I am SOOO excited that one of my images is featured on the cover of this month’s EventDV magazine, the leading industry magazine and resource for event filmmakers! I took this photo at the In[Focus] Event in Austin, Texas this past January. It was an incredible event that brought the industry’s most creative and innovative leaders from around the world together in one place. It was amazing to sit at a table over dinner with some of the filmmakers who have inspired me the most and who I consider my “film heroes!” And the coolest thing? Not only did I get to meet them in person and learn from them, but I now call many of them my friends!

I love that Steve Nathans-Kelly, editor of the magazine, chose this particular image because it features the AMAZING Ron Dawson of Dare Dreamer Media, who kicked off the conference with one of the most inspiring presentations I have experienced.

It also features one of the In[Focus] co-founders, the beloved Julian St. Pierre of Studio Vieux Carre, located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I got to meet Julian last August in Dallas when Patrick Moreau, Kevin Shahinian, and Michael Wong held a one day seminar, sponsored by In[Focus]. Sadly, Julian passed away suddenly in November. He and his wife Terry and son Joe, along with Chris Jones of Mason Jar Films and Don Pham of Take 1 Productions, worked tirelessly planning this highly anticipated event. Julian was an inspiration to so many in our industry, as well as to everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. He is GREATLY missed.

Presenters included: Ron Dawson, William Gaff, David Perry, Steve and Laura Moses, Loyd Calomay, Mark and Trisha Von Lanken, Chris P. Jones, Patrick and Konrad of Still-Motion, Joe Simon, Matt Davis, and Ray Roman.

Some of my favorite images from the week:

It was great to reunite with friends! Here, Raymond Vega from Puerto Rico gives Terry Taravella a big “hello again” hug!

Chris P. Jones of Mason Jar Films taking a minute for Mac.

David Perry shows how easy it is to overcome obstacles with the help of Chris McClain

David Perry’s presentation included a very special guest to show how important it is to make real connections with our clients. It moved many of us emotionally, including my sweet friend Joanna Banks-Morgan.

And of course there were toys to play with!! Eric Kmetz and Stewart Smith are checking out some Canon goodness here!

Loyd Calomay wowed us with his 3D presentation - well, it was more like he teased us with the idea of a 3d presentation!

Ahh, the Von Lankens got Von Real! I loved their “how-to” demonstrations! Especially the one on how to know when too much is TOO MUCH!

My favorite magazine editor, Steve Nathans-Kelly

I shared a table with Rodrigo Zapico from Brazil! Such a nice person!

Nearly three years ago, I stumbled upon the Still-Motion Blog and my view of wedding filmmaking changed forever! This is Patrick Moreau and it was so cool to meet him and get to talk to him after being inspired by him for so long! He pushes himself and his work to absolutely unbelievable lengths! All of these guys were so down to earth and eager to teach and share. Coolest. thing. ever.

My roomies from our local Dallas PVA, Theresa and Aggie! Loved getting to spend time with them!

Just looking at these two makes me smile! Brian Gunn and Christine Moore are also members of the Dallas PVA.

Yet another example of industry heroes getting down and dirty to teach the rest of us the tricks of the trade! It was great getting to see and have some hands on experience with the latest and greatest gear! Here Joe Simon shows us how it’s done!

Everybody loves super-coach Matt Davis!

Did I mention there were awesome toys (gear) and people to show us how to use them? Here’s Patrick again and John Moon on the right. John and Jen Moon were the first filmmakers I met online and hit it off with. They were GREAT to answer all my questions, plus, they are just great people and we became fast friends. I got to have lunch with them last November and it was wonderful to see them again at In[Focus]. They too are constantly broadening their business horizons!

Check out what Jen and her friend Reagan Zugelter have come up with for all of us women filmmakers and photographers! Would LOVE to be a part of POSH!

One of my favorites - Meg Simone! Loved finally getting to meet her! Felt like meeting an old friend! This girl has had and INCREDIBLE 2010 so far! She’s received honors and awards almost on a weekly basis!

Meg used several of my images from the In[Focus] event to produce an inspiring short film about the event that put into words what I think we all were feeling. Oh, and did I mention her video won first place???

There were many more wonderful people and inspiring leaders at In[Focus]! Too many to include in one blog post! Thank you to all of you who made the event so special and lifechanging for so many of us! And a special thank you to you, Julian.

