FCP goes FCP!

OK, OK, so it's Tuesday and not Monday, sorry, things have been hectic around here.

Well, the transition is starting.

Fat Cat Productions has finally gone Final Cut Pro! It's new editing software to go with our new Mac :)

It showed up yesterday in a box weighing 20 pounds filled with books and discs. Barry was up half the night installing and playing with the new program and it's features. Hopefully it won't slow us down too much with learning the new software, but there is a learning curve with everything. Barry will be learning first as I continue editing weddings with our current software, Sony Vegas, then he gets to teach me sometime down the road.

"So what does that have to do with me?" you ask, if you are a current or future bride of FCP...

What it means to you, in combination of getting a Mac, is hopefully better render times (in brides terms, that's the computer saving the files of your wedding into something usable to put on a disc for you to enjoy!), which in turn we hope will mean a little bit faster delivery time. The Mac will allow us less crashes of the computer so we can edit uninterrupted on your wedding allowing you to enjoy it a bit sooner than you are now. That is the plan anyhow. It will take a little time to get going so please bear with us as we make the switch and learn the ropes. In the long run, it will help workflow.

As for how your wedding will look, that will remain unchanged, and if not, it will only make your wedding look better, with better slo-mo filters and better integration with other software programs we use for color correction and the like. Never fear, Fat Cat Productions will treat your wedding as we always have, with care and attention to detail so you can enjoy your memories for years to come!

Lots changing here latley! We'll keep you posted on the latest developments as they come! Check back with us to see our latest adventures!

There's a Mac in the House!

Well, we have a new addition at FCP...
It's big, it's red, and it's LOUD!
It's actually 5 and a half months old...
The newest addition is a Greenwing MACaw :)
And you thought I was talking about a computer! HA!
Louie is the newest critter at our place and we just love him. Very sweet and adorable. He is the largest macaw at our place and the second largest of the macaw species with a wing span of 4 feet when fully grown! The next time you are all at our place, hopefully you will get a chance to meet him!

Ok. Ok.
There's more news.

We crumbled.

We crumbled like a stale crunchy cookie.

There actually is a Mac in the house, a real Mac :) Yep, like of the computer variety.

We'd had our fill of one of the PC's crashing when we need to get projects out so we decided it was a good as time as any to update to a Mac. OK, Jeff we eat our words...this seems to be just the beginning of a slow cross-over at our place. As painfully as we hate to admit it. We will see how everything goes in the coming weeks and keep you posted. Although it did help that I was sold on the operating system named Tiger and Leopard and such and the internet browser is called Safari. It's just up Critter Alley here! (Ask Barry it's how he sold me on my current vehicle! "Oh, you can haul the dog where ever you want" - SOLD!)

The next update comes Monday! Watch for more exciting news here at FCP!
Steph

Luck O' the Irish to Kayla & Austin!

Yesterday, St. Patrick's Day, we had the pleasure of working with Kayla & Austin! The wedding was held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Wichita. They hired us to film their wedding last year and we began to get to know them well ahead of the wedding when we filmed their Love Story at the end of the summer! Under a blanket of secrecy we went about planning the day of filming. The Story was meant as a surprise for the family and guests to be shown at the wedding reception- and they were surprised, many family and friends did not know the couple actually met through the Internet!

Kayla and Austin chose to see each other before the ceremony, and after getting ready separately at the church, Kayla was allowed into the sanctuary to see her Groom for the first time since the rehearsal. Tears of happiness for both flowed as they realized their Day had finally arrived!

All the photos were taken before the ceremony by Brett Schauf of T&J Studios, Inc. He was accompanied by his wife and an assistant to capture some great shots of the day! Austin had a surprise of his own when he arrived, a John Deere Tractor! (Just for photos, he unfortunately didn't get to drive it home!)

After a beautiful candle lit ceremony, the couple received an Irish Blessing for St. Patrick's Day (a date chosen specifically by Austin) and they finished a few pictures in Riverside Park at the reflecting pool before heading off for their reception at The Petroleum Club in a bright yellow '57 Chevy!

It was a great party, full of Kayla and Austin's closest friends and family. DJ'd by Mark Mazur of Signature Sound and Hosted by Kathy, who as always does an outstanding job of keeping the events of the evening flowing!

