02.01.10
2010 Cinematography Highlights Reel
33 weddings in 2009….
over 270 hours of footage….
thousands of clips….
35 hours to produce….
1 2010 highlights reel
01.05.10
Abby + Nick Highlights
A few weeks back, we got to spend the entire day in Clinton with Abby and Nick. It was a great day and they were so much fun to work with. Their dog, Onyx, was just as much a part of the day as everyone else and even made it down the aisle for the ceremony.
Another highlight of the day was the live band at the reception. I love working with live bands and they create such highly energetic atmosphere the entire night. Their wedding was no different and it was a blast!
Here are the highlights from the wedding!
11.24.09
Kevin + Ann Highlights
Kevin & Ann’s wedding was extremely fun, yet very emotional. I didn’t even realize how much of that I had captured until I started going through the footage. This clip alone really captures the feeling that everyone had that day, but I can’t take all the credit. Just watching Ann’s face throughout the day captured her true happiness and you can see how much she loves Kevin just by the way she looks at him.
Here are the highlights from the wedding!
11.23.09
Laura + Corey Trailer
Laura & Corey were so easy to work with because they were laid back and very go-with-the-flow on their wedding day. It was definitely a bit colder that day but they braved the weather and it made for some good video time. They also had custom made shoes that they wore for the reception. Definitely a nice touch and I’m sure it was a lot more comfortable wearing those the rest of the night.
Here is a little preview from their wedding!
11.16.09
Rachel + Jason Trailer
A few weeks ago, we headed to Dubuque for Rachel & Jason’s wedding. They are an amazing couple and it was pleasure getting to spend the day with them. It was fun, yet very calm and emotional.
I don’t typically use much black and white but it seemed to fit the piece quite well and helped in keeping it subtle and emotional. The pace and music of this trailer really portrays the overall feeling of the day and it was also their first dance song. Enjoy!
Brian + Kelly Movie Poster
Here is another poster I finished awhile back for Brian & Kelly. The photo came from their trash the dress shoot that we did with them.

11.05.09
Rachel + Jason Highlights
Rachel and Jason were an amazing couple to work with and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know them a bit over the last year. Rachel is one of our blog addicts er, followers
She always keeps me on my toes if I start to let too much time pass before I post another video. She’s been waiting for this day for a long time now so here it is!
Updates!
Well it’s been an amazing and crazy year. We still have quite a few weddings in the next 2 months, and a New years eve wedding that should be a great way to finish the year! The blog has been slow but it’s about to blow up with many new trailers and videos, so stay tuned!
We had the pleasure heading out to San Francisco a few weeks ago to shoot some material for Holly & Dave who will be getting married in Des Moines next summer. It was an amazing trip and great change of scenery. I’ll have a sneak peek of their love story and engagement shoot on the blog soon.
We received 3 more awards this year for our cinematography work. I have a blast putting these together but have to thank all of our couples for the inspiration and creativity that I get from them as well. You are the subjects and the ones who create all of the joy and emotion of the day. I’m simply there to capture those emotions and retell your story. You make that possible!
In January, I’ve been asked to be a featured speaker at the Illinois videographers association in Chicago. I was happy to be invited to speak on certain aspects of our cinematography and the industry. It should be a fun experience that I’m very much looking forward to.
Matt
08.14.09
Instructions for the care of your wedding dress – Kelly + Brian Trash the Dress
Right after their wedding, Kelly and Brian decided to go along with us and do a trash the dress shoot. They were awesome to work with and very excited about this so it turned out to be a great time. As far as I know, the dress is still in good shape
We’re always trying to come up with new ideas and concepts that would give some of these shoots a purpose rather than just throwing together a bunch of footage. I decided that since we were treating this as a trash the dress shoot, we should go completely opposite with our concept for it. Every tag or warning for a wedding dress states the complete opposite for what we wanted to do to her dress. This was the perfect layout for this shoot. All of the instructions or warnings that I included were real things that we found posted online for precautions and ways to keep your wedding dress in perfect condition. Some of them were legit, but there were some pretty interesting ones as well.