Tags: InFocus Event, EventDV

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a wrestling tournament in Weatherford, Texas and I absolutely loved it! I honestly had never been to a wrestling tournament before and only vaguely knew what to expect. But the organizer and coach of the Weatherford Christian School Wrestling team, Bill Ford, did an amazing job organizing the event!

I love these images because of the emotion on the faces of the competitors, especially the younger ones!

Enjoy!

Tags: wrestling

Every Fall, Weatherford Christian School hosts a Faith Promise Dinner. The funds raised at this dinner are used to cover teacher salaries and other operating costs. This is the film we presented this year!

photo from Emerald City website

John and Kate’s reception was one of the funnest and had the highest energy that I have ever seen! In addition to all the amazing flowers, food, lighting, and the venue itself, the band Emerald City set the tone and kept the mood rockin’ the entire evening! There were close to 500 guests of every age, and just about everyone hit the dance floor at some point in during the party.

Emerald City is a Dallas based band founded in 1983 and have several high profile clients! They have entertained President and Mrs. Bush at the White House, several Fortune 500 companies, and performed at the weddings of Emmitt Smith, Mark Cuban and Angie Harmon!

I loved that the horns, with crazy hats donned, and occasionally the vocalists got right in the middle of the dance floor and performed while interacting with the crowd.

And the BEST was how they led a conga line out of the ballroom down to the “getaway” car! Then the horns escorted the bride and groom out, while playing a jazzy tune, which you’ll see in the video below!

Emerald City plays locally here in DFW at different venues. If you are in the area, check their schedule and go dance the night away!

Dallas, Texas
Ceremony: Highland Park United Methodist Church
Reception: The Belo Mansion
Photographer: Simple Moments Photography
Reception Entertainment: Emerald City

Tags: Emerald City Band, wedding, Reception, Dallas Videographer

Fun fact about Kate and John: they both worked on Capitol Hill in the George W. Bush administration! And I must say, their wedding and reception were fit for a president. I was totally hoping President and Mrs. Bush would show up! They definitely would have had a great time!

One of my very favorite local bands, Emerald City, entertained EVERYONE at the reception! I will be featuring part of the reception in tomorrow’s post and you will NOT want to miss that!

The beautiful Stacey Pinkney of Simple Moments Photography was so fun to work with and did a fabulous job!

More fun facts:

•I’ve known Kate and most of her bridesmaids since they were in high school. It was a fun reunion!

•John’s brother, Michael, and Kate’s bridesmaid, Lauren, were engaged and I was privileged to film their wedding in November! You won’t want to miss their film trailer coming soon!

*This video tells Kate and John’s story from their arrival at the church up to the reception. Check back for reception highlights!!

Ceremony: Highland Park United Methodist Church
Reception: The Belo Mansion
Photographer: Simple Moments Photography
Reception Entertainment: Emerald City

Tags: Dallas Videographer, wedding

It has been forever since I blogged any videos! I actually made it a resolution to give the video aspect of Gravitt Productions some more blog time in 2010!

I was honored to film Aron Kay and Brandon’s beautiful wedding last summer! You may remember this super fun couple from their San Antonio engagement photo session here.

Aron Kay, with the help of the amazing Wendy Kidd of Each and Every Detail, did an AWESOME job planning and fun and very unique wedding. One of my favorite parts was the fact that the reception was at the Fort Worth Zoo!

It was also a pleasure to work with Dallas[in]Focus Photography! (Click on their link to see their amazing images of the day!)

Thank you Aron Kay and Brandon for letting us share in your special day!

Ceremony: University Christian Church
Reception: Fort Worth Zoo
Wedding Planner: Wendy Kidd, Each and Every Detail
Photographer: Dallas[in]Focus
Reception Entertainment: Drywater Band
Cakes: Crème de la Crème Catering

Tags: Dallas Videographer, Fort Worth Videographer, Fort Worth zoo

Well, this is a little out of season but we have been watching a lot of the NFL Combine lately and the draft is quickly approaching! (I’m the only princess in the midst of 4 avid sports/ESPN junkies. I’ve adapted well, just picked up my camera and jumped on the sideline!) This video seemed to be a big hit with the fam and with the Abilene Cooper Cougars. And of the countless football highlights I’ve made over the past 12 years, this is actually one of my faves too! So, watch and enjoy!

