JF SQUARED FILMS | WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY » We film weddings and love our brides!

ö After a busy two months into 2014 – we’re back & in full swing might I add! These last two months have been crazy busy! Our 2013 wedding season was nothing short of epic, fun-filled, momentous and extravagant weddings that our brand got to cover! From shooting in Edmonton {more on that here} to shooting in New Jersey {more on that in few} to coming back to Toronto and filming all over the GTA – it feels good to back & bloggin’! I present you with Safa et Saad’s Portrait {film}!

RUN ~ Safa ℓ Saad // Portrait {film}
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ö I was introduce to Safa + Saad immediately after Farah + Rohail’s wedding back in 2012. I remember getting a plethora of phone calls the day after up until about 5 days after Farah’s wedding and one of them stood out 🙂 – Safa!!! She left me a hilarious voice-mail just expressing her desire to meet with me in person and her love for our work! A little afraid, nervous and humbled all at the same time, I finally got in touch with Safa and we spoke a few times for a long time. Eventually I had the great, great, greaaaaat pleasure of meeting Safa & hubby to be {at that time} Saad! I remember Safa walking into our meeting with her “binder” and Saad coming in with nothing but some great looking loafers – I joke – you both looked great!

ö Conversation was filled with laughter, honesty and just a great vibe from these two. Sidenote: if you’ve met with me then you know that I love me some Second Cup! While a lot of the times when I meet with my brides and grooms, I tend to have a lot more in common with the bride – this instance was a little different. Saad and I got to talking about his choice of DJ and from there conversation went into and about my new laptop, about clothes and Safa’s eyes definitely shined with a bit of jealousy! :P! I’ve got love for you Safa but Saad’s got me with his taste in music, loafers and tech knowledge! I can see why you like the fella!

RUN ~ Safa ℓ Saad // Portrait {film}

imageö After our initial meeting, we met again and I was so blessed to have these two book me {a little over a year before their big day} and commit to having my brand and creative team – film their wedding {just this past August of 2013!}. We spoke over the phone, sent emails constantly, text messaged and even went out for brunch and this all, jump-started the creative process for getting their Portrait {film} in order! Something simple, full of colors, fun, quirky and something that embodied a mixture of how they met + their free spirited personalities, taste in activities & fashion forward closets was the idea for this Portrait {film}.

RUN ~ Safa ℓ Saad // Portrait {film}
imageö After an intense couple of months of communicating and planning. Just the day before our two-day shoot for this {film} both Safa and Saad gave me a call. All was well as this phone call was merely just to go over plans and have a quick prep talk with my star couple. ….And then it came *dun, dun, dun*, they dropped some serious news on me – a song change! We originally planned on using The Wanted’s “Glad You Came” for this Portrait {film} and boy am I ever so glad we didn’t! Visuals in my opinion are 80% driven by what you see and 20% by what you hear. Nevertheless, I was shocked and a little worried because my vision and ideas that I had were all centered around the cadence of this particular song. Oh no, right?! Let’s just say it all worked out and that I’m glad these two put me to the test.

ö Everything that you see in this {film} is all a product of immense planning between all of us but If there’s one thing I can’t deny – Safa & Saad were tres au naturale! I tell this to everyone that I show this {film} to, “I showed up, stood behind my camera, hit record & they did the rest”. A big shoutout to you both, Safa and Saad for not only planning everything so well but for executing your role in terms of outfits and being as authentic as possible.

Less words, more moving images ~ Enjoy folks!

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ö I remember getting a phone call in early January this year from Soruban with regards to having me covering his wedding that was happening in Scarborough, a short and very quick 5 months later. We spoke briefly once and we both got hit by the case of well – being way too busy! A month or two passed by and we exchanged another phone call or two, a few more emails and finally but surely – Soruban had booked us! A huge credit goes out to Drew Haran for kindly referring me in good faith to Soruban & Tarini!

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}
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ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö Soruban and Tarini lived in Edmonton but Tarini had grown up in Scarborough up until she was about 16 years old. After which she moved to Edmonton where she’s lived since and grew up right next to Soruban, which is where their relationship began and sparked!

ö I distinctly remember telling Soruban and Tarini that if there’s one thing I loved doing – it was being fun and different and creating something outrageous with my work. Call me cliche but we whipped out one heck of a Portrait {film} that I’m really proud of! Sor is in the I.T field and Tani worked in the medical field (she’s on her way to becoming a doctor in fact!) They both worked crazy hours so finding the right time to make their Portrait {film} happen was vital. A few weeks later I flew down to Edmonton and met up with Soruban + Tarini the day before our shoot to discuss everything and nail out all of our ideas and concerns.

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö The next two days we were in for a whirlwind of surprises with shooting a bit of their Portrait {film} inside of West Edmonton Mall {nuts right?!!}, inside of a car posed as a taxi cab, at a park, on a two-seater bicycle and on foot! A LOT of running was involved. A lot of participation was involved. I put both of them through the paces to make this work and they certainly gave it a %110 all the way through!