07.14.09
Kelly + Brian Highlights
We had one of our longer days working with Kelly & Brian but I loved it. We were able to spend a lot of time with each of them during the day and we’ll really be able to retell and show their story in their wedding film. They were so easy to work with and capturing the emotions as they just went about their day wasn’t hard at all! The dog stole the show a few times but we made sure that everyone got equal camera time so all ended well
We don’t get too many couples that choreograph their first dance, but Kelly and Brian had it all planned out! It makes for a more interesting first dance, but also a much more powerful moment in our films. We’re able to really be part of the dance with them more so than a simple slow dance in one spot. I really wanted to highlight the dancing a bit as you will notice in the later part of the clip.
Thanks for a great day! Enjoy!
07.05.09
Krista + Alan Trailer
Krista and Alan were just awesome to work with and I’m happy that we got the chance to meet and spend some time with them. It was a very warm and jam packed day but we pulled it all off and had a great time.
As they say, if at first you don’t succeed, try try again……and again and again. This is the 3rd attempt at a trailer for Krista and Alan’s wedding. Many times I’ll start with an idea, get half way or all the way done, and then throw it out. I wasn’t happy with the first two attempts at doing this for them because it just wasn’t capturing their personality and vibe of the day. I wanted something faster and also wanted to try a little with stop motion video. This is typically found and reserved for photos being put into order in which they appear to show motion, but why not try it in reverse with video!? I pulled singles frames from the video to create the same effect and I think it was a good touch with the music and style of their trailer.
Enjoy!
Prior to the wedding we were able to spend some time filming the Story of Us for them. We played this at the reception with an amazing response so I decided to post it up here as well. It came together very well and really shows their fun and crazy personalities! (runtime – 13 minutes)
06.11.09
Jenae + Jake Highlights
After a morning of non stop rain last Saturday, nobody expected the sun to come out and the day to turn out so well. They say rain on your wedding is good luck so I guess they got the best of both ends with the rain and the sun. Jenae and Jake were very laid back and go with the flow so we had a great time spending all day with them and capturing everything.
Here are the highlights from their day……and now displayed in a larger size!
05.26.09
Kelsi + Jeremy Highlights
Kelsi & Jeremy were amazing and surrounded by so much love. I don’t have much to say about this piece…I’ll let it speak for itself.
05.22.09
Emily + Kevin Highlights
Last weekend we had the pleasure of filming Emily and Kevin’s wedding. I was a bit worried as we were headed there because it was sooo windy and the ceremony and reception were set to be outside. Being outside in itself can present us with some obstacles, but the wind is a whole new set of issues. We pulled it off though and I’m very happy with the results.
Having the ceremony and reception at her parent’s house made for a very inviting and laid back day. There was lots to do, of course, but everyone is a little more comfortable with the surroundings rather than being in a large church and banquet hall.
It turned out to be a great fun day with lots of………bobbleheads!!!
Enjoy!
05.12.09
Virginia + Jon Highlights
Virginia and Jon = FUN! It was mentioned a few times during the day that you can’t help but smile and laugh whenever you’re around Virginia and we got to experience that first hand. It was so much fun to work with them and capture all the laughter and emotion of the day. Even after a very long day, we were having so much fun that we didn’t want to leave the reception. It was definitely a day filled with love… from their huge wedding party to their letters that they wrote to each other for the ceremony. Chalk up two more reasons for why we love doing what we do! Thanks for a great day!
04.28.09
Jen + Joe Highlights
Saturday we had the pleasure of filming for Jen and Joe’s wedding. It was a blast! Luckily the rain held off and allowed for some great photo time and a lot of fun locations. The photographer was Rick Jennisch and their photos can be seen on his blog. Sometimes we can get a little crazy to get the shots and thankfully I didn’t get run over on the bridge or streets that we were shooting on…..not this week at least :-)
Jen and Joe incorporated a lot of their ethnic backgrounds into the wedding. Joe’s Italian background led them to chose a canolli flavored cake while Jen followed Japanese tradition by having 1000 origami cranes at the reception for a long and prosperous marriage. The cranes were behind the cake, on each table and placed above the dance floor. These can be seen throughout the highlights and were a very neat addition that we had not seen before.
