The Newtown Bee Bridal Supplement
March 16, 2007
Marleen Cafarelli, half of the award -winning husband and wife team from Sandy Hook-based Video Art Works Productions, works on editing some event images at
her studio. Bee Photo, Voket		 Not just proficient behind the camera, Bill Cafarelli of Video Art Works Productions, works behind the scenes in the studio to make sure all the complex networks of play-back, editing and finishing equipment is fully operational. Bee Photo, Voket
'Surprise!' These Sandy Hook Videographers Just Filmed The Proposal
By John Voket
It is everything a bride could want when it comes to ensuring her wedding experience comes alive time after time: wedding videographers who are quietly unobtrusive, and possessing the experience and artistic sensitivity to anticipate when those priceless moments will occur.

So, where does the groom come into the picture? His work is virtually done except for making sure your Uncle Max gets his martini just the way he likes it at the reception. He has stooped down on one knee and asked for your hand, sat patiently through the planning; gingerly offered some ideas for the guest list ... and there he was, of course, all shined up for the actual wedding day.

Unfortunately, up to now, that whole "Before" process, especially the actual proposal, was never a part of the wedding video, although it should have been right? Well now it can. Thanks to Marleen and Bill Cafarelli, a trend-setting husband and wife team from Sandy Hook, those magical moments from when he asks "...will you?" to his toast at the rehearsal dinner can all be part of your wedding video memories. And those memories are now preserved in a format that will probably outlast the next ice age--high resolution digital.
Beginning her career nearly three decades ago, Marleen Cafarelli started as a professional photographer before switching to video in 1987 and never looked back.
photo courtesy of GillesRousseauStudio.com
Their Video Art Works Productions is the first service of it's kind in the area to offer a special, hidden "proposal cam" service, where the Cafarelli's work closely and in secret with the groom and any contacts at the venue where the proposal is planned to occur. And if anyone with a handheld camcorder thinks it would be easy to capture such a moment discreetly themselves and skip the added cost, forget about and leave it up to these experts.

Bill Cafarelli said he got the idea to offer this brand new service after reading and hearing about the interesting public proposals at sports events and at famous sites.

"Every once in a while I would see some coverage of somebody proposing at a football game or something like that, and I said, "Hey, we could film that as a part of the client's video package and edit it in really nicely," Bill said in an interview from the couple's tightly packed studio at 75 Glen Road in Sandy Hook.

The Cafarellis are not only masters of the moving image, but Marleen said her husband is a genius at PhotoShop, computer software that can turn both video and still camera images into works of art, literally. This is done by applying special, highly specific filters and treatments.

The software is also an effective tool to restore old or damaged photos, which can then be stored digitally, integrated into video products, even bound into a hardcover coffee table book as a unique keepsake or gift. The couple servers as videographers and consultants to the business world as well, creating corporate training and marketing videos and DVDs for use in presentations, trade shows, and streaming on websites worldwide.
To top it off, what would a-soon-to-be-wed couple want creating their video memories than another couple who appreciate a storybook romance themselves. Bill and Marleen's romance took off when they worked together at the now defunct Eastern Airlines, he as a pilot, she as a flight attendant.

Even before the couple met, Marleen was always interested in capturing images and designing how they would be displayed. She would frequently bank days off from the airline to fly off to Africa and other exotic locales, rent a vehicle, and head out onto photo junkets.

Her best shots would often be sought out by New York gallery operators, and had several successful exhibits in New York over the past twenty years.

Bill is, on the other hand, according to his bride, "the computer nerd". "I tried to be the nerd, and I'm still trying." Marleen added.

While he is no slouch behind the camera, or in the editing chair, Bill's other responsibility at Video Art Works Productions is to keep the banks of highly integrated video, audio and editing equipment all up and running smoothly.

The Cafarellis have a trophy room full of awards, including prestigious achievement recognitions from the state, national, and international videographer organizations, and both served as President of the Professional Videographer's Association of Connecticut.

Perhaps one of the most recognized couples in the world of videography received their crowning achievement when they were awarded a Hall of Fame designation from the Wedding & Event Videographer's Association International.

They are also contributors to their field from a technical standpoint, having played a role in the designs of both tripods and hand-held video camera technology that is the industry standard for both event and media videography today.

And yet, this pair of affable and easygoing consultants is not tucked away in Manhattan or the hills of Hollywood. They are available and accessible right here in Newtown.
Bill Cafarelli, pictured here at a recent event, handles hands-on filming and carries the projects through to production at Video Art Works Productions studio
on Glen Road in Sandy Hook.
photo courtesy of AutumnStudios.com
In addition to packaged prices there are, of course, custom packages that can be tailored as required to the individual needs of the client, as well as a menu of hourly rates, multiple reproduction services for the finished product, even info about restoring and preserving old photos, films, videos, and even making them all into a coffee table book.

For details on the brand new "proposal" video package, or any of the other services of Bill and Marleen Cafarelli, and Video Art Works Productions, visit www.VideoArtWorks.com or call 426-9999.