Simply Interactive Company Blog

Rusty Worden Cary North Carolina Photography

2009-06-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Rusty Worden is now one of the premiere wedding, event and family photographers in the North Carolina areas. Check out the Rusty Worden Photography website.

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2007-03-23T14:16:00.001-07:00

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Simply Interactive Wins MarCom Honors

2006-12-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Redwood City, CA – Simply Interactive was named among the honorees in the 2006 MarCom Creative Awards competition. The international Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals sponsors the annual event, which draws entrants from Fortune 500 companies, metropolitan newspapers, corporate marketing departments, media conglomerates, advertising agencies, and public relations firms, as well as from independent production companies like Simply Interactive. "Recovery and Hope: The Impact of ARH," a video focusing on client success stories from ARH Recovery Homes Inc., in San Jose, won Honorable Mention in the MarCom competition's Public Service & Pro Bono category. The video premiered in May during a capacity-crowd fundraiser at the San Jose Improv. It vividly captured the stories of recovered alcoholics and drug addicts who found their way back to sobriety through ARH. (ARH, one of the leading nonprofits of its kind in northern California, is Santa Clara County's largest provider of alcohol and drug treatment services.) Only 10% of entries earned Honorable Mention recognition in this year's MarCom Creative Awards (www.marcomawards.com), which is one of the largest competitions of its kind worldwide. More than 5,000 entries were submitted from the U.S. and from abroad. The international association itself is made up of several thousand marketing, advertising, media production, and communication professionals. The association handles the administration and judging of the contest, and sets high standards for excellence. "It's gratifying to receive this honor from the Marcom Creative Awards," says Simply Interactive president Rusty Worden. "Our entries were up against some heavyweights in this business. But what makes it really satisfying is that we deeply believed in our subject. All of us involved in making the video were moved by the stories of the people whose lives had been turned around by their experiences with ARH. We're proud we were able to spotlight the great work done by the organization." A web-enabled version of the video is a featured link on the Simply Interactive home page.

Simply Interactive Expands to North Carolina

2006-11-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Simply Interactive Llc has been in a period of strong growth for the last 5 years. We have grown from a true bay-area startup to a viable force in the video production and multimedia arena in the Bay Area as well as taking steps into the nationwide market of corporate eLearning and Video Training field.

We have strove to make strong ijmpact in the Wedding and Event video production arena where we made tremendous strides and have made a strong impact in the wedding video community by changing the way services are offered, winning multiple awards and creating WeddingVideo.Com, the world's first website for videographers that allows them to advertise as-well-as present demo videos of their work. In addition to that, we have even won awards for our work in the corporate and non-profit areas of business as well.

With these strong successes we have decided it is time to expand yet again. Simply Interactive is going to open a new office in the rapidly growing metropolitan area of North Carolina known as Research Triangle Park (RTP). RTP is home to some of the country's largest and most progressive corporations like Cisco Systems and IBM. It is our intention to provide comprehensive video production and multimedia development services to the east coast using North Carolina as a base of operations for this endeavor.

We do appreciate all of the amazing support from our faithful clients who have made this traditional silicon valley, family owned startup launch and grow to a level we hoped for, but dared not count on. We know we have been able to make this step because of our focus on customer service and quality equally and we want to assure you that that focus will continue as Rusty Worden, the President of Simply Interactive, moves on to RTP to strike up this expanded operation.

Matt Lee will take the helm of Simply Interactive Llc in California. Matt came to Simply Interactive already extremely experiencd in multimedia production and during his time here has shown remarkable ability to manage projects, pay attention to client needs and maintain the good name of Simply Interactive. He has also been single handedly responsible for the creative growth of the personal event area of Simply Interactive business. It is with absolute confidence that we give Matt full reign to manage Simply Interactive interests in our home state and in our home metro.

Please join us in our excitement over our growth which is fully owed to all of our clients and friends.

Sports Videography: Rusty Worden Interviewed by EventDV Magazine

2006-11-02T15:22:00.000-08:00

Sports Videography is one of the core services we offer out of our personal videography area of business and has been a great experience. We have gotten a bit of success and notoriety from our work and we were thrilled to be interviewed by EventDV Magazine recently for an article on our process and success.

