Featured Vendor: Andy Wang

Vendor: Andy Wang
Specialty: Wedding Cinematography
Email: andy@andywang.com.my
Website: http://www.andywang.com.my/

1) Tell us more about yourself. What made you decide to be a wedding cinematographer?
Well, I am a typical ‘kampung’ (village) boy from Penang Island who simply loves romance and believes in fairy tales. Due to my passion towards filming and desire to craft a masterpiece for that very special day of two lovers, I quit my job as a camera sales representative in 2003 to venture into wedding videography industry.

2) How would you describe your style?
Beautiful, smooth and lively as if you’re there again everytime when you watch your wedding film.

3) What sort of equipments do you use during assignments?
The usage of equipments is very much depends on the nature of wedding itself, ie venue and lighting. For instance, steadicam is normally used for a smooth shot when we have to move quickly like during bridal march in or dance floor session. Meanwhile, tracking system is widely used to capture ring shot, decorations in different perspective. But sometimes, we will also do free hand and tripod shot.

We will also have a sound specialist in location to record voices especially during outdoor weddings so we can get crystal clear voices (ie during vow exchange ceremony) without any interruption from the surrounding.

4) Which is your favourite wedding that you’ve ever filmed?
Herbert & Jocelyn’s black & hot pink wedding
Link: http://www.andywang.com.my/blog/wedding/wedding-of-jocelyn-herbert-in-restaurant-passion-road-kuala-lumpur-malaysia/

Alex & Carmen’s Harry Potter wedding
Link: http://www.andywang.com.my/blog/wedding/the-magical-wedding-of-carmen-alex-rasa-sayang-resort-penang/

5) Any tips on selecting the right wedding videographer?
There are many criteria to consider in choosing a right wedding videographer. Perhaps, you would like to read this article that I have wrote before:

http://www.andywang.com.my/blog/article/tips-on-choosing-a-wedding-cinematographer/

To view past features, please click here.

Featured Vendor: Janet Lee

The talented and beautiful singer, Janet Lee is our featured vendor for the month of April!

Vendor: Janet Lee
Specialty: Singer
Email: soul.doc.lee@gmail.com
Website: http://www.janetsing.com

Listen to Janet sing below!
Carmen [Song Demo]
Go get Adobe Flash Player!

1) Tell us more about yourself!
I discovered the joy of singing when I was a kid. I didn’t pursue it then other than just singing along to the radio and cassettes like everyone else in school. I sang with a children’s choir when I was in college, I was this overgrown kid singing amongst real kids! After college I started going to a singing teacher and learned to sing classically and learned to love the world of operas and art songs. After years working in the corporate front I finally gathered enough guts to take the plunge into singing professionally and on full time basis. I am very happy now to be in a profession where I get rewarded for doing what I love, singing and sharing the joy of music with many people.

My wish is to sing right into my old ripe age, to sing till I can’t no more.

2) Which artist or singer do you admire most?
This is a hard one, I have a list of favourites:
- Gealan, or Grace Chang, for her multi-facet talent and style.
- Mozart, for his genius and humour.
- Ute Lemper, for her frightening triple-threat portfolio.
- Jamiroquai, for their cool sound.
- Teresa Teng, for her beauty and art.
- Antonio Carlos Jobim, for all his wonderful songs.

3) Apart from singing, what else do you love to do?
I have a few pet loves besides singing: dancing, reading and flea market shopping. These activities both unwind and stimulate me. They do what they do best when I need it – be it either unwinding or stimulating. My retirement plan would include a lifestyle where I do mostly just read, cook and exercise…besides singing for leisure and for love.

4) What made you decide to sing for weddings?
The weddings came to me – I am lucky to have found a niche for myself in the circuit. I created a website and put up my song repertoire there and waited – then some couples started contacting me for details on my performance, the rest is history. I have an affinity for singing at weddings because I recognize the significance of being part of somebody’s wedding – I will always be part of this person’s memories of his or her biggest and happiest day. I like to sing at weddings because I enjoy making friends with my clients, the wedding couples and their families. It is an enriching element on the job and I think it’s a real blessing to be able to share joy through my music at wedding banquets.

5) What other sort of gigs do you do besides wedding?
Corporate events, private dinners, fashion shows, product launch parties, tea parties and theatre. I do various types of singing performances for the corporate sector from jazz performance with live musicians, to a minus -one performance with back up dancers with elaborate costumes and choreography, to sometimes just me and a pianist on a grand, giving a dinner its intimate and cozy touch of music and songs. For the theatre front, am mostly in musicals, in English and Chinese theatres. I have worked with composers like Saidah Rastam and Nick Choo. I have collaborated with companies like Dama Orchestra, KLPac, Actors Studio Theatre, Lyric Opera Malaysia and PAN Productions.

