Re:Frame San Francisco: Session with Oleg Kalyan (Day 4)
Creative Innovation from Moscow!
Preface: I want to thank Kat Small for writing the session summaries for day 4 of Re:Frame San Francisco. I had to leave to catch my flight back to the east coast and was not able to cover Oleg Kaylan's session. Kat Small of Cinema Chic Productions was kind enough to provide her thoughts on this sessions to round out our coverage of Re:Frame San Francisco. Thank you Kat!
by Kat Small, Cinema Chic Productions
October 27, 2009 -- Throughout the week I tried my hardest to meet everyone at Re:Frame. I had noticed this tall, mysterious man always quietly moving about with a studying eye whom always
escaped my approach. I just assumed he was an attendee until the last presenter of Re:Frame San Francisco was introduced. Who was this dark mysterious man? Oleg Kalyan!
Oleg Kalyan is still somewhat of a mystery, mainly because I don’t speak Russian which is what you will see if you visit his web site. Visit it to see his other work outside of weddings. I do know he is from Moscow and is gaining international recognition with the wedding films he has produced
these past few years. I had even viewed one on Exposure Room not long ago due to buzz circulating on twitter. To quote Re:Frame “His work is a study in masterful composition and lighting. And yet his emphasis is on the narrative structure. “
Oleg started out showing us one of his earlier works, which he described as “slightly cheesy”. Yes, you would agree it had a ‘past popular’ filter look to it but then, THEN it turned into a Victoria Secret style shoot for a brief moment; no one noticed the filter anymore! (Julian & Sergey Wedding - Nice, France) Oleg later
mentioned that the bride was a Beauty Queen and had requested the bridal shoot be shot that way. Va Va Voom! Oleg also mentioned that was fine with him!
Oleg then moved on to show us his more recent work - pretty much jaw dropping - even though there was no lingerie show in it. “Passion in Moscow, Katya & Richard LS” is one of my favorites of his and is one of the films that really exploded on the scene after he posted it on Exposure Room. With well over 7,000 views it is
worth your time to check it out. The composition, lighting, and storytelling are simply amazing! I would personally describe his work as romantic with a modern cutting edge feel to it.
This was Oleg’s first presentation ever done in English so he showed a lot of his work rather than talk about it. No complaints here as he did his full Q&A and I can only imagine how intimidating that must have been. I would also like to add that later on in the
day we were part of a small shoot-out where we got to watch Jason Magbanua, Kristen Bliss* and Oleg shoot a bridal prep. It was such an honor to see them work together and show different
techniques on how to get shots and work with equipment. All the more reason this was such an inspiring event to be at.
About Kat Small
Kat Small has been in the film industry since 1998 shooting anything that paid the bills (and was legal) across the US. She now specializes in couture wedding films, lives with
her two cats Stevie Nicks and Taj Mahal, and is forever a film groupie. Click the link below to see the great work that Kat does by following the link to Cinema Chic Productions.