Note: You have to stay with it until the “21 Gun Salute!” (3:30) It’s such awesomeness!!!

About to Rock from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

You can see #99 Brandon Henderson at SMU and #7 Will Ford at Texas Tech next Fall!

P.S. If any of you work for the Cowboys or the NFL, I really want to work for you! That would be uh-mazing!

Back in December, I shot this music video for Sh’Pone Harris’s song called Born Again Believer. It was produced by Joshua Norman of The Truth Records and Champion Anthems. Sh’Pone wanted this particular song shot in the neighborhood where he spent his youth in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It features many members of his family and his close friends. We had a lot of fun with this project, which I believe is a powerful one! Enjoy!

Born Again Believer from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

I finished this project a while back but wanted to show you one of my favorite excerpts from Tim and Jordan’s DVD! It was a beautiful wedding and an amazing, FUN couple! It was an honor to produce the wedding DVD’s for Tim last year and his sister Kelly in 2006.


Jordan and Tim's Highlight from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

I was excited to video Josh and Amanda’s wedding a couple of weeks ago and got a few good photographs as well. Congratulations guys and have a really fun honeymoon!

Tim and Jordan had a beautiful wedding in Midland, Texas! Here is Jordan and her crew at Traci’s Salon getting their hair and makeup done for the big event!


Jordan at Traci's from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

Whew! I have been working, working, working, and catching up, but not blogging! I had a CrAzY week last week, putting about 1300 miles on the old minivan in about 5 days. But it was so fun! First stop, Abilene to shoot Timmy Dixon’s acoustic concert. Last time I shot him, he was performing with his band. It was great to hear the acoustic versions of all his songs, plus some new ones he had written just the last week or two.

Here’s one of the videos. He’s singing “Only In Time” that he wrote last week after one of his friends drowned.



This is Glimpse, one of my favorites out of his original songs.



Check out the rest of the videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/txlonghorn2314. They include his amazing original songs and several great covers as well!

August 7-8 I was in Midland at Rock the Desert, my favorite! It’s hard work, but so much fun. The lineup was great this year and it was fun interviewing all the bands with Shigity Sean!



This is Mr. David Grosse and I love him! He is so awesome at Op Camp and then he came to RTD to be my boom mic guy. He was so nice to carry the huge camera, drive me around and make sure I always had tape and batteries. I could use someone like him pretty much all the time!



This is Kevin Copeland. In a word, he’s amazing. He can do anything in the world of video production and pulls off the production for this huge event every year! I am so thankful he calls me to come out and help!



I grabbed this shot of the Newsboys on stage. I kinda like it.



Here’s Jason from Hawk Nelson. They are so great! They always end up signing autographs for HOURS after their performance!



Mr. Soul Glow Activatur from Family Force 5! There is no one who puts on a show like these guys!! He’s looking rather tame here. Must have caught him in an “off” moment!

After resting a little bit from Rock the Desert, it was back to Abilene to shoot my favorite Cougars on their first morning of two-a-days! This is Cole who will be a sophomore this year! There is so much talent on this team!
Funny story, the head coach’s son is in the Marines and just finished working at the White House. Coach Spradlin got to meet President Bush at some kind of ceremony the soldiers go through after their assignment is done at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue. They walked into the room and President Bush asked Coach what he did for a living. When he answered that he coached the Abilene Cooper Cougars, the President said, “Oh! Ya’ll just dropped to 4A!” I love that! Currently, my coogs are ranked 3rd in the state! Whoo hoo! It’s going to be a great season!

These boys are ready to play some football!



I also met Monday with Donny and Randy Vaughn, the Marketing Twins and was excited to hear about things they are doing and how I may be able to do some production for them in the future! So fun catching up with old friends. I was a little tired that day and forgot to take a picture of them, among other things! But check out their blog - they have a lot of exciting things going on!

Okay, Tim and Jordan Philbeck are up next! Stay tuned!

Check out Amanda and Nathan’s Highlight from their wedding day here.

It’s my favorite time of year! I get to go to the desert (Midland), wear a cool t-shirt, grab some earplugs, gear up with a 1000 pound camera (okay, maybe 30 or 40 pounds) get on stage with and interview the coolest Christian bands, and hang out with thousands (literally) of their fired up fans! It’s so much fun! I get to see old friends, work with AMAZING people that I wish I could spend more time with, and rock out for two solid days! Come see me there! Click on the logo to learn more about it!