Enjoy the article here.

Simply Interactive Supports the Palo Alto Library

2006-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Library Launches the First City-Wide Book Club:
Palo Alto Reads…Funny in Farsi

Palo Alto – Make history this fall by joining the largest book club Palo Alto has ever seen. Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi is a month-long series of programs that aims to foster a sense of community by bringing people together through literature. Inspired by the success of similar initiatives in Seattle and other communities, Palo Alto City Library invites everyone to read the same great book at the same time – the charming and hilarious book, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Palo Alto resident, Firoozeh Dumas. Former President Jimmy Carter hailed the book as "A humorous and introspective chronicle of a life filled with love--of family, country, and heritage."

Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi kicks off with a free talk for the community by Ms. Dumas at Palo Alto High School’s Haymarket Theater on Tuesday, October 10 at 7:30 pm. This event is presented by the Palo Alto City Library, the Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Palo Alto High PTSA.

The Library will subsequently host a month-long series of great programs around themes in the book, including book discussions and cultural events. The community can participate in Palo Alto Reads by:

Checking out the book, Funny in Farsi, at any Palo Alto City Library.
Telling friends, neighbors and book clubs about Palo Alto Reads.
Coming to any and/or all free Library programs.

Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi is sponsored by the Friends of the Palo Alto Library, the Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online, the Palo Alto Unified School District, the Persian Center, Simply Interactive LLC, and Idem Translations.

For more information about Palo Alto Reads … Funny in Farsi, please visit the library’s website at www.cityofpaloalto.org/library or call (650) 329-2516.

Free Bridal Expo Passes!

2006-09-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Simply Interactive is giving away passes for free admissions to October's Great Bridal Expo events in the San Francisco Bay Area. We'll be exhibiting at both the October 28 Expo in San Francisco, in the Concourse Exhibition Center at 620 7th Street, and the October 29 Expo in San Jose, at the Fairmont Hotel. We would be delighted to see you at one of the shows-- so visit our Redwood City offices and pick up a free pass, while they last.

Each Great Bridal Expo pass is good for two free admissions, so the passes are limited to one per bride. (You'll need to validate them online at the Expo's web site.)

We're usually in our offices -- at 647 Veterans Boulevard, Suite B, in Redwood City, just off the Whipple Ave. exit from Highway 101-- between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (sometimes later), Monday through Friday. However, we're occasionally out during the day on video shoots, so please be sure to call ahead before paying us a visit. Phone us at (650) 365-3355.

Get your pass early. First come, first served!

Wedding Video: Great Day for a Garden Party

2006-09-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

An outdoor venue can be an ideal setting for a late-summer wedding in the greater San Francisco Bay Area -- so long as the weather cooperates. Events on the coast run the risk of being cloaked in fog; events inland run the risk of being cooked by one of the September heat waves that often pay us back-to-school visits.

Happily, all the meteorological systems were in perfect alignnent for the Sept 9 wedding of Raiza Holgado and Brad Andriese at The Gardens at Heather Farm, in Walnut Creek. Skies were blue, temperatures were mild, and a gentle breeze ruffled the petals of the hundreds of brilliantly colored rose blooms in the adjoining rose garden. Rainbow arcs flickered in the spray drifting from the fountains in the lake beyond the garden. It was a picture-perfect occasion -- the kind that delights videographers and photographers, as well as brides and grooms.

Raiza and Brad were married in The Gardens' high-roofed gazebo, with guests seated in rows of white chairs on the broad semicircle of green lawn in front. The bridal party entered through the rose garden. Raiza gilded the lilly for her own arrival: She was driven to the head of the garden steps in an immaculate 1927 Stutz limo provided by Elegant Journey Limousine.

Simply Interactive's counterpart in the afternoon's visual documentation duties was the team of Beth and Tara from the San Francisco headquarters of Dekker Photography. With beautiful settings literally on every side, one of the challenges was deciding what not to shoot.

As dusk began to fall, the bridal party and guests adjourned uphill to The Gardens' airy reception hall, overlooking the gardens and the lake. Appetizers and the reception buffet were catered by Matthew Wyss, owner/chef of Serves You Right in Berkeley.