ö The idea was simple for their film – they were running late…literally! They figured if they posed as if they were running late to their actual wedding and if we filmed it as if they were running all over Edmonton to Scarborough in their Portrait {film} – it would only make sense and make for an epic entrance to their wedding reception, right?! Filming this certainly put me to the test with my inner athlete! Running all over the place, driving all over the place, shooting in hot weather and doing some crazy but super fun stuff!

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö Soruban + Tarini // The Amazing Race {running late}image

ö That being said I would like to take the time to thank Drew for referring me to Soruban and Tarini! Secondly, I would really like to thank Soruban and Tarini for having me out to Edmonton! Edmonton – you were so good to me! I never imagined that my job would allow to me to travel to so much but you two put complete confidence in my vision and my craft and in letting me bring your idea to life! Thank you for being super patient and understanding throughout the entire process! Don’t forget – stay tuned for their Next Day Edit from their wedding to hit the blog real soon folks!

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ö Farha + Anwar // The Perfect Person

ö It was late in October last year when Farha got in touch with us to film her wedding. After a long list of emails and phone conversations, I had the pleasure of not only meeting Farha but her siblings Ibraheem and Erum + Sobia (Ibraheem’s wife!) in person! Needless to say I was outnumbered but our coffee date was great!

ö I’m a firm believer in developing strong relationships from the get go and not one for rushing into them when it comes to my work. The longer I have to get to know my clients, the quicker they go from “clients” to “friends” and overall just great people that I’ve had the pleasure of working with & for. That being said – I had a long time in getting to know Farha & Anwar (her husband). Here’s the catch, like any typical desi movie the Sharukh Khan of this relationship (Anwar in this case) was from far and abroad – the UK! Anwar and Farha were planning their wedding between Canada and London. Couples that survive long distance relationships are definitely a favourite for me!

ö Farha + Anwar // The Perfect Personimage

ö With Anwar being in the UK and Farha being here, there was a large distance and personal barrier that eventually came down as their wedding date approached. I pitched the idea of a shooting a Portrait {film} to Farha and friends and they were all up for it. The big question was a) what ideas and concepts did we want to bring to the table b) how could we film it with Anwar coming only weeks before the wedding c) were Farha & Anwar ready to be in front of the camera? Needless to say – it all worked out!

ö Farha + Anwar // The Perfect Personimage

ö Farha & Anwar share a very special relationship and bond because of their strong relationship with their siblings & parents. It was evident as ever during our Portrait {film} shoot and during the days of their wedding that their love for one another was just as deep and persona. It was clear that Farha wanted to tell her audience {at her wedding} about the relationship she held with her family and with Anwar as well! So we set out to create a film that was narrative based but something that had substance & a very strong personal feel to it.

ö A long day of shooting that resulted in multiple and lengthy interviews with both Farha’s parents and Anwar and Farha herself; proved to be extremely useful by the end of our day! We started off at Farha’s house and moved to St. Lawrence Market then off Dundas Square and continued to film inside of the Toronto Eaton Centre & finally ended back inside of a small Starbucks. We eventually and practically almost got kicked out of the Starbucks – yep, it was a long day for sure.

ö Less words & more moving imagery. I present you with Farha and Anwar’s Portrait {film} ~ The Perfect Person. Stay tuned for their Next Day Edit on the blog to come in due time!

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ö MAYØØRAM 2013 • HOSTED BY YUMSAimageö It’s been quite a while since I’ve been commissioned for a pretty awesome university formal. When I received word that YUMSA {York University’s Malayalee Student’s Association} wanted me to film for the night – I couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to do what I love & kick it with some people I haven’t seen in forever!

ö It was a pretty cold night in december when I made my way up to Brampton to where the formal was held. Let me start off by mentioning that I started off my career by photographing university formals & eventually moved on to different events. After immersing myself heavily within the wedding cinematography field and watching people at weddings REALLY party – like it’s the end of the world. I realized that university formals and their videos that recapped that night – were either really boring to watch, painfully put together, shot poorly or just lacked any sort of artistic integrity that made the viewer not exactly want to watch the rest of the video. And hey! Let’s face it – I can’t exactly be angry that no one {in my opinion and of the video highlights of other formals I’ve watched} cared enough to make these highlight videos look “fun”. But I certainly can do my part to change that & the overall scope of what a highlight/recap video from formal SHOULD look like – RIGHT? …Alright ran’t over lol

ö MAYØØRAM 2013 • HOSTED BY YUMSAimage

ö As with any of my promotional pieces – I try to make things fun, energetic and BOLD. Vibrant colors, a fun concept and I LOVE playing with slowmotion & bokeh!

ö MAYØØRAM 2013 • HOSTED BY YUMSA
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ö I found a pretty bad-a$$ remix to PSY’s “Gangnam Style” and told myself – “HAYYYYY SEXY LADEHHH!” SIKE – I’m kidding ofcourse. I found the song and pretty much fell in love with it. Presumably, { & if you know me then the rest will make sense lol} I over consumed my nights & days after the formal to cut all of the footage I had from that night – in the best way possible. A BIG mention goes out to Benjamin Varughese who helped co-host the formal {with Dona} and was super kind enough to lend me his creative mind to make this highlights {film} what it turned out to be!