Go to the website to see the whole lineup!

It’s gonna be HOT!!!

Tags: Rock the Desert

I first told you about Op Camp Como in April when we had the training retreat for the counselors. This past week we finally got to live the dream! This is the third year we took about 80 elementary kids from the Como neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas to a week long faith-based camp at no charge to the campers’ families. It is always an incredibly powerful week and this year proved no different! God always assembles His very best among the camp staff and counselors. I am always so humbled to work shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest people on the planet! I quickly chose just a few of the thousands of photos I took last week to tell some of the story!

First, a funny story. (Well, kind of!) My husband Van directs this camp and was the director of the same camp out of Midland, Texas for seven years, but this was a first! During the traditional “keep-away” game in the pool, he caught the back of Mr. Wes’s head in his eye. He had a fairly innocent looking, but very deep split near his brow bone.

Thank goodness for Dr. Brown who was there to stitch him up! (The color has been removed from this photo to protect the squeamish - and yes, I videoed it too!!)

This is what that “innocent” looking injury looked like 2 days later! Carolyn Street, the business manager at the campgrounds took this shot!

Here’s Cody doing his Mr. Gravitt impression!

This is Tyler, who prefers to be referred to as the best intern ever, as they all do! He was definitely the best intern this year! He pretty much had a new hairstyle every day! It started out like this, turned into a mohawk, and eventually he was bald.

Here are Van and I with our boys, Josh and Joe Norman! They were campers back in the early 90s at the Midland Opportunity Camp and still come back every year to help us out. We’ve had the honor of watching them grow up and they are family to us. BTW, today is Josh’s 28th birthday! Happy Birthday, Baby! We are so proud of both of them! Josh played football and was a National Champion at OU and went on to play for the San Diego Chargers, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders. He is now CEO of The Truth Records and JLee Productions. Joe was the Texas Defensive Player of the Year his senior year at Midland Lee High School, played at Texas Tech, and was in the movies “Friday Night Lights”, “We are Marshall”, and “Invincible” as a football player. He is working in the oil business now. Just a little Mama-braggin!

Josh ran a little football mini-camp for the boys at recreation time one day! Pretty cool to have a former NFL player showing you how it’s done! Byron, the boy in the blue shirt, is a Hurricane Katrina survivor. His brother was a counselor for us this year and did an incredible job! We are so thankful God moved them to Fort Worth!

We also had His Son (a.k.a. Vince Carter, former OU center who graduated in 2004 and was drafted in 2005) perform. The kids loved him!

A couple of my favorite shots:

There are no smiles like Opportunity Camp smiles!

Probably the best shot of the week was this one taken by my friend Anda! You can tell we had quite a bit of hair cutting going on in the boys’ cabins!

And of course there is video!


Op Camp Como 08A from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.


Op Camp Como B from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.


Op Camp Como 08C from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.


Op Camp Como 08D from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.


Op Camp Como 08E from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

Tags: Opportunity Camp Como, NFL, Hurricane Katrina, His Son

Last night was Julie and Brian's reception in Fort Worth. I can post the top secret Tahoe video now! It is one of my favorites because of all the beautiful scenery! Someone at the reception told me they felt like they were watching The Bachelor. Is that a compliment? I don't know! But it was an incredible trip, super fun reception, and a wonderful group of people to hang out with! The best part of last night: kickin' it old school to MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice with Molly and Bev!! Ha! The DJ, Steward's Productions, did an amazing job!

I loved all the comments on the lightning photo! Thank you so much!


Julie and Brian from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

I am working on Brian and Julie's highlight video for their reception tomorrow night. They married in South Lake Tahoe, which was completely amazing! You might recognize them from their engagement photos. Here are a few photos I snapped and I will get their highlight video up after the reception!

After the wedding, we took a two hour dinner cruise on the Bleu Wave. Talk about gorgeous views! We had a fun time celebrating the brand new Mr. and Mrs. Ponder! I sneaked into the cabin (I think that's what you call it!) and caught this quiet moment between the two of them.

Both families were so sweet! I just loved Brian's grandmother. I took this photo through some pretty misty eyes right after she told Brian how proud her grandfather would have been of him! She had us all in tears. It was such a sweet moment.

