I decided to do a write-up about this particular Love Story video, because it is unlike any Love Story we have done before. With every video we produce, we try to do something different than the last. We are always moving forward, new equipment and new ideas.
On June 12, 2011, I had the opportunity to shoot a Love Story video with Jake and Chelsea at Centennial Lakes in Edina (what a beautiful location to shoot a Love Story). Chelsea sent me an email with the songs she wanted used in their Love Story video. One of those songs was “All I Want is You” by Barry Louis Polisar. Being a fan of the movie “Juno” and a motion graphics guru, I thought it would be fun to re-create the opening of “Juno” with a twist. After shooting the interview portion of their Love Story, we grabbed lunch at Potbelly’s (thank you for lunch, Jake and Chelsea). After learning they also like the movie “Juno”, we decided to shoot the open sequence of “Juno”. Using Jake’s Smartphone, we pulled up the opening sequence of the movie and started setting up…but we were missing something. We needed a milk jug! Somehow Chelsea was able to talk an employee at Potbelly’s into pulling a used milk jug out of the trash. Now we were ready to shoot!
Now typically, this would be something I would shoot on green screen; however, I think the technique I used (although very time consuming) gave the video a very handcrafted, modern look. I shot the sequence with a Canon 60D (24-70mm) and a DPSlider (for the initial dolly shot). Rather than turning Chelsea and Jake into “cartoon cut-outs” like the original, I opted to preserve the high resolution images, while still delivering a visually similar sequence.
Here is the process I used:
Using the camera's "Sports Mode" we shot each scene.
I rotoscoped/cut-out each frame (about 100+ photos)
After rotoscoping each frame, an outline was applied along with some other effects.
I then re-created the backgrounds so a connection to the movie could be made.
Finally, I merged the two compositions together (in the top left you can see how it compares to the original).
I did change some things up a bit to fit the wedding theme better 🙂
Chelsea and Jake are awesome! I had so much fun spending the day with them. They are so easy going and are naturals in front of the camera. I am nearly finished with the opening sequence, but will be keeping it under wraps until I release the full video. If you are interested in seeing the final video, “like us” on Facebook to be notified when the final version is launched.