ö MAYØØRAM 2013 • HOSTED BY YUMSAimage

ö That being said I had a phenomenal time at the formal and can proudly say – MALAYALEES.KNOW.HOW.TO.PARTY – I’m SO.SO.SO serious. Not only that but they also know what it means to coordinate, be punctual and show respect and regard to everyone that they’ve commissioned on the night of an event. A big THANK YOU – goes out to Deny for bringing me out to the event, the entire YUMSA executives & team, the other Malayalee executives and team members from the other universities for showing me love. Last but not least – I was graced and quite frankly just REALLY blessed to bump into old and new friends that night. All of whom had nothing but the kindest of words for me. Everyone that I spoke to, joked around with and took pictures + video of, on that night – you guys made it worth it! {Malu/Mallu Sandwich – you guys know whatsup!} Less words more moving images ~ without further adieu ~ turn ya speakers up folks!

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ö If there’s one thing I didn’t know during wedding season, it’s that big weddings do still exist out there! Zehra + Haroon’s 3 day wedding was no exception! From a Mehndi that had a whopping 450 people to a Shaadi + Final Reception day that had about 800 people in attendance! I’ve been to weddings with large amounts of guests but have never been apart of them  – being apart of a huge wedding for my 2012 wedding season – CHECK ✔! And I can definitely cross that one off my bucket list!

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~  I helped carry in some make up too before we started filming!image

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ Raj’s insane set up on Day2 of the wedding! image

ö For my readers out there, I met Zehra + Haroon similar to how I met Farah + Rohail  – 2 degrees of separation! My Über good friend Rae who knew Haya who knew Haroon and well…the rest is history now isn’t it? So from Rae ☞ Haya ☞ Zaroon *thats Zehra + Haroon for the folks out there :P!* How did it all come together?

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ you can definitely say it was a crowd frenzy on Day2! image

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ #footagedump on my new Macbook Pro Retina *insert drools here*image

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ 800 guests were spot on! image

ö So let’s travel down memory lane a little bit to where Haroon & I met up at a Starbucks for the first time. I had my laptop, ipad and some samples to show Haroon. It was only during our last couple of meetings that I finally met Zehra. Needless to say however, our first meeting was almost about to be our last, in my opinion at least. My laptop was being super finicky, my ipad wouldn’t play any of my sample work and to make matters worse Starbucks’ wifi just wouldn’t work! *insert angry face here* To my great surprise however, Haroon and I ended up meeting again, exchanged several phone calls, texts & emails. Over several months Zaroon had several questions and inquiries about their big wedding and how it would be filmed with my team.

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ Thank you to Bineesh for making this happen! =D image

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ I decided to use the library as my editing spot to get into my creative zone to put together Zehra+Haroon’s Next Day Edit!image

ö Just last week the beginning to a 3-day wedding finally came! Zehra + Haroon put great faith in my team and myself to go hard at work and trusted my creative vision to put together an intense Next Day Edit. After the first 2 days of their wedding there was a 1 day break where I sat down in many places from my living room to the library to a Second Cup to sort through, organize and edit through over 150 GB’s of footage. In the process of spending about a full day, putting this edit together from beginning to end, I ended up falling sick. Was it worth it? HELL YEAH! The reception I received from a crowd of 800 people watching my work that my team and I filmed was priceless. But was losing my voice and putting my body through strain the best way to go about it? Not at all. I’ve learned that taking the time out to find balance during these kinds of weddings help and can dramatically improve the way I deliver and put together a final piece that’s perfected to the T! A special mention goes out to my parents & my good friends *you know who you are* who kept checking up on me and gave me motivational + funny texts/phone calls to keep me going throughout the day, while I was editing.

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ This was probably the biggest moment of my career, having a crowd of 800 people watch my work on 4 big projector screens that night #speechless !image

ö I’d like to add in that I had the AWESOME and I’ll say it again, AWESOME!!! pleasure of working with some top notch wedding vendors. Garima + Harpeet from G+H Photography – you two are such a great team & super funny may I add. It’s always nice to work with vendors who don’t even act like vendors but like one of your good friends during and throughout a wedding. Bineesh from Arora Wedding & Event Planning + her team did a splendid job of organizing everything over these 3 days of intensity! Thanks so much for coordinating with my team and myself at anytime during each day of the wedding! You guys rocked it out! Raj from Dream Party Decor Inc totally blew my mind with his setups from Day 1 to Day 3 of the wedding. Though we never got to meet in person – I need an autograph from you big man! Another shout out goes to Sheeba from K STUDIO MAKE UP you are hilarious & really know your craft well! It was a pleasure and an honour working with all of you great industry peeps!

ö Zehra ❤ Haroon ~ A happy couple by the end of the night a whole lot better! image

ö Thank you to Zehra + Haroon who took a leap of faith and invited my team & myself into your homes, your 3 days to the beginning of your lives and into your lives.

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