Daphne + Jason: The surprise wedding concept film

So Daphne calls me several months ago and explains how she is having a surprise wedding and wanted me to produce a film to show at the wedding as entertainment for her guests. At first we were thinking a Bridal Spotlight film or possibly a Trash the Dress, but then I said, ‘Lets do something different, something that is going to take your guests on a ride and really play into this surprise wedding’. That sentence set the wheels in motion for what would be something incredible, an amazing experience for the guests and something I’m incredibly honored to have been a part of.

After explaining my idea to Daphne, I sat down with photog extraordinaire, Cindy Wagner and Mr. Josh Emerson to plan this amazing shoot and really fine tune this concept and bring it to life.

What’s this all about you ask? Ok, Daphne and Jason told their guests they were having a destination wedding in Florida on July 4th, but were having an at home celebration in the Pavillion Room inside the Hilton downtown on June 27th.  For the first hour of the event, Daphne and Jason were greeting their guests and telling them how excited they were to be getting married next week. The guests truly had no idea. In fact, the only people that knew of this production were myself, Josh, Cindy and Daphne and Jason’s families. After mingling with the guests for an hour, Daphne and Jason disappear and change into their wedding attire and take a back hallway to stand behind the huge movie screen. The film was introduced by Daphne’s father and when the film was finished, the screen raised, revealing them standing on stage actually getting married. Needless to say, the guests were blown away and completely stunned. The reaction was incredible and this film actually played a couple more times that evening!  

I really hope you enjoy it, and please leave a comment!  Check out Cindy’s blog for some exciting behind the scenes photos!

Julie + Eric: Vintage Super 8 Coming Attraction

Two things that will always go together, a birdcage veil and super 8 film. There’s just something amazing about each one alone, but when combined help create the true meaning of vintage. Julie and Eric’s wedding was perfect for super 8, not only did Julie have a birdcage veil, but the intimate style of the celebration was awesome!  They exchanged vows on a beautiful day in May at Alms Park in the pavilion where the view goes as far as the eye can see. .  Everyone looked amazing, Ms. Nancy of Brideface made sure the ladies looked their best and Julie and Lindsey of Cincy Event Planning made sure not a single detail was overlooked.    I’m honored to have been a part of such a special evening and I’m really looking forward to creating their film, but for now will leave you with this. I hope you enjoy!

Getting Inked!

Check out the Summer issue of Cincinnati Wedding Magazine, there’s an awesome feature on how to achieve the wedding of your dreams including an interview by yours truly where I discuss film as art. Specifically I mention the Same Day Edit and how it can be used to truly make your event unique and give your guests an experience they’ll never forget.   Its so rewarding to see the look of amazement on the faces of the guests and then to hear the applause as it fades to black.  Its definitely a magical moment.   I’m amazed to see how wedding films have progressed over the last few years, and  how their getting more and more attention through local and international publications.

Welcome to Studio+Z Films!

I cannot begin to tell you what a monumental moment this is for me. Reagan and I began thinking of changing the name a couple years ago, but could never settle on anything that really hit us. Looking back we had some really ridiculous ideas that at the time, seemed like good ones. Once we had a name we loved we began working with one of the best designers in town to create a logo and design this site. More on her later.

There are a couple reasons as to why the name change, but the main reason is it was time to leave ‘video’ behind as our work has progressed over the last couple of years to more film like in nature. We’re also have been incorporating newer tools and techniques to achieve a much fresher approach to wedding films.

Yeah, I’m going to miss Glass Eye Video, it is after all the beginning of where the studio is today, but I’m really looking forward to the future of Studio+Z Films. We have some incredible new features coming up and some exciting new films to share in the upcoming weeks.

There are a few people I really need to thank for helping me with this massive transformation. My super friends Kortnee and Ted of Kortnee Kate Photography for taking some really amazing promo shots of me. We had a blast that day playing in an abandoned house and I couldn’t be happier with the pictures!

HUGE thanks to Stephanie of Steph Carson Photography and Tine Hofmann of TM Photography for the pictures that you see on the site.

Finally, the biggest thanks to the one that had to deal with my endless questions and changes, the one that made this all possible….ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Renee Rist of Ribbons of Red. I had a vision and she ran with it. From the various logo concepts, to the minor tweaks to perfect the new one, she built this awesome custom site and blog that really blows me away. 

There it is, my first post under my new name. I really appreciate you taking the time to check it out. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

It’s a Girl!!!

