohring, another camera operator. The team works together to offer high quality, corporate wedding videography that brides can put their faith and future memories in. "We've never been busier with weddings than we are right now," Scott says with a smile. "We don't outsource anything... we have a trained crew and the only time we would bring in an outsider would be to replace someone in case of illness," Scott told us.

Between the various camera operators, Willow Creek says they're able to cover twice as many memories without sacrificing style or expertise. "Brides want to be confident in what they'll receive when the wedding day is over. If they view our sample videos and hire Willow Creek, we want to deliver a product that lives up to and exceeds their expectations."

Since Scott says they’re always trying to push their style towards the higher end of wedding video productions, more towards the movie or 'cinematic' wedding videos, they’re always "Investing in better equipment; training operators for better shots; and training editors to really make the footage great."

Larry and Tina Vitoria, who had Willow Creek Studios shoot their June 2008 wedding, say they were very impressed with their work just by checking out their portfolio. "Then once my now husband and I met with Scott we just felt comfortable with him; he knew exactly what he was talking about and was sincere," Tina told us. "He made a point to work with us and work with what we wanted to get out of our video."

Putting a guarantee on your memories

Willow Creek Studios sets themselves even further apart by guaranteeing that they'll complete your wedding video within sixty days of your wedding, "... or we'll give you your money back and you keep the video for free... Furthermore, if you're not happy with our work on the video, you will be invited to come and sit with our professional editor who will work with you to make sure you get the video you want." But with a minimum of thirty hours of editing going into every video he produces, it would be surprising if you weren’t happy with the first copy.

Overall, Marlena Lima told The Ring that her experience with Willow Creek was good when she hired them for full day coverage of her October 2008 wedding. "There were a few changes that I wanted to make and they were always willing to look over the video and change things for me. They are very easy to talk to, and they get back to you soon as well."

Technically speaking...

Using 3CCD broadcast quality cameras and the option to shoot HD, a high-tech computer studio that includes DVD burning towers and extras such as wireless microphones, backup cameras and tripods, Willow Creek seems to have everything you look for in a wedding videographer. With the increasingly affordable and popular Blu-Ray discs, Scott makes sure he offers 'true' high definition wedding videos, which means they are shot on HD cameras and delivered on Blu-Ray discs. "Some videographers just shoot in HD and say they do high definition weddings," says Scott. With Willow Creek, you should be able to expect to receive a professional, photojournalistic-style wedding video that is laid back on the subtitles and effects (that are sometimes considered 'cheesy'), and that is high on a classic, tear-jerking movement, sound, music and memories. Recently, Scott added steadier cameras to his equipment repertoire, which, when combined with the expert operators add to the impressive results he provides for his clients.

Your wedding video...

Interviewing a great videographer is one of the best parts of wedding planning because it means going home with hours and hours of wedding footage! Interviewing Willow Creek was no exception. Apart from finding it easy to like Scott in person, it was also easy to like his work. Two demo disks and about a dozen weddings later, we had satisfied our craving and our questions.

The Willow Creek approach is subtle and sweet, photojournalistic and professional. His videos captured laughs and smiles, tearful whispered vows, goofy grins from the best man, bittersweet expressions from mom and dad as they watch their little girl grow up... Music selections for the videos are chosen by the couple, so that there are no surprises and the video is that much more meaningful. "I'm always happy with the selections my couples make. They have great taste."

Marlena, who describes Willow Creek’s style as "modern and real" told The Ring that she has seen some wedding videos that don’t show little things that can mean so much after your wedding day. "Willow Creek was able to capture special hugs with family and so on." She adds that her and her now husband, Dave, were very happy with the job that Willow Creek did on their video and loved that they could relive their special day over and over.

Tina and Larry told us, "We really liked the option of having two videographers. We chose this and it helped capture every little detail about the day starting from early morning till the end." Tina added, "We found Scott to be very helpful, understanding to our needs and very professional. I really enjoyed that fact that on the day we didn’t even really notice they were there videotaping but yet they seemed to capture all the right moments."