Kayla & Austin bid farewell in a stretch limo to stay the night at a local Bed and Breakfast before heading off for their honeymoon at WALT DISNEY WORLD!

Watch their Wedding Movie Prequel below! Thanks to Brett Schauf of T&J Studios for the great photo!
Congratulations Kayla & Austin, thank you for letting Fat Cat Productions be a part of your day and capturing your memories!

"Yahoo!"

Another Welcome Home!

It was another fun day at Mid-Continent Airport! As some of you know, the Engagement Proposal that is posted in our online Gallery of a Marine to his girlfriend is my sister Allyson and her fiance, Aaron. Aaron proposed just a few weeks before he was to deploy to Iraq. He has been gone about 8 months. Two weeks ago Ally flew to North Carolina where he is stationed to welcome her fiance home and today, they came back home to Wichita!

Tons of family and friends gathered at the ramp with homemade signs and American flags, many of the kids donning camo-patterned clothing or red, white and blue! They waited anxiously as the flight was slightly delayed. A KAKE News crew showed up at the request of a family member.

While we waited we saw two other soldiers (unknown what branch) saying goodbye to their families, not sure if they were headed to war or another base somewhere but several people commented on the contrast of the occassion- one family saying goodbyes and ours gaining excitement as the plane neared bringing Aaron and Ally home!

When the announcement was made that the flight had landed, everyone lined up just in time to see them walk down the ramp, with Aaron in his dress blues. Cheers rang out with applause and the kids waved their flags. After they greeted all family and friends Aaron took a moment to visit an elderly gentleman who asked to watch when he found out what all the hoopla was for, he was a retired Marine himself. My dad had pushed his wheelchair all the way up to the front of the group with the rest of our families.
Aaron gave a short interview with the news crew before gathering his bags and they walked out of the terminal on the way to Carlos O"Kelly's for lunch with many friends and family.

Ally and Aaron will be married July 27th in Wichita in a military wedding, watch the blog for their prequel this summer! (Who did you think was going to do the video!?)
Welcome home Marine Voshell!

Take a moment to watch the excitement!

Welcome Home to Our Troops!

Yesterday, I got a real treat! First, a little background-

A few months ago we received a phone call from a former Bride, Ashley Raney, telling us she frequents our site and saw a proposal on our site we filmed, by a Marine to his girlfriend just prior to his deployment to Iraq (That's my sister by the way!) Ashley stated it gave her an idea...she called to say her husband Andrew had volunteered to go to Iraq a few months prior. We knew he had been part of the Kansas Air National Guard, but didn't expect a deployment for him 1 yr. after their wedding. Ashley asked if we would be interested in filming her husband returning home at Mid-Continent Airport whenever it happened. "Of course! We would be honored!" I said. Although Ashley did warn me she did not know exactly when he would return home and we could have very short notice.

The call from Ashley finally came the 27th stating Andrew would be home at 5:10 pm yesterday! She said her face hurt from smiling so much! So we charged batteries in the camera and got everything ready.

When I walked into Mid-Continent yesterday at 4:30, the first thing I noticed was area members of the Patriot Guard getting large US Flags ready. We have a dear friend who is in the Patriot Guard and I stopped to say hello and grab a hug! Thanks for coming Glen! I waited at the ramp for Ashley to arrive shortly after. She visited with friends from her husbands group and spouses waiting for their loved ones, too. All three TV news channels were present as well as the newspaper. Area school children attended with balloons, US flags, homemade signs and red, white and blue carnations for the troops that they had written to over the last 7 months. They wanted to meet the heroes they had corresponded with and welcome them home.

The plane landed early and about ten after 5 pm, cheers rang out as family members and friends saw their loved ones from the 184th Security Forces Squadron walking down the ramp! Ashley couldn't contain herself and threw herself at Andrew, not letting go for about 5 minutes solid! It was really great. All the soldiers from his unit had big smiles on their faces! The Patriot Guard saluted and formed a long line all the way to baggage claim. A brief prayer followed welcoming home our troops safe. Every member of the Patriot Guard made it a point to thank and welcome home each and every member of the unit.