Reagan and I welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world and our families this morning. Sadie Evelyn Zugelter was born at 9:28 am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 oz. and at 20.75 inches. She is absolutely beautiful with her strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. I couldn’t be more proud and she’s already made ol’ dad shed a few tears. Mya came to the hospital to visit her baby sister and on the drive she was practicing saying her baby sister’s name, it was a great time to be a dad! I’m so excited to bring her home and watch Mya interact with Sadie and to watch Sadie grow and discover the same way Mya did. Of course there will be lots of pictures and video coming up, including some sweet super 8 of today, I can’t wait to share all of that with you, but for now I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took today.

She looks just like her big sister.

Check out those toes!

Mya loves her baby sister!

Big Changes

This is an amazing time of my life and there are a couple monumental changes happening within days of each other, both personally and professionally.

First the personal, my wife Reagan and I are going to be welcoming our newest child into this world and our family tomorrow morning! Mya is going to be a big sister and its a little bitter sweet to have this be her last day as an only child. We’re so excited and Mya knows somethings going on, she’ll point to Reagan’s stomach and say ‘baby’, she’s going to be an amazing big sister and I can’t wait to experience all the future holds for us. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as possible, I’m also really excited because I get to document it all in both super 8 and HD, how sweet is that!!! Please check back later this week for all the updates!

Now onto the professional changes. I can’t let too much out yet, but I can tell you there is the BIGGEST change ever coming to Glass Eye Video early next week. This has been a long time coming and I’m incredibly excited about it. Reagan and I have thought about this for a couple years and to have it actually happen in just a few short days is unbelievable. Make sure you check back early next week to see it all!

Kortnee Kate and Ted

I really wish Ted rhymed with Kate, that would be funny… or maybe not. Anyway, my ULTRA RAD friends Kortnee and Ted have made a HUGE leap and changed their name, branding, everything. Gone is Simply Timeless, enter the new Kortnee Kate Photography, sounds pretty sweet huh?! I truly love working with them. They’re fun, energetic, good looking, a lot like me, hee hee! So when they approached me about producing a promo for them, I couldn’t wait to get started. Actually some of the shots in the promo were filmed six or seven months ago and were itching to come to life on the screen. I even threw some super 8 in there for a little added flavor! Josh and I had a blast with them filming the interview sections and could make a two hour feature from the out takes, perhaps you’ll see that soon! So there you have it, check out their new digs. Its probably one of the coolest websites I’ve ever seen, very funky and fresh!

Kristin + Lucas: Coming Attraction

One word. Stunning. This was an incredibly beautiful wedding with two amazing people. Kristin and Lucas shared their vows at St. Louis downtown, then the festivities began at the Millennium in the Grand Ballroom. Cecilia Rose and her awesome team at Eventurous really did an awesome job of keeping everything in order and designing a gorgeous event. Jasmine Parker of Brideface was a master artist with the makeup that day. The always rad Katie Elfers created some of the best floral eye candy I’ve ever seen, while Mr. Phil Francis of DJ Toad spun the night away. For the second week in a row I had the pleasure of working with Chad Moon and his wife Chandra, I really hope to work with them again in the future. Kristin & Lucas, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of such a special event, I hope you enjoy this teaser as much as I do.

Sarah + Brian: Same Day Edit

Sarah and Brian had a PERFECT day for their wedding, despite the weather forecasts, the sky was blue and the sun was happy! I started the day at the Millenium Hotel where Kelly Ledford of Cinci Makeup was making everyone look their best. Event planner extraordinaire, Dora Manuel of Viva Bella Events made sure the day was well orchestrated, and it was. Chad Moon and I had a great time working side by side throughout the day to make sure every moment was captured in stellar fashion. Greg Lee and his band played at The Cincinnati Club reception and had everyone on the floor singing along and dancing the night away! It was a beautiful wedding and I’m honored to have been a part of it. This was my third wedding and second Same Day Edit of the year. I wanted to share with you the short film that played on the big screen at their reception and I hope you enjoy!

Lauren + Adam: Same Day Edit

Wow! What a way to kick off the wedding season! An endless guest list, 44 people in the bridal party, a Same Day Edit, and getting to work with some really great friends for a really amazing wedding. Lauren and Adam got married this past Saturday at The Princeton Pike Church of God, then danced the night away at the Oscar Event Center. Kortnee and Ted of Simply Timeless Photography were along for the ride and so were my friends John and Jen Moon of Northernlight Filmworks out of Indianapolis. I asked them to be a part of this event and it was so nice to work alongside them, they are incredible friends and produce some amazing wedding films. Penny from Brideface was also there to make sure everyone had their brideface on! Lauren and Adam wanted a Same Day Edit, this is where I produce a highlight of the day’s events and share it with the the guests on a large projection screen at the reception. Its always an incredible experience for everyone, its truly a great way to make your wedding unique! I wanted to share it with you and I hope you enjoy it as much as everyone did that night.