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Vendor Spotlight: Dare Dreamer Media and Dawson Signature Films

couples, vendor spotlights, weddings

August 1, 2010

I’m so excited to launch off the first of the month with our first spotlight interview! We will be having weekly spotlight interviews with different Wedding professionals, so I hope you subscribe and check back for more on these fabulous people! I am personally totally in love with the work from Dare Dreamer Media! I am so blessed and thankful to have had my video promo done by them and I hope you enjoy it. Its embedded below, but also can be found on my About Section of my blog, and on the front page of my wedding website.

Ooh and I just found out that Ron has featured my video on his website, please go check it out at the Dare Dreamer website. What I love most about Ron and his film making is that he only films things that are moving and have emotion. I was drawn to that because I want to move my clients and capture emotion as well.  If there was one thing that a Bride and Groom MUST HAVE at their wedding day, outside of the Photographer of course;) Is a Videographer/Cinematographer. Ron has a separate brand for his company that covers weddings and they are phenomenal! He is definitely the top notch photographer. He travels all over the world and would love to film your day! Here’s my interview with Ron Dawson of Dare Dreamer Media and Dawson Signature Films! By the way, his Love Story videos. they are so cool!

Tell me About yourself and your company, and how you got started into wedding videography?

I originally took film and video courses at a junior college in 1992. I had graduated from Cal Berkeley in ’91 as a business major and was working as a senior real estate appraiser at the time. I turned to filmmaking as a creative outlet. I also wanted to make a movie about a funny experience I had while in college. (It was only funny in retrospect, not so much while I was experiencing it. But, isn’t that how life is? Alan Alda’s character in Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors” describes comedy as “tragedy plus time.”  Very true in this case. I never made the movie, but fell in love with filmmaking.

Over the years I did short films and fun videos just as a hobby. By 2000 I was working as a business marketing manager for Quicken, and getting more interested in film. By 2002 I decided to quit my job and pursue my passion as a filmmaker. So for 8 years now, that’s what I’ve been doing.

Our focus now is cause-driven and inspirational films. I do a lot of work for non-profits, but have also worked for companies like Adobe, Apple Computer, QuickBooks, and Fuller Seminary. And we still do weddings through our wedding division Dawson Signature Films. I love being able to use my God-given gifts to bless families and marriages with a cinematic re-telling one of the most important days of a couple’s life.

How long have you been filming for?

It’s been 18 years since I first took film and video courses at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA.

Was there a specific time in your life when you thought “THIS is what I am made to do!” If so, when and how?
The year I started my business was the year I had the feeling that “This is what I was made to do.” I was sitting in my family room with my first wedding client showing them a 7-minute highlights clip of their wedding movie. In that 7 minutes they laughed and they cried. It was really a spiritual experience to see the effect my work had on them.
Every filmmaker wants to make work that moves people. So many film students think they have to go to “Hollywood” to make important films. I make important films all the time. Whether it’s a PSA (public service announcement) raising the awareness of child sex trafficking, or it’s an emotionally moving wedding film, the movies I make are in many ways MORE important than what you see in Hollywood. They’re helping to strengthen marriages, inspire people, and/or motivate positive changes in our community. That being said, I do hope to one day make films that do reach millions of people to do the same. For now, I’m content reaching a few thousand people, one video at a time.
What do you love most about shooting video?
What I love most is taking disparate visuals, audio, and music, then piecing them together like a jigsaw puzzle to create a work of art that can move someone to tears, or hysterical laughter. That’s a powerful feeling. I also really like being on “set” with a fun couple doing a love story video.That’s where we go out with a couple, interview them about how they met and fell in love, then re-enact aspects of their relationship.We’ll then show it at the wedding reception. They are ALWAYS the talk of the wedding. Guaranteed to blow friends and family away. Here’s one of my favorite we did last year. (http://blip.tv/file/2300815)

What type of equipment do you shoot with?
We shoot all of our weddings now with the high quality HD DSLR cameras. Absolutely stunning quality that can’t be topped. Here’s an example of a wedding announcement video we shot last year in Canada (http://vimeo.com/5834747).

Here’s a highlights clip from a wedding in Napa, CA we shot last Fall (http://vimeo.com/9828720). And of course we naturally use wireless mics for crystal clear audio.

What makes you different from other filmmakers?
The #1 thing that makes me different is, well, me. 🙂 The way I connect with my clients, direct them, make them feel comfortable. I’ve been doing this a long time, so no matter what kind of couple I work with, I can make them feel and look amazing. Besides that, if you want something more objective, I’ve co-written a book on video production that many people in the industry are now calling a “must read” for anyone entering this business; for two consecutive years I was named to the Event DV Top 25 event filmmakers in the world as voted by my peers; I’ve spoken all over the country at video and photography conventions and seminars; and I’m an international award-winner.
What is your favorite moment that you’ve captured? Do you have a clip of it?
One of my favorite moments we ever caught on tape was actually from one of the first weddings I ever shot (back in 2003). Unfortunately, I don’t have a clip of it. It was right after the father of the bride finished his toast. My wife and I were both shooting at the time and I was on the main camera. When the father of the bride finished and sat down, I stopped rolling. But my beautiful wife, armed with her powerful female intuition, kept rolling on the dad. As he sat down, he lowered his head and began to weep. He realized then and there he really was losing his little girl. His wife put her hand on his back to comfort him. It was such an amazing moment that ONLY could have been captured on video. I’ve since learned to keep rolling after emotional speeches and moments like that just in case. 🙂
What advice would you give couples researching your services?
When looking for a wedding videographer, it’s much like choosing a photographer. You want someone you’re going to connect with. Someone that makes you feel comfortable. You want someone you know you can trust to capture all those special moments, both audio and video. Look at their work and make sure it speaks to you. This is something that is going to last for generations to come. Make the right choice. And most importantly, GET IT! Whether you use me, or some other professional videographer, don’t make the mistake of NOT getting one. Surveys show that it’s the #1 regret of brides, not getting a pro videographer.

You also offer promotional videos for businesses, companies and organizations, why should they have a video made for their company and how can it impact their business?

The promotional videos we create are similar to our wedding films. They’re filled with emotion. They move people to take action. Also, studies show that video can significantly increase a conversion rates.  And if you’re in the service business, a promo video is great for helping the prospective client get to know you and connect with you.

I love being a filmmaker and feel like I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to use my gifts to make real changes in the world. What more could a person ask for in a career.

Thanks Ron for showing us more about the passion of film making you have and also the importance of capturing those moments in real time. Please visit Ron and his websites and learn more about his films and current projects there.

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