• the goods
Photography In Motion
An innovative new visual album brings photo albums to life.
BY SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN I PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN
H
ad Dr. Melanie and Glen Schwartz gone with the original plan for
displaying their wedding photos, no one looking at them would have
known that Melanie's father showed up at their rehearsal — and pre-
sented Glen with a goat.
But, in addition to a traditional book of 75 still photos, they received a
"visual album," a DVD with 222 images interspersed with video clips, includ-
ing one of Glen telling guests of the four-legged gift — which, it turns out, was
only a rental, to deliver on a dowry promise by Melanie's dad, Melvyn Gvazda
of Farmington Hills. Created by Murray Goldenberg and Marty Abrin, co-
owners of Classic Photography in Southfield, the visual album was a gift to
the newlyweds for allowing their April 2006 wedding at the Detroit Marriott
Pontiac at Centerpoint to be the lesson plan for the future production of their
new invention.
Goldenberg, a professional photographer for 40 years, and Abrin, in the
photography industry for 34 years, have been business partners since 2002.
Always on the lookout for innovation, Goldenberg and Abrin admit this one
was a bit serendipitous. While watching a TV show on weddings with his
daughter, Goldenberg says, "We saw a gorgeous presentation of photos with
pictures that were floating on the screen. And my daughter asked, 'Why can't
you do that?'"
Turns out they can. After consulting with a friend of Abrin's who works for
a TV station in California, Goldenberg says, "We learned that we could overlap
and morph our stills into one another to bring movement to our pictures." The
Schwartzes' multi-media memory, for example, was created with still shots,
video clips and music to suit each scene.
"During the wedding, we took all the same photos we would have taken for
a regular photo album," Abrin says. "And we did put some of them into their
album. But we also used about 150 additional images for the visual album."
They are images that are nice to have — like close-ups of elegant desserts,
lots of dance scenes and all the guest tables — but aren't usually chosen for
the album, where the numbers are more limited. Simply put, says Goldenberg,
"Imagine all your proofs put into this format with music and video clips."
Contrary to a photo album's presentation, Abrin says, "The DVD stays
the same size no matter how many images are on it. A photo album with 300
images would be very, very heavy" Cost of a visual album with 200 images
is comparable to that of a still photo album with 80-100 prints, the amount
typically ordered. After Classic photographers pre-edit, select the order of the
images and note where the video clips should be inserted, a local video produc-
tion company "does the final production to make the visual album come alive,"
Goldenberg says.
The two photographers expect those who purchase the DVD will buy it in
addition to the still photo album. "It's meant to piggyback it," Goldenberg says.
With the first couple of wedding visual albums already booked, Goldenberg
and Abrin have also prepared a sample b'nai mitzvah album, created during a
recent bat mitzvah celebration. And not finding any other professional studio
photographers producing visual albums like theirs, Goldenberg and Abrin have
applied for a copyright for their creation.
While Goldenberg is quick to explain that the visual album is neither a slide
show nor a montage, he also stresses that it is not intended to compete with the
videographer's creation. "We will always be still-photographers," he says. "We are not
looking to infringe on or take the place of video production."
Indeed, the Schwartzes, who live in Chicago but plan to return back to the Detroit
area soon to be closer to their families (Melanie's mom is Marilyn Gvazda; Glen's par-
ents are Anita and Dr. Louis Schwartz of Commerce Township), also hired a videogra-
pher to document their wedding. "We don't conflict with what the videographer does,"
Abrin says. "While we're taking stills, we're pulling our pocket-sized video camera out
to capture snippets for the visual album."
It differs from video in concept, too. "A video may be an hour and a half long of
total movement," explains Goldenberg. "What we have is professional photos taken
20 •
MARCH 2007 • pla(11111111
Marty Abrin and Murray
Goldenberg have developed
a new way for brides and
grooms to view their
wedding albums.
7)
within the party merged with just a flavor of video.
And the visual album is short. "There's a pace to it," Abrin says. "It's not, 'Welcome
to our show. Here's popcorn. Now sit.' "
The Schwartzes' DVD is just 20 minutes long. "It's a great thing to show family
and friends who don't want to sit through a long video," says Melanie Schwartz. Adds
Glen: "There is something special about photographs catching a moment in time
— and it was further enhanced with video."
Classic Photography is located at 29959 Northwestern Hwy in Southfield.
For information on still photos or visual albums, contact Murray Goldenberg
or Marty Abrin at (248) 350-2420.