There was an amazing lightning storm in Midland, TX the night of Tim and Jordan's rehearsal dinner. I got this shot from the infamous duck pond on the way to Jordan's lingerie shower - which was too much fun! BTW, I love to know who is visiting my blog! Please leave me a comment below the picture! Thanks!

I've recently done a couple of shoots out at DFW for a company called IAS Air. It was so much fun! They needed photos and video for presentations and their website. I love my job! Here are a couple of photos:

Hello! Check out Teryn and Brandon's new Highlight on the the "Weddings" page and here are Angie and Jose's "Getting Ready" Highlights!


Getting Ready from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

I apologize for not posting for such a long time! May is always a busy time in the event video world and I produced my fair share of programs and graduations! I also got to photograph some seniors, and shot two weddings - one in South Lake Tahoe and one in Midland, Texas. I also did some commercial photography out at DFW and just got back from a video/photo shoot of a calf roping instructor! Whew! For today, here are some of my favorite shots from some of my favorite seniors!

I am working on the video for the seniors at my church. We had an AMAZING shoot that was so much fun! Thanks guys for a great time! Here are some pics, and look for the video after Senior Sunday!!

Sooo, Op Camp (www.opcamp.com) is this cool ministry that my husband has been involved in since he was in high school and I happily married into it. It's a faith-based free camp for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade underprivileged kids from Midland and the Lake Como community in Fort Worth. The unique thing about it is that the counselors are high school and college aged kids and there is a 2:1 camper to counselor ratio. After camp, the counselors and campers get together at least once a month and develop a really powerful mentor/friendship relationship. Character traits are reinforced, and the counselors become role models for them. We had the counselor training retreat last weekend at Camp Butman, the campsite. It's really intense and the kids always amaze us with their commitment and love for the ministry!

I love this pic! Matt is a former-camper-turned-counslelor from Midland and Dynecia is a counselor from Fort Worth.


Claire and Kayte - another Midland-Fort Worth friendship!

It's an amazing ministry! I'm off to the counselor training retreat, and I will give you more details and pictures from this weekend! In the meantime, check them out at www.opcamp.com

My sister Candice got married on March 15. What a fun week we had! I was honored to be her bridesmaid, videographer, and, because I couldn't help myself, I also took a lot of pictures! She had a great photographer named Brian O'Neill (http://pnaproductions.shutterfly.com/action/). Since it's been a blog desert for me the last few weeks as we have been travelling and I have been working away editing and getting out weddings, I thought I would give you something to look at!

Cassi in her boots at the rehearsal.


College Roomies: Candice, Cassi, Val, Chelsea



Twins and Hubbies! Matt, Candice, Cassi, Nick









Love those eyes!


Me and the beautiful bride!

It's good to be home again! My sister got married and then we were off to Colorado for Spring Break. Lots of good times! I did manage to get some work done during that time as well! This clip is from the pre-wedding section of the twins' wedding movie. The boys played golf and the girls ate brunch! Enjoy!

Twin Brunch and Golf from Gravitt Productions on Vimeo.

Check this out!!

My sister Candice and her fiance' Matt are getting married on March 15! Enjoy their engagement shoot movie!

My four year old has decided to take up skateboarding! Yikes! I ran for his helmet and my camera yesterday and we had a lot of fun, although the session quickly came indoors. I guess the hallway seems a lot safer for someone just learning to balance! I just love little boys! Every day is a new adventure! I never know if I will be playing with a Power Ranger, Spiderman (or Peter Parker donning his sport coat over his costume!), Superman, Batman or a Jedi! Or maybe all of the above. Yea for little boys!

I also added a "Wedding Film" page for you to view samples from weddings I have filmed. I posted Gaylen and Nicholas' Highlight today and hope to get her sister, Ginna, up tomorrow. It was the most incredible day! A set of identical twin sisters married identical twin brothers! I have never, and probably will never again, see anything like it! I will write more about it coming up in the next few days as I finish production on these amazing weddings! In the meantime, be sure to check out Gaylen and Nicholas' highlight!

Last Sunday officially marked the end of football season, always a depressing day for me. So I am sharing my football love with some photos I took this past season of the Abilene Cooper Cougars. I did their highlight video and made all but one of their games. It was so fun hanging out with them! You can check out some of the videos by clicking on "Football Films" at the top of the page. I am actually working on wedding videos today - more about that later - but here's some Cougar Love!