Jen and Joe’s wedding is also going to be featured on a brand new blog of ’Featured Weddings in the Quad Cities’. This blog will be part of qcweddings.com and will give a lot more insight into what all went into the planning and making their wedding day so special. QC Weddings Blog
Here are some highlights from their day!
04.12.09
Announcing MI STUDIOS !
Welcome to the new MI Studios!!!

We’ve had a bunch of new developments in the last couple of months that have all lead up to the opening of our new studio! Melanie has now joined me full time to do what she loves in providing full photography services. We’re so excited to finally have the studio ready and it’s going to be an amazing year.
We now have a full meeting room and gallery, photo studio and theatre room.
The theatre room is setup with state of the art projection and will now be available for viewing your wedding film. You can now watch your film in full Blu-ray quality HD on our 100″ screen with amazing surround sound. I’m not gonna lie, it’s big!! J We’ll now also be able to do some filming in the studio and have the ability for green screen.

The gallery will feature our latest photo work, albums and awards, and the studio itself will allow for endless options for senior photos and portrait work.


Along with the opening of the studio, we have officially changed our name to MI STUDIOS. MediaInnovations will still be accessible via email and the website but will all redirect to our new site until we phase that out completely over a year to two. We will continue to change things over for the next week or two so that everything reflects the new name.
The studio address and directions can be found on our contact page!
-Matt
02.22.09
Hannah + Jimmie opening segment
We had the opportunity to work with Hannah and Jimmie in January…a bit cold, but it was a wonderful wedding! We were able to capture a lot of the raw emotion of the day and it’s made for a beautiful video and story. Here is the opening segment from their final film.
01.29.09
2009 Cinematography Demo !
12.14.08
New Products
We’ve now completed yet another year of weddings and it definitely went by too fast…but, time flies when you’re having fun! The entire upgrade to HD was quite a task but I’m still blown away by the quality of the video and product that we’re producing now. This year we introduced a lot of unique concepts and ideas for our videos, received more awards for our work, and as always, came up with some new and exciting products. We’re getting a jump start on 2009 and introducing the new products that we’ll initially be offering.
The first will be a Wedding Movie Poster. We will design and produce a full size movie poster with all of the information and pictures from your wedding day. The poster will be 20 in x 30 in and include a full frame. There is an example of one a few posts below.
The second will be the ability to deliver your wedding video on BluRay disc. We upgraded to filming in full high definition in 2008 and we’re now taking that to the next level to give you the absolute highest quality wedding video that you can buy! You’ll still get your DVD copies of the video, but we’ll also include a copy on BluRay.
These are two more products that we’re proud to offer and ones that you can only find with MediaInnovations.
I’m finishing up our last videos for the year and then we’ll be taking a little break to relax and spend time with our daughter. Watch for some new posts to begin in January!
-Matt
12.01.08
Abigail
I announced awhile ago that we were expecting our first baby….and now she’s here!! Her name is Abigail and she was born on Thanksgiving day! Both her and Melanie are doing very well and we’re so happy and excited! Here are few of the first pictures.



11.04.08
Laura & Andy Trailer
Saturday we got a chance to work with Laura and Andy! Laura was probably the most organized bride that we’ve worked with! Everything went great and they were actually ahead of schedule all day! I couldn’t have asked for a better day or a more organized wedding to be filming.
We’ll soon be doing a Fashion shoot with Laura and Andy and I’ll plan on posting that once we get that put together. In the meantime, here is a trailer for their wedding! Laura really focused on the details of the day and one thing that stood out to me was the guestbook that you see in the picture below. I knew when I read that phrase, I had to use it as part of the trailer.
10.27.08
Deanna & Eric Highlights
We spent last Saturday in Clinton with Deanna and Eric. It was a great fall day and a beautiful ceremony in an old church. I love weddings in the fall because the colors are always perfect and it’s not so HOT! The wind got a little crazy but we still managed to get some great shots outside!
I would also like to thank Deanna for insisting that Melanie and I dance together
We’re always working so hard and it was really nice for her to demand that we stop filming and have a dance! This was Melanie’s last wedding for awhile as we await the arrival of our baby girl, so getting a dance together was a nice way for her to end the year.