DJ/MC Eugene Macala of Macala Entertainment kept the evening lively: With Eugene at the microphone, nobody was a passive spectator. From an ice-breaking, Euegene-directed mingling of the bride's and groom's families at the outset to a capacity-crowd Electric Slide session late in the evening (with Eugene in the middle of the floor as an energetic player/coach), he steered the party past dull moments like a white-water raft guide shooting the rapids. It left everyone breathless but happy when the evening finally drew to a close. Raiza and Brad had some wonderful memories -- and we had them all on videotape.

Bridal Fair: Interact with Simply Interactive!

2006-09-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

Simply Interactive is set to exhibit at the Bridal Extravaganza in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Sept. 10. The bridal show will open at 11 a.m. in the Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Boulevard, and will run until 4 p.m.

Stop by our booth and view samples of our recent work. If you have any questions about wedding videography, we'll be happy to answer them.

A bridal fair gives you the chance to get a first-hand impression of the personalities behind the company you choose for your video services.We think it's important that you have a good relationship with your videographer. Remember, they're going to be in close contact with you throughout one of the most important days of your life. You need to feel comfortable working with them.

Admission to the Bridal Extravaganza is $12 per person at the door. Brides who preregister can save $2 per person -- a discount good for the entire bridal party. Visit the Bridal Extravaganza web site to preregister.

We hope to see you in Santa Clara!

Wedding Video: Wine and Candlelight on a Grand Scale

2006-08-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

This August seems to be our month for winery weddings. On Friday, Aug. 11, I covered the wedding of Karena Stotz and Rositur Martin at the spacious Palm Event Center in Pleasanton. The Center, built with timbers from the area's historic Ruby Hill Winery, shares vineyard property with the Mitchell Katz Winery.

A long driveway, flanked on either side by stately palm trees, leads from Vineyard Avenue up to the winery. Vineyards extend away to the right; the Palm Event Center stands to the left. As you drive in, the winery -- housed in a massive old brick building -- seems to rise up in front of you and fill the windshield, eclipsing the rolling hills in the background. The Event Center looks modest by comparison; but the impression is only relative, and it vanishes once you step through its thick double wooden doors. The Center's main ballroom can hold up to 450 people.

Karena's and Rossi's ceremony was held in the Event Center's Barrel Room -- a long, high-ceilinged room lined with huge wine barrels. Late afternoon light streamed through a single arched window high in the west wall. The rest of the lighting came from elaborate wrought-iron chandeliers high overhead -- and from hundreds of votive candles set everywhere along the dark framework supporting the tiers of wine barrels. The candle flames glimmered in subdued reflections from the sides of the big casks. It was a spectacular setting. The Rev. Robert Dittler, resplendent in bishop's mitre and robes, performed the ceremony.

Many wineries capitalize on their outdoor scenery when staging weddings, and do that beautifully. But the Palm Event Center's Barrel Room celebrates the magic of the winemaker's art that takes place after the harvest. I suspect that it's not only elegant, it's also strategic: the Barrel Room will be just as inviting in December, when wineries with outdoor wedding sites will have put away their chairs and flower stands for the winter.

Capturing the visuals for Karena and Rossi in still images was Lucie Kubinova Silveira of LucieXYZ Photography in Santa Clara. She made the most of the dramatic interior and exterior settings in posing her subjects.

Karin Gruber of Wild Nights in San Mateo was the highly capable DJ for the ceremony and the reception, assisted by Wayne Munoz. We've been fortunate to work with a lot of skilled and helpful DJs over the years, but Karin was one of the best. She went out of her way to make sure we had good audio to go with our tapes, and she impressed us even more by attending the wedding rehearsal the day before, so she could coach Karena, Rossi, and their bridal party on their musical cues. (Karin even set aside a final piece of prelude music as the audio signal for the bridal party to assemble, once everything was ready for the ceremony. That's proactive.)

Attending our clients' wedding rehearsals is standard policy for us. On occasion, we'll see the photographer at the rehearsal, too; but it's a real rarity to see the DJ there. Karin's performance through the entire wedding set her apart as a real professional.

