I had the pleasure of working with Reynaldo Martin earlier this year and let’s say I was impressed. I am not easily impressed but he managed to do so within the first few minutes. I was impressed with his attention to detail. I was impressed that he was on a wedding site even before I got there and that he had everything covered.

In talking to Reynaldo you can see he is passionate about what he does and he is not about wasting time. Quality over quantity as he says is paramount thus he does only a few events per year. I am looking forward to working with him again as I know my client will be pleased with the outcome. Reynaldo is as easy going as they come and is humble despite his great body of work.

Reynaldo was born in Kingston, Jamaica and attended Wolmer’s Preparatory, then Campion College. After moving to Florida, he graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design.

Reynaldo is based overseas so my conversation with him was via emails and the telephone.

I asked Reynaldo how his journey begun as being one of the best Jamaican Wedding Videographers I have ever worked with:

Reynaldo: My journey into creating cinematic weddings began with buying my first camcorder in 2007. I had no formal training at the time and I had absolutely no intention of doing video work as a business because the career I trained for during college was graphic design and I’m still working in that field as an Art Director for a luxury lifestyle magazine here in West Palm Beach, FL. That camcorder, however, was a bridge that introduced me to a whole new medium of creative expression. I began using it during fashion photo shoots as experimental projects to create “behind-the-scenes” videos for the magazine’s website. After my first few videos I decided I wanted to learn more about videography and editing so I took a few courses to help build my foundation.

sample of fashion video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGFGWYKCNJw

By the time I completed my courses I began thinking about ways how I could put this new skill to use without abandoning my job as Art Director. Weddings sounded like a perfect fit because they are held on weekends for the most part. During that time I started researching equipment, the DSLR video movement had begun and it gained a strong following among video professionals. The camera no longer felt like a “camcorder”, it felt instead like a cinema camera and as such, it also demanded a more disciplined approach to filming.

The very first wedding cinema style video I saw was my brother’s. His friend who produces videos donated his work as a wedding gift and the resulting video opened my eyes to new possibilities for wedding videos. I started developing my own formulas to creating wedding vides that concisely shows off all the best parts of the day without losing the viewer’s interest. A video that you could proudly share with friends and family who come to visit, without boring them to death.

My first wedding came from a friend who was willing to fly me from Florida to Kingston to film her special day. After delivering her video she was so happy with it that she began telling her friends and eventually I started getting emails from brides. Filming in Jamaica is not a problem for me because I was born and raised there, so I gladly welcomed the requests to film their weddings.

Currently, I accept only a limited amount of weddings per year largely because I prefer to maintain quality rather than quantity. Rather than rushing it, or outsourcing to another editor, I personally edit all of the weddings that I film and I prefer to take the time to ensure that the finished product becomes something I can be proud to deliver to my clients.

Sample of wedding cinema: Sample of Wedding Cinema from Reynaldo Martin

Sample Wedding Cinema Video

Helen G: Who or what motivated you to start your business?

Reynaldo: What motivated me to start filming weddings was the “Wedding Cinema” style. I always hated watching wedding videos that felt like graduation videos. The kind where a videographer either stays on a tripod at one spot the entire time and zooms in and out all over the place, or the kind where he’s hand-holding the camera walking around all shaky. The Wedding Cinema style took off after the DSLR video movement lured many video professionals away from their traditional video cameras because of it’s amazing cinematic picture quality and dynamic “montage” editing style. This inspired me to create wedding videos that weren’t too long to be boring, also maintains the viewer’s attention with creative editing and shows the best parts of the entire day.

Helen G: Other than the money what types of satisfaction do you get out of your work?

Reynaldo: The most satisfaction I get from filming weddings comes from getting an email from a bride who just saw her video and reading three magic words: “We love it!!” It’s the best feeling to create something that they can use to look back and re-live precious memories.

Helen G: What motivates you on a day to day basis?

On a day to day basis, (when I’m not filming on location) the job to be done is editing. Post-production after a wedding is a very time-consuming process. The one motivation that drives me is to get whichever project I’m working on complete because I understand that my clients are trying very hard to be patient. I know they’re dying to see their video, so that helps me stay on track. The job is never done until the discs are burned, the covers are printed and the cases are packaged and ready for delivery.

Helen G: Do you have any hobbies?

Reynaldo: I’m a very techie person and I love playing with the latest gadgets. As far as gaming goes, I’m loyal to the play station camp and I’m dying for the PS4 to come out. My favorite game franchises are Final Fantasy and Uncharted. Lately, however, the majority of my time when I’m not behind the computer editing videos has been spent playing with my 18 month old baby girl.

Helen G: Seven days, six nights, all expense paid, my vacation destination is…

Reynaldo: A Multi-city tour of Europe via River Cruise

Helen G: My favorite guilty pleasure is…

Reynaldo: Warm flakey chocolate croissant with a perfect cup of Blue Mountain coffee… They were meant for each other.

Helen G: My favorite Jamaican food is…

Reynaldo: Oxtail. Succulent, fall-off-the-bone oxtail with rice and peas.

Helen G: My all time fave or dream location in Jamaica to shoot at is…

Reynaldo: Overall, my all time favorite location to film has been Laughing Waters in Ocho Rios, but the only other venue that intrigues me the most is Trident Castle in Port Antonio. Don’t even know what the grounds look like, but I just don’t see how you can go wrong with a dream wedding at a castle!

Helen G: We may just have to arrange a wedding shoot for you at Trident.

Below is where you can find Reynaldo online:

http://www.reynaldomartin.com

http://facebook.com/reynaldomartinvideo

twitter handle: @RMVideoDesign

[email protected]