FATHERHOOD inspired Braden Tiong Ming to delve into wedding videography.
FROM THE HEART: Braden taking a final look at his products before sending them to clients.
Less than a year after his son was born, he had already worked his way up to become one of the most successful practioners of his craft in Sibu.
It all started when he became a father in 2008.
Thrilled at being a first-time parent, he was hoping he could do something to record the happy times of the birth of his child.
“I looked at my new-born son and he is the most precious thing in the world to me. Then I had this idea to compile those wonderful moments of him as a baby into a video, so I bought a camcorder,” he recalled.
Not wanting to leave the camera idle, he began exploring other possibilities such as learning the finer points of videography and how to use editing softwares.
He improved his camcordering skills by swapping ideas with other videography buffs but mostly, he picked up new techniques himself.
“Nobody taught me how to use a camcorder or shoot a good footage. I learned myself,” he said.
The following year, he put his knowledge to the test with his first wedding music video shoot as a favour to a friend.
“My friend asked whether I could record the ceremony — I said okay.”
He shot the wedding ceremony in the morning and spent a few hours in the afternoon creating a short wedding music video.
When he showed the footage at the dinner reception, everyone was impressed with his ability to produce a wonderful video in such a short time. He has not looked back since.
Taking a risk
As his reputation grew, he knew he needed something more sophisticated than an ordinary camcorder.
So he decided to invest more than RM10,000 in a professional video camera.
He admitted the decision scared him because it was risky and he could fail anytime.
But he also felt he had a responsibility to give his clients their money’s worth and he needed the right tool to come up with quality products to meet their expectations.
“Moreover, once I invested in a very expensive video camera, I have to be committed to my job or else the money will go to waste,” he explained.
The gamble paid off and today, Braden owns a studio in town called Tempting Heart Studio.
So what makes his videos different, yet striking?
He said it’s his interpretation of life.
“In every production, I try not to overdo things or ask my clients to pose or act. I want them to be natural to capture the emotions I’m looking for.”
Braden has no scripts for his video shoots but makes it a point to establish good rapport and communication with his clients, saying this is important to tell a good story.
“I don’t go on assignments with a theme. I just follow my heart and inspiration. But before a shoot, I always discuss with my clients things like the setting, the lightings and how to appear as natural as possible in front of the camera.”
Rural setting
He likes doing his video takes in the rural areas, strongly believing that natural beauty and scenery help people express their feelings best.
“It’s the element of people, their lifestyle and the beautiful landscape that bring the video to life.”
According to Braden, doing the pre-wedding video isn’t as hard as the actual wedding ceremony itself.
“You can do only one take for the wedding ceremony — there is no repeat, so timing is crucial. Also, it usually takes more than one person to do the recording. To capture the best angles and moments, you need at least two assistants.”
The hard work actually begins after the video shoot – on his desktop where the editing is done.
He spends at least 20 hours a day and five days running to complete one video.
Editing could be stressful at times, especially when something unexpected happened amidst all the snipping and splicing.
Braden recalled he once had to take his computers to his friend’s house because of a sudden outage.
“I was halfway through, then suddenly the electricity went out. I didn’t know what happened, I just unplugged my computers and went to my friend’s house to start all over.”
He shares his videos in Facebook and YouTube.
“I want to let people experience and share the feelings with their friends.”
Braden can also be found at the Night Market selling toys and accessories.
He said his stall has become his ‘office’ for meeting clients.
“Most people are free at night and night time is the best time to look for me.”
In life, there is that special story or moment that people want to last forever.
Braden likes to help them relive such memorable times through his videos.
“Some people want to keep their special moments for posterity. That’s where I come in,” he said.