Here are some highlights from their wedding day!
10.21.08
Katie & Adam Highlights
Saturday we had a great wedding day with Katie and Adam. They were a very fun group to work with and that always makes the long days a lot easier. The weather was perfect and the setting at Augustana’s Ascension Chapel was beautiful allowing for some great footage overall. The reception was at Stoney Creek Inn which is a pretty dark venue for video, but I’m really getting our lighting effects the way I want now and creating a really nice look for the shots….even in very low light. This video opens with those shots!
Also, I think Katie wins for the biggest bouquet that I’ve personally ever seen !! Here are the highlights from their day!
10.11.08
SDE: Dave + Kelly
On Saturday, we presented a SDE: Same Day Edit for Dave and Kelly. I’ve been looking forward to their wedding for quite awhile and it was a great wedding and a great day. It was also great to be able to share more of the day with all of their guests by showing this video at the reception.
With the SDE, we essentially take everything we’ve taped up to the beginning of the reception and edit together a clip that we’ll then show it at the reception. This was our first SDE and everything went perfectly. Most of the highlights and trailers I put on this blog are put together in about a day and then put online. I’ve spent 6-9 just editing one of these small clips to get everything just right. They wanted to show the video early so by the time I got everything ready to edit, I had about 1.5 hours to put this all together and get it ready to show.
Here is Dave and Kelly’s Same Day Edit video that was shown at their reception!
09.30.08
Cinematography workshop
I don’t often post on the blog, but I’m so excited that I had to say something.
Matt and I are always looking for ways to improve and trying new ideas and concepts to keep our work fresh and exciting. Matt, especially, keeps up with other videographers, trends, and news in the wedding video industry. One of our favorites and recently voted one of the top 25 in the world, StillMotion (stillmotion.ca) is holding a cinemotography workshop early next year and Matt is getting the opportunity to attend! Come January, Matt heads to Toronto to attend the 3 day workshop. We are both so excited that he gets the chance to work with some of the best in the world! It will be a great learning experience and I know he is so looking forward to it. It will be a great start to a new year which will inevitably lead to some very cool things to come in the future!
-Melanie
09.15.08
NEW Wedding Movie Posters!
Here’s another unique item that I wanted to try with Anne and John’s wedding (highlights video below). We’re already creating fully customized DVD’s and cases that are very cinematic in style, so why not offer a movie poster to go with it. Here’s an example I threw together for them. These are now available to anyone!
09.12.08
Anne & John Wedding Highlights
Last Friday we had such a fun time working with Anne and John. They were so relaxed and it was easy to capture the mood and emotion of the day. You can just tell by being around them that they are so happy and in love! Thanks for a great day and here are some highlights from your wedding!
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
08.26.08
Cheryl & Kurt Trailer
Last weekend we had the pleasure of being with Cheryl and Kurt all day. Yet another great couple that made for a fun and exciting day! They gave us some great locations, from getting ready at a beautiful house, to the photos and reception down on the Mississippi. Here is their trailer!
- 2008 Aegis Award Winner -
- 2008 DV Award Winner -
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
08.19.08
Julia + Travis Highlights Trailer
We traveled to Des Moines this past weekend for Travis and Julia’s wedding! The ceremony and reception were outside at the state historical building just below the state capital and hopefully we get to shoot at this location again someday. It was a great area with capital as the backdrop for the day, some of which you can see toward the end of this segment. It was also great to meet and work with other vendors from all over the state.
Thanks to Julia and Travis for a great day and fun wedding!
08.12.08
Updates! Updates! Updates!
Well, we’re now into the busiest time of the year! It’s been an awesome year so far and we’ve had nothing but great couples to work with. I’m looking forward to this second half of the year and all the great couples coming up!
Blogging has been a little slower lately as I’ve just been so busy, but I’m planning on having quite a few posts coming up and also some newer additions to the blog that I’ll be starting here soon.
Speaking of new additions, we’re expecting our first baby in December! Everything is going very well and we just found our that we’re having a little baby girl. We’re both very excited and cannot wait to become new parents.