6) What sort of repertoire do you usually sing for weddings?
Jazz standards, American songbook standards, smooth jazz, Chinese oldies, the Teresa Teng songbook, the Shi-Dai-Qu standards (of Zhou Xuan, Yao Li, Gealan and the likes), Tan Sri P Ramlee & Saloma standards. Sometimes I also do a few Broadway musical numbers and even operatic arias upon special requests.

7) What is the most interesting performance/achievement you had since you started?
I am blessed with this gift of music that I am able to sample various experience of performing. Some of the most memorable experience and achievements would include carrying and portraying a dramatic character in a musical (playing Lulu in I Have A Date With Spring the musical), singing with an orchestra (sang Papagena & 2nd Lady in The Magic Flute concert), singing with a 10-piece band at a wedding in East Malaysia, DANCING and singing with professional dancers, competing in a classical singing championship, perform inside a paper mache on stage with a paper artist….the list could go on. I simply cannot choose just one most interesting performance as there have been many unique and interesting experiences for me as a performer.

To view past features, please click here.

Featured Vendor: Signature Weddings

Vendor: Signature Weddings
Specialty: Wedding Publication
Website: http://www.signatureweddings.asia/

Signature’s latest wedding issue for Jan 2011

1) What is Signature Wedding? How did it come about?
Signature Weddings Asia is all about wedding inspiration and ideas to achieve ones dream wedding. A wedding is not about trend or budget but more about personalizing one’s wedding and making the celebration meaningful thus Signature Weddings aspires to help readers achieve a wedding made only for them

2) What makes Signature Wedding different from others?
Its the undying love and passion for all things wedding, from within the team to the wedding partners. You can see them in the contents we produce, there is a huge difference and it all starts from passion. A wedding is like cooking up a great dish, it takes the finest ingredients and passion to make a delectable dish. And this you will find in our wedding partners.

3) What are Signature Wedding’s future events/plans?
In the near future, Signature Weddings is into expansions. Perhaps you can see Signature Weddings translate into different language other than English. That’s in the pipeline.

To view past features, please click here.

Featured Vendor: Jessica Gems & Jewellery

Interested in getting custom jewelries to celebrate your engagement, wedding or any other special occasion? Jessica Wong who is a graduated gemologist from GIA is our featured vendor for the month of January, and she will be sharing some of her work with us.

Vendor: Jessica Gems & Jewellery
Specialty: Jewelry Designer
Email: jessica.w.gems@gmail.com
Mobile: +6012 689 0988
Address: Lot 25, Jalan PJS 11/22Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, 46150, Selangor Darul Ehsan, West Malaysia.

1) Tell us more about yourself and your company! What made you do what you’re doing today?
As many would refer me as, my name is Jessica. I am a holder of the bachelor degree majoring in Banking & Finance. Post-university, my affinity for gemstones has led me in pursue of my interest. Before I realise, I have earned myself the title of a Gemologist from GIA and the recognition as a Jewellery Designer.

Perhaps it also owes to my curiosity and anticipation to see pieces of gemstones making its way to its showcase and the fulfilment I get when making my clients happy that drives my passion.

2) What makes your jewelry different from others?
The key differentiating factor of my jewelleries is that each custom-made product is uniquely designed to cater to match individual preferences. This can range from the type of jewellery, gemstones, purpose, desired personality and so forth. Each piece of jewellery is carefully hand crafted with high attention to detail.

3) What is the process involved when an order comes in?
The most important thing is to maintain an open discussion with the client by working through pre-delivery details. This important step helps improve visualisation of the product and effectively assists the client in making informed decision of the purchase. Once that has been worked out, the order can now be confirmed and proceedings will be put forward to arrange for the crafting of the product.

The thought interrogation is geared towards given circumstances and since jewelleries are custom made, designs are rarely identical. As for clients who prefer off-the-shelf products, there are pre-designed collections or individual pieces to choose from.

4) What is your favourite jewelry that you’ve designed so far?
To be honest, I feel connected to the jewelleries I have designed and I do love them all. Given the effort that I put forward to translate an inspiration, each piece does have a tale to tell. Through my designs, I look forward to share it with others and do hope that the purchase of my visualisation brings forth a fine blend of my imagination with the exquisite taste of the bearer.