- JH

Wedding Video: An Overflowing Cup

2006-08-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

One of the aesthetic perks of doing wedding videography in northern California is being asked to cover events set at the crown jewels of our regional agriculture: wineries. The combination of lush vineyard scenery, striking architecture, and -- more often than not -- spectacular views practically pours great shots into the camera lens. The hardest part of the day can be shutting down the camcorder and calling it a wrap.

Last weekend I was in Santa Rosa for the wedding of Katie Watson and Dan Lindell. Katie and Dan were married at the bright, airy Star of the Valley Catholic Church, off the Sonoma Highway -- the only church I've ever visited that has a polo field just across the road. The reception was north of town, up in the hills, at the Paradise Ridge Winery.

The road to Paradise Ridge ascends through meadows studded with huge modern sculptures.

The winery building itself faces west, overlooking the Russian River Valley. A wide, covered wooden deck runs the length of the second story. The hillside falls away below, sloping down to a broad apron of vineyards. Beyond the vines are oak trees, fields, and in the distance, Highway 101 and the northern districts of Santa Rosa.

At the south end of the building a wide staircase leads down to a long stone-walled patio that curves along the hillside. The patio's high back wall, rising from flower beds and fountains, is criscrossed with vines. Paradise Ridge set the patio with several dozen tables for the wedding guests, who enjoyed their dinner as the sun sank toward the western hills and the shadows lengthened in the vineyards below. When the meal was done, everyone moved indoors to the dance floor -- except those guests who lingered outside on the deck to watch a brilliant sunset. By the time the dancing began, the sky was dark and the lights of Santa Rosa were starting to twinkle in the distance.

The view reminded me of one of my favorite weddings from the 2005 season, held at the Thomas Fogarty Winery up on Skyline Boulevard in Woodside. The Thomas Fogarty hilltop property faces east, so it doesn't have as good a vantage point for sunsets; but it makes up for that with a phenomenal, glittering nighttime view of Silicon Valley and the East Bay.

Back at Paradise Ridge, Jeremy Hinton -- a.k.a. D J Big Boy of Bay Area Sound Service -- kept the dance floor packed all night. He adroitly segued from one song to the next, maintaining a tempo that probably would have cleared the floor at most parties. But the Watsons, Lindells, and their friends and relatives were up to the challenge. My bet is that Katie and Dan will pass a lot of stamina on to their children.

Driving back down the hill later, as the lights of the city winked through the oak trees, I found myself mentally replaying the sights and shots of the afternoon. The sun had been full on the green vineyards and the gold hills. The bridesmaids -- in vivid pink dresses -- were posing for pictures against that backdrop. It almost seemed as if you could get great footage by closing your eyes and pointing the camera in any direction. Experiences like that make us appreciate the opportunities we have to do videography in the wine country -- and, in our own way, to bottle those moments for clients to savor years afterward.

Corporate Media Projects : WeddingVideo.Com

2006-08-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

www.WeddingVideo.Com is the world's first online wedding videographer directory built by wedding videographers. While the site has only launched this morning, we have already seen a tremendous amount of traffic and seen several transaction go through the website, including brides contacting the videographers listed on our site. The intent of this site is to offer to brides and grooms a slick way to find wedding video service providers in their area and also give benefits to the companies who list with us not previously seen in directories. Search Engines, when catalogging the sites on the 'net, cannot view data within a database. So people who pay for a listing on a website typically do not receive the benefit of having a link pointing to them from these paid ads. WeddingVideo.Com actually stores information in a database so brides have a smooth way to locate a vendor, but also spits out a hard-coded html page which is navigable from our Search Engine-optimized directory. Simply Interactive is a family-run, family-owned small multimedia business in the Bay Area of California that, with our clients, friends and family's help and support, has suddenly grown. We will always be family and friend-oriented. We will also always cherish that big-company ability and small company mobility we've always enjoyed and our clients really appreciate. Please remember us for any multimedia needs, personal or business. And yes - we build eCommerce web applications too

Wedding Video: Covering the Peninsula

2006-07-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Simply Interactive had the Peninsula bracketed over the weekd of July 16, with different teams shooting weddings and receptions ranging from San Jose northward through Santa Clara, Cupertino, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. That might sound like a lot of territory; but actually it was unusual for us to have so many events happening within an hour's drive of our Redwood City offices. Typically we're spread out a lot farther, with at least one event in the North Bay or East Bay, or farther south in Santa Cruz, San Juan Bautista, or Monterey. (And we ve gone as far afield as Sacramento, Yosemite, Palm Springs, and Santa Monica, in recent seasons.)