We recieved an award for our 2008 demo awhile back and I said I would keep everyone up to date on the other awards we entered it for. We just received our 2nd award for that demo. It already seems like so long ago that I put that together, and in just about 4 months, I’ll be working on the new 2009 demo. I’m getting excited for this as everything will be HD and we’ve developed so many new styles and techniques in the last year.
Finally, I just want to thank all of our loyal readers and all of our new couples and friends. We started our blog just 1 year ago and have had over 25,000 hits so far! This is far above what I ever expected. We truly appreciate the support, referrals and interest that we receive and we couldn’t do it without you! We work very very hard every single day, but it’s very rewarding and we absolutely love what we do! THANKS!
Matt
07.17.08
Ann + Kurt Credits
This past week we had the pleasure of working with Ann and Kurt. This was probably the biggest wedding we’ve ever done in terms of guests and it was a blast! With around 650 guests, it was crowded at times, but such a fun and laid back atmosphere that it didn’t matter.
I’ve been posting a lot of highlights but wanted to mix things up and throw in another credits clip that I just finished. I decided to use a little more effect and old film look rather than just using the original video. The small size doesn’t do justice to it, but it’s a different look and feel.
07.01.08
Danielle + Chad Highlights
I had been looking forward to Danielle and Chad’s wedding for quite a while. It was a long day but I knew they were going to be very fun to work with and we would have lots of time to play! It got very windy on Saturday which makes running the steadicam for the moving shots nearly impossible, but we managed and I’m very happy with the footage we were able to get.
Their day began at the 5 star salon in Davenport with the ceremony at Old St. Annes and the reception at the Clarion. I feel like I’m becoming part of the 5 star salon team! We’ve been there 3 times this year so far and I just found out our next 3 weddings will start there also.
Anyway, here is a highlights I just put together for them. It’s a bit quicker style and fits the couple and the emotion of the day very well. Congrats again to Danielle and Chad!
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
06.18.08
Lisa + Sean Highlights
We’re now well into the wedding season and I’m working non stop to keep up and develop new ideas and techniques for what we do. Looks like I may only have a few days off between now and December, but oh well
I love what I do !
I was able to put together a small highlights clip from our wedding last weekend. Lisa and Sean we’re both very excited to have us be part of their day and capture everything, and we were welcomed in the same manner by everyone else. It was an interesting day because everything seemed to go very quickly, but at the same time, we worked a 15 hour day….breaking our previous record
but it was very fun and Lisa and Sean were just another couple that remind me why I love doing what I do.
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
06.09.08
Bridget + Keith Trailer
We had a great time working with Bridget and Keith this past weekend. They were very easy going and fun to be around and the day was perfect. The heat was something else but everyone made it through. Here is a the trailer for their video. Enjoy !
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
05.19.08
Whitney + Jon Preparations
It was nice to finally see the weather turn around on Saturday and give Whitney and Jon a great day for their wedding. Yet another amazing couple that we had the pleasure of working with all day.
This is our first wedding film in HD and I’m very happy with how the video is turning out! This clip fades out as you view it here, but will continue and flow directly into the ceremony on the full video.
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
05.17.08
Now Filming in High Definition
We are happy to announce that we are now filming all projects and weddings in High Definition. Check back soon as new HD demos will start being posted in the next few weeks!
You can find our first HD shoot below. You will be able to watch each HD demo on our own site, but as it is compressed to fit on the site, it will not be true HD. Each demo will now come with a VIMEO link also where we’ll upload a full HD video which can then be viewed in true HD.
Matt
05.12.08
Grunge Model Shoot
Saturday we were invited to shoot with photographer, Rick Jennisch rickjennisch.com. The models, Sorcia and Jayna, were great to work with and we had a fun time doing this shoot. Rick was the main photographer and Melanie and Tiffanie were 2nd shooters. For more information and pictures from the shoot, check out Rick’s blog!
This is our first shoot in HD and with our new cameras and I am very happy with the results. I wanted the fast motion, grunge effect in this video and have applied color enhancement to match that style. All of the photos incorporated in the video are from Rick and were put in to match the style of the video. To see the original images visit Rick’s blog.