5) What are your future plans?
My current plan is to keep improving through in-partial feedback. This way I get to improve my designs further and to better meet and exceed customer expectations. So regardless of the feedback, just keep them coming! Further on, I am looking to expand the business online and am currently in process of rebranding the business from Jessica Gems & Jewellery to CACA Gems & Jewellery; something which you can look forward to very soon.

To view past features, please click here.

Featured Vendor: Wedding Story

Vendor: Wedding Story
Specialty: Wedding Film
Website: http://www.weddingstory.com.my

1) Who are the people behind Wedding Story?
We are a small boutique wedding film studio. We have three visual storyteller in Wedding Story.

James Tan – Our new addition to the Wedding Story team. He joined us in July 2010. He is formally trained in Graphics and Multimedia Design.

2) Why do you place emphasis on storytelling?
We believe that character driven storytelling is the main ingredient that makes a strong wedding film. It involves the creative documentation of real moments and character of the person that drives the story forward. A healthy balance of well motivated camera movement further heightens story as well as emotions. Cinematography is more than just pushing a button on the back of a camera or creating beautiful shots. We believe as cinematographers, we should not only capture the beauty alone but also have a vision to tell a story about the couple’s relationship, love that leads to the wedding. The unique blend of ‘real’ love chemistry and the day of their wedding tells a more complete story.

3) How important do you think wedding videography is?
As a wedding vendor, we understand that a wedding can be a very expensive event for the couple. We can also understand that the couple try to save here and there. Most often, couples think that a videographer is an unnecessary expense and would forgo the videographer and just hire a photographer for their wedding. While we agree that the wedding photographer is equally important but couples have to realize that photographs capture just a single moment in time. A photo can’t capture the laughter and candid moments that way a video can. The visual and audio the video’s characters make will always bring to life the heartfelt emotions every time you watch the film. Additionally, you can share the preserved priceless emotive moments with your children and future generation.
A professionally done video will ensure that your wedding day imagery turns into a masterpiece. If not for the video will you hear your vows again? Will you see the love in each other’s eyes as you kiss for the first time as husband and wife? What about your cutest flower girl and the charming ring boy walking nervously down the aisle? If not for the video, all the wedding speeches, wishes and toasts will be forgotten forever.

After spending much time and money into planning your wedding, wouldn’t you want a fabulous wedding film of this incredible day? Isn’t it worth reliving again?

4) Why should the couple hire a professional instead of getting a relative to film the wedding?
I agree that everybody can film a wedding, but can they do it properly? A professional videographer does this full time. He has the experience and know how, and he will also have the right equipment for the job.
Bear in mind, videography involve a set of skills and it takes years to refine the techniques in filming, editing and a whole lot more.

5) There has quite a number of videographers calling themselves as wedding cinematographers. Could you explain this further?
Lately, there has been a shift in the industry from using the term “videography” to the term “cinematography”. The definition might be different from studio to studio.
Videography is about recording the event. Its a more straightforward approach style or simply “coverage style” of the wedding day. There is little or no extra equipments being used to get the job done.
Cinematography is about telling the story. It’s about creating something beautiful and meaningful. Cinematography includes shots that are considered “cinematic” like shallow depth of field, steady motion shots, rack-focusing, dolly shots and crane-like motion shots. Since there is more equipment and crew involved, it does cost more.

6) Which is your favourite wedding that you have ever filmed?
There is too many to name! Anyway, one of them that I could think of now would be the wedding of Dorothy and Volker. They got married on 4th September 2010 recently. I super-love this wedding for so many reasons. They were deeply in love, funny, kind hearted, approachable, warm, gentle and awesome people. The chemistry between us and them was such an Eureka moment! We felt we knew them for a long time. Most of all, we were treated with much respect and appreciation for all we have put in for them. On the night of the wedding reception, we decided to give them a little surprise. We secretly edited an SDE for them.

Here’s a few more of our favourites:

James + Sue Ann (SDE) from Wedding Story on Vimeo.

Malaysia Garden Wedding – John + Hui Chin – Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang from Wedding Story on Vimeo.

Malaysia Beach Wedding – Hai Liang + Mong Ling – The Four Seasons Resort, Pulau Langkawi from Wedding Story on Vimeo.

7) Any advice on selecting the right wedding videographer?
Firstly, you will need to love what they do. Secondly, CHEMISTRY – if the couple and videographer don’t have good chemistry, the relationship won’t work. Therefore it’s best to meet in person or chat to make sure the couple and videographer are the right fit for each other.

To view past features, please click here.