I helped grab one of Andrew's bags and walked them out to their car (yup, I filmed, too!). Ashley asked me to take their picture, I gave them hugs and left for home with a big smile on my face!
We got some great footage of this very important day of their lives on film! We will be editing a short piece in the coming weeks documenting Ashley's thoughts the last 7 months and a testimonial for Fat Cat Productions, and post that when it is completed.

You can see Andrew and Ashley on the news here. Andrew is the first troop you see :)

Thank you Ashley for contacting us, it was awesome seeing you guys again and welcome home Staff Sergeant Andrew Raney!

Busy, busy, busy!

We apologize for not keeping up the blog as we should lately! Things have been extremely hectic around FCP recently (but then again, what else is new right?) The running joke has been whenever someone calls and says "Hey, what are you doing?" I answer with a laugh or "I'll give you one guess". Editing.

We have delivered a couple videos here lately with another to go and starting on 2 more this weekend along with an upcoming Love Story to work in. We thank all our great brides for being so patient. We know you are excited and we will give everyone's project the same attention as we do the current projects!

Since our last posting, we have finished the videos as I mentioned above, started more, bid on some corporate projects, filmed the Hutchinson Community College Paramedic Program Pinning Ceremony, filmed a Homegoing/funeral, completed a photomontage for a local company and are editing the WA2DJA seminar as mentioned in the previous post.

We have also booked a few more weddings for this year and done some duplication projects for a colleague. We will be duplicating and packaging CD's for a friend/singer/songwriter Roy Fred Hargrove soon as well!
So things have not stopped here and are just getting busier for spring when the wedding season picks up again! So we will have more prequels for you starting mid March!

If you haven't done so recently, please check out our Visuals page for new samples we have posted! There are two pages of wedding related videos alone! More to come in the coming weeks in other sections. You can see Jenny and Thomas Lane's Love Story in the gallery on the Visuals page as well! Check it out- it's great fun! It is listed under the Upgrades section.

We have a sister web site that will be launching in the coming weeks, too- watch the blog for more info!

A few other projects are in the works we will post about at a later time, so keep in touch bloggerheads!

- Steph at FCP-

DJ's Rock!

Yesterday and today Barry and I were invited to film the Wichita Area American Disc Jockey Association's (WA2DJA) Midwest Mobile Entertainers Seminar at the Wichita Marriott Hotel. This was our second year to film for them. The seminar was for area disc jockeys to improve their knowledge base, gain business and marketing insight from leaders in their industry, to learn from and network with others. Nearly 100 attendees participated from all over the midwest, including Wichita, Dallas, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and beyond.
Mr. Scott Faver was one of the featured guests, speaking for the second year in a row. Other guests included Marc Weinstock and Randy Bartlett. The keynote address was given by Mr. Bryan Dodge on Sunday afternoon as well as later in the evening at a special event coined "Dinner with Dodge" which was by invitation only.
Even though we were tired from working both days, we had a great time meeting and visiting with everyone. How can you NOT have a good time in a room full of 100 professional DJ's and entertainers!? It just doesn't happen.
Thanks to Ron and Jeffrey for letting us be a part of your conference again, we learned alot ourselves!

Jeff from T&J Studios was on hand to take all the professional photos, I even got to play with the camera too! Thanks Jeff!


Scott Faver introduces a new ice breaker game to the attendees. The group had to stand on the sheet on the floor and flip it over as a group without letting their feet touch the carpeted floor.
Scott Faver and I share a laugh and a pose after the conference. Scott is well known for his over the top dance moves and spins!
Ron Brown of Another Dimension DJ holds a cue card for Randy Bartlett during a testimonial interview after the conference ended.

Cain Humphreys and Scott Faver share a laugh holding one of the sponsors signs behind Randy Bartlett during his interview. Take 2!
Sorry we didn't get any photos of Bryan Dodge the first day, we will have to wait for the edits from T&J Studios to get a GOOD one! :)

Bridal Show 2007!