I had the pleasure of covering the wedding of Dow-Jane Chi and Cheng-Wei Pei, who were married Saturday afternoon at St. Joseph of Cupertino Church . The couple got ready for the ceremony at the Sheraton Palo Alto Hotel , a stone's throw across El Camino Real from Stanford University. The Sheraton's small courtyard gardens and fountains made nice settings for Simply Interactive videographer Justin Lambakis to get attractive shots of Cheg-Wei and his groomsmen.

Dow-Jane's and Cheng-Wei's wedding marked my second opportunity to use the Manfrotto "Fig Rig" camcorder support. The device, which looks like a steering wheel with an off-center crossbar, is named for the filmmaker who designed it: Mike Figgis, perhaps best known as the Oscar-nominated director of the 1995 film "Leaving Las Vegas," for which Nicholas Cage took home the Best Actor award. Figgis has used it on a number of his own feature films and documentaries.

During Dow-Jane's and Cheng-Wei's reception at Ming's Restaurant in Palo Alto, I loved the way the Fig Rig allowed me to smoothly follow their movements among their guests, to do a "fly-around" of their wedding cake, and to continuously and seamlessly shift perspectives as I covered their first dance.

I think I can safely predict that clients will be seeing a lot of Fig Rig-enabled shots appearing in future Simply Interactive projects. It adds another level of finesse to techniques we re already using.

Wedding guests seem fascinated by it, too. I've probably had more interested inquiries from guests -- "Say, what's that wheel thing do?" -- at my last two weddings than I've had during the last two years. As a rule, we try to stay in the background; but when I do get questions from guests, I'm always happy to answer them.

The music for Dow-Jane's and Cheng-Wei's reception was provided by Al Flanagan and Sam Peacock, of "DJ for Select Occasions." They did a good job of providing a mix tailored to the different tastes of the reception crowd -- some of whom were Dow-Jane's and Cheng-Pei's friends from work and from college, and some of whom were relatives who flew over from Taiwan for the occasion.

Ming's was bustling on Saturday night -- there was another wedding reception in a banquet room on the other side of the building -- but the service didn't miss a beat. And the food was superb. It was a great place for a celebration.

Wedding Video: Kind Words From Annette and Justin

2006-07-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

I just received this really nice response from Annette and Justin after they received their final video. Thank you so much for all your hard work on our wedding video. We greatly appreciate the extra mile you took to ensure we were satisfied. The fact that you come to the rehearsal is such a bonus because you are prepared and ready to go on the big day.. Justin and I were initially going to get a raw footage type package to minimize on video costs because we did not see it as a priority for our wedding. We are so glad we decided to get a beautiful edited package because in hindsight it was one of the best investments we made for our wedding day. Photos are nice, but with video you actually re-live the day each time you watch it. We look forward to spending every anniversary glued to the TV watching our wedding day and remembering how happy we were on that day. Your editing style really captured the essense of our love for one another, so thank you.. In fact it was done so well, that my dad even got a few tears in his eyes when he first watched it..and that's not an easy task! Again thanks for all your hard work. It was a pleasure working with you and we are so thrilled with the final product. Annette & Justin Our pleasure you two!

Nationwide Wedding Video Service Provider Database

2006-06-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

Simply Interactive LLC is proud to announce an upcoming service for wedding and event video companies. This service is something that there seems to be a lot of, but none of them are executed well. Another online advertising service? Yea, we know. Where do you start. It's so hard to place your dollars in a place that is an effective marketing tool. Because we are a video production company - a web and multimedia company - and have experience with usability, we have approached Wedding Video DotCom with an eye towards all of these. Check out the Wedding Video DotCom blog to see why what we are doping is so different from what else is out there. We are aiming towards the end of June to mid-July to launch the site. Go there and sign up for a free basic listing for 1 year.