FULL HD VERSION ON VIMEO!
04.28.08
Jennifer + Kirk Trailer and Preparations
UPDATE: I was very happy with how the intro and preparations turned out for Jennifer and Kirk’s wedding so I decided to share this also.
Saturday was just another Spring day in Iowa as the temperature dropped and the wind was horrible but we had another great wedding anyway! We spent all day with Jen and Kirk and have had a wonderful time getting to know them. The ceremony and reception both took place at the iWireless Center. Here is a preview of their wedding video.
04.23.08
Erika + Dallas Preparations
We returned to Tanglewood Hills Pavilion last weekend and had the pleasure of working with Erika and Dallas. I decided to do something a little different with their video that would match their personality. They weren’t the slow, mushy video type, so we really changed pace and I created more of an indie style edit for them. We enjoy pushing the envelope and just wanted to show a different style that people may not have seen before!
03.27.08
2008 Accolade Award
![]() |
We were getting such a great response from our 2008 demo that we decided to enter it for a few awards. We just heard back from our first entry and the Demo piece was chosen to receive a 2008 Accolade Award. Click here for the 2008 Demo Matt |
02.26.08
Jamie + Casey
We had the pleasure of working with Jamie and Casey this past weekend. It’s been an honor to work with them and we’re happy that we got to know them a little bit in the process. They are just one of those couples that you know were meant to be together. Here is a little clip showing some of the preparation for the day.
02.19.08
Sarah & Eddie Highlights
We had our first wedding of the year this last Friday and had a great time with Sarah and Eddie. Of course the weather was colder than we all would have liked, but living in Iowa I think we’re all used to it! Here is a quick stylized highlights segment that I put together for them.
01.24.08
2008 Demo
01.11.08
Aegis Award Winner
![]() |
We are happy to announce that we just received two more awards for our wedding videography. We submitted a highlights segment and a preparations segment and both were chosen as winning entries for the 2007 Aegis Awards for film and video production. These will serve as a great addition to the Accolade Award that we received just a month ago. You can find that below. Matt & Melanie – MediaInnovations |
01.02.08
Snowy Trash the Dress Shoot
Krystal was the winner of our Trash the Dress contest. She and her husband, Shawn, were just married in a winter themed wedding, so what better than to do a snow filled trash the dress. Monday gave us an abundance of snow, so Krystal and Shawn were ready to go! It was cold and snowing heavily most of the day, but they were game for anything. This is probably one of the most challenging shoots we’ve ever had to do because of the snowy conditions, but it turned out very well. Below you will find the video and a few pictures from the shoot. As you can see, “trash the dress” doesn’t always mean your dress will be ruined – Krystal may have gotten a little wet, but nothing a good dry cleaner can’t fix. Thank you Krystal and Shawn, it was a great snow filled day!

12.22.07
Accolade Award Winner
![]() |
We are proud to announce that we have recently been chosen to receive an Accolade Award for our wedding videography work. We just finished up our second full year of filming weddings and decided to enter our work. Winning this award is a great way to finish out the year! We want to thank all the couples that we have worked with, and those that we will work with in the future. You are all so wonderful, and it makes our job very fun and rewarding to be able to capture all of you on the happiest day of your lives. Thank You! Matt & Melanie – MediaInnovations |
10.30.07
Katie and Rick
We had yet another wonderful day for Katie and Rick’s wedding. Here is a highlight clip I put together for them to share until they had their video. -2007 Aegis Award Winner-
Here is the preparations segment from Katie and Rick’s wedding. I typically do not edit in much real time audio during this part but they requested that I included some. It turned out great to have that mix and this is something that can definitely be included by request. There is really no limit to how we can edit together your video. The following clip ends as the full video continues straight into the ceremony.
10.25.07
Sarah & Rich Highlights
Saturday was a beautiful day and it finally felt like fall ! The colors, temperature and perfect sky made for a wonderful setting and some amazing shots. Sarah and Rich have been a pleasure to work with. Here is a teaser for their video.










