We hope everyone was able to brave the snow and sleet for the 2007 Bridal Show at Century II! We spent a great deal of time preparing for the show and burning demos, etc. We were unable to attend on Saturday as we were documenting Thomas and Jenny's wedding (see post below) but were blessed to have friends staff the booth and answer brides questions! Thanks to Michelle and Nichole, previous FCP Brides, and our great personal friend Carol Ann for taking their Saturday to help us and our business!

The booth is forever making changes and updates, thanks to Tyff and Jeff for the picture! This is the first time we have done a double booth for the show and we feel it allows us to meet more of you and is more open and inviting, so look for the big booths in the future at FCP! We'll be adding some more and changing more for July! So pull up one of those chairs and sit and watch a while!

We gave away a free photomontage and will be contacting the winner this week! We also unveiled Blu Ray Disc at the show! We took questions Sunday from many interested brides-to-be and will be following up with those parties this week as well. We handed out almost 400 demos but unfortunately will be unable to shoot that many weddings this year! So if you are interested in having FCP film your upcoming 2007 wedding, give us a call soon for a consultation to book your date! We have several dates still available for 2007 but they are starting to fill quickly. Check our availability calendar on the 'Connect' page or better yet, just give us a call!

Remember FCP is available for travel as well!

Blu Ray Disc comes to Fat Cat Productions!

Well folks, the announcemnet is official! Blue Ray is officially at Fat Cat Productions! This is something we have been looking forward to for a very long time! (1 and a half years long...)

We were able to unveil the first High Definition DVD at the Bridal Fair this weekend. We had 13 prequels playing on an hour loop on a 50" TV as well as two 37" TV's. We couldn't be more pleased with the quality we have received!

We have been shooting, editing, and archiving all our weddings for the last year and a half in High Definition but delivering a Standard Definition disc, so until now had no way to deliver a "true" HD product other than a Windows Media File (BIG ones at that). Now that the technology has finally arrived, Barry will be working out the bugs, learning new DVD authoring software and as soon as we are able will convert all our previously shot weddings to Blu Ray disc for final delivery! Keep an eye on the blog for more announcemnets as they come!

The Lane- Rogers Wedding

Snow, Sleet, and Ice OH MY!

Nothing could possibly dampen the spirits of Thomas and Jenny Rogers! Jenny is from Wichita and Thomas from Arkansas, they met while working at church together in Little Rock. We met them when it came time to plan their destination wedding here in Wichita.

You may remember in November we posted about flying to Little Rock to document their Love Story, as Thomas and Jenny upgraded their wedding package to include this. We got to know both of them very well and truly have never had so many great laughs! Thomas and Jenny LOVE to have fun and this carried well into the wedding day! They are always laughing and enjoying life and those around them.

The wedding day started in an ice storm with Jenny at JC Stylists in west Wichita. She was quoted as saying "It may be cold outside, but our hearts are warm with love!" Tyffany from T&J Studios bummed a ride from me so Jeff could get to the church to document the groomsmen preparing for their day and carefully sliding through town, we met the guys back at Eastside Community Church. It is a beautiful church resembling more of a comfortable lodge, than a church- we loved it!

The wedding was intimate and gorgeous in front of the warm glow of the fireplace. Wonderful music was provided by the very talented music group Nameless Faces and close friends of the bride and groom. The newlyweds then both braved the cold and ice by going outside for a few shots! Jenny was a great sport in heels and halter-top gown in 12 degree weather!

The reception followed in the church hall with Corporate Caterers making sure everything ran very smoothly, and many laughs were apparent while showing the Love Story we shot in November. We will place that online for everyone to enjoy in the coming weeks!

After the most humorous and fun first dances I have ever witnessed in four years of wedding video, the couple made their exit through a barrage of fake snowflakes the gusets showered them with to the waiting limo, The Excalibur. They stayed in town at the Castle Inn Riverside and made their way to, where else but Disney World for their honeymoon!

We wish them all the best in their new lives together! Thomas and Jenny you ROCK!

Click below to see their wedding movie prequel! The music is "Captivated" by Nameless Faces from the "Songs from the Suitcase" CD. Used with permission. You can check out their MySpace page here.

Fat Cat Productions in KC!

