Each month at our meetings, we provide the opportunity for one of our members to showcase his or her work, and to talk about the process of creating the work we view. Here are excerpts of the videos we watch, along with a videographer (or filmmaker) interview.
November 2011 Jeff Brouillett, Jeff Brouillet Films, Inc.
Do you prefer ‘videographer’ or ‘filmmaker’?
We are filmmakers. By definition a videographer is someone who records images with a video camera. In filmmaking there are many roles beyond simply operating the camera. For an event film we wear many hats such as director, director of photography, steadicam operator, grip, sound recording, picture and sound editors, colorist, etc. To say we are videographers wouldn’t really define much of what we do.
Jeff Brouillet Films from NPVA/NE on Vimeo.
How long have you been a videographer/filmmaker?
This has always been a hobby of mine (jeff) but I started filming weddings and established the business in the spring of 2008. In April 2009 I got laid off from my retail management job and went full time. I really couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Amanda and I started making films together in the summer of 2010.
It was more of an accident then anything else. When I signed on to shoot my first wedding I started to purchase some extra equipment and fell in love with some of the work that was being done by some other event filmmakers. I enjoyed the experience so much I decided to build it into a business from there. We are very lucky to be able to make a great career out of something we love doing. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but never really found my niche until then. Its really a dream come true.
What do you like best about what you do?
Whether we are working with a wedding, corporate or commercial client I most enjoy the incredible joy from the clients over the work we do for them and how well we captured and told their story through film. It is incredibly rewarding.
We specialize in high-end wedding films. That doesn’t mean we only film high-end weddings but we deliver high-end films to couples who appreciate and connect with the work we do. About a third of our business also consists of corporate and commercial films as well and we have been able to take what we learned filming weddings and apply that to all different types of filmmaking opportunities. From a technical standpoint I also specializes in steadicam work and Amanda has recently started tinkering with a vintage super8 camera. Our roles are pretty reversed on a wedding day where as Amanda will hang out with the guys and I’ll hang out with the girls. It works out really well for us that way. We pay close attention to the importance of lighting (mostly natural but also artificial light when needed) and sound recording and these things often have a tremendous impact in the quality of our films.
What advice do you have for people looking for a wedding/corporate videographer?
For someone looking for a filmmaker regardless of the type of work I think its most important that you find someone that you connect with… both in the type of work they do and in their personalities. You should have a general idea of what you would like to experience or achieve from the film and be open to looking at different types of work to see what’s best for you. Above all, just go with your gut!
