This is the sixth of ten posts highlighting my favorite assignments from the past ten years. As a way of celebrating the first decade of Mud Productions I'm offering 10 special offers this month. Check em out, and play a part in the next ten years. Thanks for tuning in!

Smoke03Photo by Stephen Elliot in association with MudProductions.com

I met Barrett and Katie at a bridal show. They were eagerly going to every videographer's booth and giving an elevator speech about an idea they had. A few days later I got an email saying "We think you're the guy for this..." I didn't really understand what I was getting myself into, but I liked their enthusiasm and the fact that it was different from usual.

Now, Barrett and Katie are what you might call die hard fans of their alma mater. At the start of every Virginia Tech football game, just before the Hokies rush onto the field, a video plays on the jumbo-tron introducing the players. The video changes from one season to the next, but the music is always the same. When the fans hear the famous riff of Enter Sandman they know things are about to get rowdy.

As Barrett and Katie were planning their wedding they decided to make a similar entrance to their reception. They played the following video and then rushed into the ballroom amid thunderous applause from their guests and fellow Hokies:

Lessons Learned:

I had a blast making this video. To this day this is one of the only projects where I utilized the breadth of my skill set. I got to do all the filming, photography, editing, motion graphics, sound effects, logo design, and even 3D animation. Nearly 10 years later it's one of very few projects that I'm still proud of. Sure there are things I would change about it now, but for a kid fresh out of high school with almost no experience I was pleased and my client was too. They later told me it was the best part of their wedding.

The only reason this project ever happened was because there were willing to take a chance on me. I didn't have anything like this in my portfolio, but they trusted my creative instinct based on their impression of me and my personal projects. They earned some mad respect in my book, and I hope it will inspire others to take a chance when they see potential in someone. In the end they were thrilled, their guests went nuts, and I'm still talking about it 10 years later.