Your wedding video can begin with a montage of photos from your childhood and dating era, and proceed to your wedding day, leaving you with approximately two hours of memories. It comes with a separate DVD that you get to keep, containing all the raw footage from your day, just in case you missed something. But the actual final copy is a polished (including colour correcting) highlighted reel with no raw footage – just the best of the best. Willow Creek also provides you with three to twelve personalized DVD copies that include motion menus and chapter selections. Your memories end with rolling credits that name your wedding party, family and friends. Willow Creek also does an online video stream of your highlight reel on their website so that you can share your video with friends and family around the globe completely free of charge.

Additional video options...

One of Scott's favourite services is his most popular. 'A Wedding Story' is an interview of the couple about how they met, how the proposal went, and what they see in their future together. All of this is combined with scenes of the couple together, doing things like walking, hugging, eating ice cream, teasing each other...

A great option (and The Ring's personal favourite) is the 'Video Guest Book'. The Video Guest Book is footage from a camera that is set up separately, just so that your guests can tape personal messages for you to hear and watch later. One of the most common complaints couples have once their day has come and gone, is that they didn't have a chance to really speak with every one who attended.

A 'Honeymoon Montage' is an option that is made up of photos from your honeymoon, set to music, and put at the end of your wedding video to complete the picture.

'Same Day Edit & Display' is an incredible option that will entertain guests and set a new tone for your wedding reception. (This option really sets them apart from other videographers. They'll have your wedding edited in time to display at the reception!)

Pricing your wedding video...

Willow Creek offers four basic packages for couples to use as a guide. "We prefer to work with the bride and groom to customize a video based on their needs. Packages just give them the idea of what to expect and what their options can be." Scott says their most economical package starts at $1595 and they can go up to $2495 or more, with a long but fun list of additional options. He adds that most brides will spend approximately $1500 to $1800 on their wedding video at Willow Creek, depending on what coverage and features they decide on.

Packages can go as high as you like and with Scott's connections and experience as a professional filmmaker, Willow Creek can give you $5000 wedding video coverage and quality if that’s what you want. Scott added, "I know how to get the right people and produce an over-the-top video... only limited by your budget, even Big Budget Movie Magic with a crew of sixteen people, with cranes and steady cams capturing every moment from every angle."

"Low price equals low quality," in Scott’s opinion. "If you’re paying $599 what are you getting?" he asks couples when they’re choosing a videographer. "It’s all about quality at Willow Creek."

With the amount of time that goes into a wedding video, the prices are quite reasonable. Scott told us that the average wedding has two videographers shooting the day of from eight to twelve hours; twenty-two hours of editing; four hours of post-production; one hour of disc labeling and packaging (for ten discs); and two hours of design, which makes the average video take forty-five to fifty-three hours to produce from beginning to end.

"We felt that [Willow Creek] offered everything we wanted in our video at a reasonable cost," say Tina and Larry. "The prices were very reasonable, they worked with us on our budget and gave us the most they could give for the price we wanted to spend. We feel that for the price we paid we got an amazing video and worked with some great, friendly people. I don’t think we could have asked for a better video to capture our wedding day."

Scott told us about Willow Creek's typical client, "It's someone who knows what they want and doesn’t mind paying for what’s important to them." Scott added, "We are not the company for the bride who is looking for a deal. We’re the company for the bride who’s looking for a great video memoir of her wedding day... and sees the value in that. Like credits, swooping camera motions, special effects, beautiful music, incredible imagery, etc. We don't compete on price. We compete on quality; and we're the best," says Scott.

Contacting Willow Creek Studios...

Willow Creek employs a principle video producer, two principle and one assistant camera operator, three editors and a production coordinator whose sole purpose is to create a wedding video that you'll love to watch and share with others for the rest of your lives. Scott Clevely is available each day by phone at 519-654-2099 or by email at sales@willowcreek.ca. Willow Creek is located in Cambridge, and you can arrange an appointment with them to visit their studio. They also have wedding video samples on their website, www.willowcreek.ca. We highly recommend checking them out! Scott's happy to answer any inquiry you may have.

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca
* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Willow Creek Studios.