Wedding Video: San Francisco City Hall

2006-06-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

We had an incredible evening on Saturday at one of the most beautiful places in San Francisco. The San Francisco City Hall was host to the wedding of Jackson and Anna and we were chartered with providing multimedia services in the form of a Same Day Wedding Video highlight. This particular Same Day Wedding Video Edit was unique in the the bride requested not just pre-ceremony and ceremony highlights, she wanted the cake cutting and first dance in the video too. One other unique thing about this event was that we were asked to project the video on two screens at the top of the stairs on either side. This was a fun setup to do and it was executed flawlessly. I have to say that Will, the event coordinator at the SF City Hall was a wonderful man to work with. He was extremely helpful and thoroughly vested in making sure the bride and groom were well taken care of. He did this by making sure the vendors had what we needed to do our jobs well for Jackson and Anna. I love shooting video in San Francisco, but this San Francisco wedding video I was relegated to being the editor of the Same Day Edit. Click Play to see this awesome video

Press Release - Simply Interactive Supports Local Non-Profit

2006-05-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

Redwood City, CA (May 16, 2006) – Substance abuse and recovery aren’t light-hearted subjects, but both topics will be on the bill Monday night at the San Jose Improv. The occasion will be a fundraiser for ARH Recovery Homes, Inc, the largest provider of drug and alcohol recovery services to Santa Clara County. Headlining will be nationally known comic Mark Lundholm; also on the program will be the first public screening of a video that spotlights ARH’s crucial work in helping addicts – and their families – escape the vicious cycle of abuse. The video was produced by Simply Interactive LLC of Redwood City, and directed and edited by Simply Interactive president Rusty Worden. The project had special meaning for Worden – who himself was once an addict. In April, Worden marked his 11th year of being clean and sober. Today he is married, the father of three children, and head of a growing multimedia company. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, he was on an accelerating downward spiral of addiction – alienated and drifting between Hollywood and the Bay Area. He credits a CityTeam program in San Jose with turning his life around. Years afterward, working as a multimedia and web developer at Cisco Systems, he was introduced to ARH by a Cisco manager who knew nothing of his drug past. She only knew that he was an active supporter of Cisco programs aimed at giving back to the community. ARH's family-oriented recovery centers touched a chord in Worden. By then, a parent himself, he was impressed by the way facilities like the ARH-Parisi House on the Hill kept mothers out of jail, kept their children out of foster homes, and allowed them to go through treatment together in a positive, supportive environment. "What hit home with me was their focus on the social impact of addiction," says Worden. "It’s not just the individual addicts who are affected by the disease; it’s also everyone around them. ARH doesn’t just help people recover their lives; they help families recover their wholeness." Worden later was able to offer ARH the services of his own company, Simply Interactive, to create a video that would convey the value that ARH provides to the community. The non-profit happily accepted, and Worden led a camera crew that spent three days visiting facilities like ARH-House on the Hill and ARH-Mariposa Lodge, as well as taping in ARH’s San Jose headquarters, and in the South County kitchen of a former House on the Hill client. At each stop, the Simply Interactive crew documented stories of addictions defeated, families reconnected, careers rebuilt. "We’re proud that our video will be on the program at the Improv event," says Worden, "but we’re even happier that it will continue helping to spread the word about the way ARH is making an impact in the South Bay. We hope it will encourage similar programs in other areas." For more information on the May 22, 2006 ARH fundraiser at the Improv, see: http://www.arhinc.org To view an online version of the video, see: http://www.simplyinteractive.com Simply Interactive LLC offers comprehensive video production services, development of CD-based interactive media, e-learning creation, and a full suite of web services. Contact: Jim Hatlo, Vice-president, (650) 365-3355 office, (408) 858-1388 mobile; jhatlo@simplyinteractive.com.

