For videographer, a match made in movie heaven

Dan Brennan knows how crazy weddings can get.

Brennan is a professional videographer who has shot more than 2,500 wedding and event videos.

In 2008, he and his wife, Jeanne, decided to put their energy - and savings - into making an independent film about the uncomfortable situations in which wedding videographers wind up. Their efforts paid off with "The Video Guys," which won awards at film festivals.

Now the Port Washington couple's success has taken another step: The Brennans have secured a deal with Curb Entertainment to distribute "The Video Guys" overseas and release it on video in the United States.

"This film sticks out because it is a very clever piece of independent film making," said Carole Curb, president of Curb Entertainment International Corp. of Burbank, Calif. "It is difficult to come up with original ideas, and they certainly did that.

"They always say if you want to make a film, write about what you know, and these filmmakers certainly know their material."

Brennan concurred. "Not only did I write the movie, I lived it," he said. The stories in the film are all based on his experiences, he said - though he changed names to protect the privacy of brides and grooms.

In the film, "the video guys spend the entire wedding day with the bride and groom," he said. And when something goes wrong - as it inevitably does - "it is their quick thinking that fixes the silliest of problems before they become unstoppable disasters."

Perplexing situations loom in the film, in which the owner of a company named Video Guys is asked by his ex-wife to videotape her wedding.

That leads to scenes that Brennan insists come from his experience shooting wedding videos, including a bride who freaks out because she suspects the groom is sleeping with the maid of honor, and a bride's ex-boyfriend who tries to get into every picture.

The video guys must cope with each situation - and find a creative way to save the day.

A first of its kind

The film won awards at three film festivals, among them best picture at last year's Long Island International Film Expo, run by the Nassau County Film Office at the Bellmore Movie Theater.

" 'Video Guys' was the first true Long Island feature film to open the Long Island International Film Expo," said Nassau County Film Office director Debra Markowitz. As such, "it showed the local filmmakers that it is possible to rise above the rest, and you don't need big names to do it."

Making the movie was a family effort. Dan Brennan also directed it and starred as the owner of Video Guys. Jeanne served as producer and cinematographer, and their daughters Sabrina, 13, and Diana, 11, co-starred.

Dan and Jeanne, both 46, have experience in professional movie making. Dan is a commercial actor - he's the dad in a recent AT&T "rollover minute" commercial - and a full-time video producer and videographer. Jeanne worked as a production coordinator on films including "Donnie Brasco" and "Carlito's Way."

Becoming a reality

Dan Brennan said he'd always dreamed of making a movie - something that became possible when the technology became affordable.

The couple said they made the film on a budget of about $100,000 over 18 months. They spent their savings on a $25,000 Panasonic HPX 500 camera.

The startup cost for making a quality movie today should be about $20,000 to $30,000, Dan said - for a camera, computer and editing software. (The Brennans used Final Cut Pro.)

"The Video Guys" involved 40 days of shooting and 300 hours of editing. Most scenes were shot in the Port Washington-Manhasset area.

"Most locations will let you use their facilities [for free] because they want to be part of the movie," said Dan.

Editing was done in the study next to the family's dining room, he said, where every night the daughters would review the edits and offer feedback. "Twelve-year-olds are very critical observers," he said. "If they laugh, it's funny - the edit works."

The Brennans recruited more than 50 actors to shoot seven wedding scenes, and most worked for free to get acting credits. Jeanne Brennan recruited members of the Girl Scout troop she leads to be extras.

In February, the Brennans presented the film to the Long Island Videographer Association, a wedding / event videographers networking organization.

"Everyone loved it," said the group's president, Joseph Palma. "Wedding videographers can sometimes feel underappreciated - it really was awesome to see a movie that depicted us as the heroes."

The Brennans recently finished a second film, "Maggie Marvel," a dark comedy about a soccer mom who's also a contract killer. It's set to debut at the Long Island Film Expo in July.