One of our most recent and exciting pieces of news is that in growing our business this year, we don't just want to expand our creative work, but we also plan to expand our geographical horizons as well! We have travelled some the last 2 years, mostly to outlying towns and communities nearby, and we really enjoyed ourselves. (And met some wonderful people by the way)! So now we are advertising in Kansas City in the KC Weddings Magazine! We have been to KC a few times before and we love the area and would like to not only work here at home, but also out of town as well!

We received some copies of the magazine this past week and it's a great magazine full of information and ideas, you can pick one up at your local book store. This year the magazine went through a new design look and it's really awesome.

If you have friends or relatives in the Kansas City/Metro Area and they need wedding videography (or other video work) please consider dropping them a line and telling them about us!

Also, don't forget that if you are planning a wedding out of town, or beyond, Fat Cat Productions is now available to travel for destination weddings! Just call us for more information! Maui and Baha here we come! (come on Velvet, help me out! Wink! Wink!)

Thanks to Tyff and Jeff at T&J Studios, Inc. for their amazing design work this past year (and the KC Ad)! Check out their ad in KC Weddings right next to ours!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year one and all! We at Fat Cat hope this blog entry finds you well, safe, and healthy after ringing in the New Year! We are very excited about the business this year and we thank each and every one of you who have supported us over the last few years! We appreciate you very much! We have met many new friends through this business and we are grateful.

Again we appreciate your patience if you are a bride waiting for your wedding video, we are still catching up as best we can. Although I am editing full time now, there is still so much to be done to keep everything up and running, it's been a little trying at times! We continue to ask for your patience as we grow, we will keep each of you updated on your video as soon as it is captured onto the hard drives and editing started!

There are lots of new things in the works here at Fat Cat that we continue to work on in the background when not editing, so stay tuned in 2007 for new and exciting ventures!

Rock on 2007!

Bridal Fair January 2007!

The 2007 Bridal and Prom Expo will be held at Century II on January 13th and 14th and Fat Cat Productions will be there to meet you and answer all your questions about wedding cinematography!
Congratulations to all those newly engaged couples planning their 2007 and 2008 weddings! Start your new years planning now! Stop by, say hello, sign up for prizes and pick up a 2007 FCP Demo DVD (it's free!). We would love to meet you! Come meet former FCP Brides and see what they have to say about their wedding videos!
Hours are Saturday 10 am - 5 pm and Sunday Noon to 5 pm. There is a nominal $6 admission fee. Don't forget to sign up for great prizes!
Bookings this year are ahead of last year, so reserve your date soon! Wedding cinematography should no longer be an afterthought when planning a wedding, it should compliment your photos and is a great way to preserve your memories for future generations!
Come see the difference at FCP!
See you there!

Brozovich - Gerlach Wedding

Tonight we headed to Conway Springs, KS to film the ceremony of Jessica and Eric at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. It was a gorgeous day for the end of the year! It was an elegant afteroon full of deep reds and classic black dresses and decor. Jessie wore one of the most beautiful dresses by Maggie Satero and nearly matching flower girls dresses!

The ceremony was flawless, the food was delicious, and the entertainment was great (thanks to Ron Brown of Another Dimension DJ!)

Absolutely nothing could damper the couple's great spirits including not being able to locate the car keys when it came time to leave for the honeymoon- but the Father of the Bride saved the day by loaning his truck to the couple! Everyone had a great time.

Jessie and Eric, thank you for letting us share your special day with you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to one and all from Fat Cat Productions!

Yes, we had to take a break from editing to spend Christmas Eve with family as well as another dinner with more family today. Then it's back at it Tuesday!

We are also busy getting geared up for the Bridal Show next month and have an exciting announcement we'll be unveiling there, so come check it out January 13th and 14th at Century II Expo Hall! If you aren't able to make it because you don't live in town, we'll post here on the blog as well!

We were quite blessed in 2006 and are excited for what there is to come in 2007! We are looking forward to all the new people we will get to meet and work with and we hope to catch up in the edit que and re-connect with our previous customers and friends!

There are some new opportunitites we are excited about as well we will share with you in upcoming posts!

Right now it's off to cook a turkey and give all our fur kids Christmas breakfast!

Merry Christmas to everyone, please take time today to remember what the season is really all about!

Steph at FCP