Corporate Video - ARH Inc

2006-05-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

ARH INC.(Flash 8 Video 45.7MB) - This video highlights some folks in recovery and the hope ARH has brought to their lives. I always do the best I can to give back the the communities that support us and the disease of addiction is one that is particularly of concern to me. I was thrilled when ARH approached us to create a short video to highlight the stories of some of those in recovery and show their path from no hope, to hope. ARH is a tremendous organization with Andrea Wasko as the Executive Director. Under her leadership, in these few short months I have seen what energy, initiative and out-of-the-box thinking can do for an organization. Case-in-point, on May 22nd they are holding a fundraiser at the Improv in San Jose. This will be a standup comedy event with all the proceeds going to help one of the best non-profit organizations in the bay area. Mark Lundholm will be the main act. What I think is awesome about this is how much work had to go into making the arrangements to let people have a great time while supporting a worthy cause. Check out the flyer here.

Happy Birthday Matt!

2006-05-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Matt Lee has been with Simply Interactive for almost a year and we are extremely lucky to have such a talented guy on board! He has single-handledly increased our quality in the editing room and has taken over our wedding department as the leader (that means that for weddings he is MY boss :-( Jokes aside... Happy birthday Matt! We really appreciate you.

Wedding Video: Susan and John - Dolce Hayes Mansion

2006-05-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Obviously our wedding video staff has been to a lot of locations for the events we are hired to cover. A few stand out from the rest. Palmdale Estates, Thomas Fogarty Winery, Nestldown (note the lack of an "E"). All of them are fantastic. The Dolce Hayes Mansion stands out from all the rest though. John and Susan had us there to shoot their video and provide some "break-out" entertainment for the guests in the form of a photo-montage that played on one of our flat-panel LCD multimedia displays. First, the Dolce Hayes Mansion is absolutely stunning. An oasis set in the center of South San Jose (right behind my house). The sweeping lawns in the front offer an incredible front-piece leading to one of the more incredibly architected buildings you'll find in San Jose. Absolutely elegant and beautiful. For photographers and videographers it also offers a huge range of settings for staged shots and portraits. The Dolce Hayes Mansion is an all-inclusive location that provides several options for ceremony sites, both indoors and outdoors. It also allows for a wonderful bridal suite for getting ready in the morning. Reception options are also abundant, suitable for large and small parties. By far, the Dolce Hayes Mansion is one of the most versatile locations we've been to. But what makes us recommend them to our clients and visitors to our site is their unwavering dedication to customer service. This quality is apparent to all in how fluidly the Dolce Hayes staff works together to make the event a flawless one for their clients. As a multimedia company that offers wedding videography, it is VERY important for us to recommend service providers that do more than meet quality guidelines. A lot of locations are beautiful. We recommend the ones that are both beautiful AND offer amazing customer service. Because we refuse kickbacks from other vendors who we refer our clients and site visitors to (and do not offer kickbacks to people who refer us as well), we hope you'll take to heart our recommendations.

Studio Closed Wednesday April 5th

2006-04-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday April 5th our studio will be closed from 1:30 PM to 8:30 PM so we can attend the Wedding and Event Videographer's Association Town Meeting in San Jose as-well-as a video shoot that afternoon. If you were planning on stopping by for a consultation, please give us a call and we can set something up for earlier or later in the day.

San Francisco Bridal Show Today

2006-04-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

We will be exhibiting at the Great Bridal Expo's event in San Francisco today. Come on down and see us and a demo: Event date: Sunday Apr 02, 2006 Show time: 12:00 NOON Address: Concourse Exhibition Center 620 7th Street San Francisco, CA OR come see us at our new Redwood City studio 647 Veterans Boulevard Suite B Redwood City, CA 94063

A Newer, Bigger Studio

2006-03-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

Simply Interactive outgrew our previous studio and we have acquired a larger two-room studio in Redwood City. We are still a proud, Peninsula-based multimedia firm and now we have a stunning viewing room complete with a larger editing studio. Come on down and see us. Our new office hours are: M-F 10 am to 6 pm Evening and Weekend consultations are available by appointment only.

Simply Interactive LLC
647 Veterans Boulevard
Redwood City, CA 94063
Entrance in the Rear

Bridal Show at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose

2006-03-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

Event date: Sunday Mar 12, 2006 Show time: 12:00 Noon Address: Fairmont San Jose 170 South Market Street San Jose, CA 95113 We have an AWESOME new setup for the bridal shows. Come by and enjoy our 42" Plasma HDTV. See you there!