SugarPop Films

I wanted to take a moment to address several of the points Cayla raises in her review. Out of the hundreds of happy and satisfied clients we have seen over the years, we understand a few will have issues with our service -- either due to an error on our part (which we always try to quickly resolve) or due to a lack of understanding on their part, which we have little control over.

"My first red flag was when Brian didn't get back to me for over a week regarding our first meeting. It was supposed to be in person, but he said he was traveling, and was not able to meet with me. So we "met" on Skype and talked through my vision for the wedding video."

This is correct. We had been traveling for various events and could not find an in-person meeting time that corresponded with Cayla's schedule. We decided Skype would be the best option and I was able to address all of her questions and concerns, including exactly what she would receive and when. An agreement was sent with an estimated delivery date of 90-180 days. I explained that while we try to deliver around the 90 day mark, we can take longer due to prior commitments and high demand. We mention this in our FAQ page as well, and emphasize quality over a rushed job.

"Three months after my wedding, I emailed to ask when I would see the "SugarPop Short" which is a highlight of the wedding. He said he was working on a pro bono project that was taking away from his paying customer's projects, but I'd have it shortly."

As addressed above, I re-explained our delivery time and that while we were working with other clients, we had started work on her video, which we had. However, our obligations to our other prior clients (not pro-bono, but for a cause benefitting missing children) we would delivering towards the latter half of her estimated delivery window.

"At the 4 month month mark, I asked for a date when I'd have the short. He said 2 weeks. Another month went by, and I received the short film 5 months after my wedding."

This is almost correct. I estimated 2 weeks, but it took an extra week, not a month. You can view Cayla and Bill's SugarPop Short on our website at http://www.sugarpopfilms.com/2012/07/cayla-and-bills-sugarpop-short.html.

"Three weeks later, I received the extended cut (full wedding video) and I was very disappointed…Also, the extended cut didn't include the pre-ceremony getting ready part, nor did it include our sparkler exit. I emailed Brian to fix a few parts (like the filming of his shoes), edit those things out, add the pre-ceremony video and the grand exit. Brian said he'd edit out the accidents, and add our exit, but that the extended film doesn't include the pre-ceremony getting ready part (um, what?!)."

Our SugarPop Short Film Packages include both a 12-15 minute highlight featuring Prep, Ceremony and Reception coverage), as well as an extended edit (lightly edited raw footage) for occasional viewing which includes the full ceremony and reception highlights in their entirety (first dance, toasts, formalities and some dancing). Unlike many other videographers, we include this for free, rather than as an upsell. However, it does not include a raw version of the Prep coverage or select moments that were specifically filmed to be included in the Highlight film. If you watch a few of our SugarPop Shorts, you'll understand why -- we use nearly every usable piece of footage in our highlights. If something gets left out, it either was technically poor, inconsequential, or, in the case of interviews and funny moments, included in the longer extended film. I explained this in several emails to Cayla and her disappointment in our service seems to come from a fundamental misunderstanding of what she WANTED to receive, versus what she agreed to receive -- something that wasn't included in her package. After pointing out 2 very minor mistakes (one not an actual mistake, but a 2 second shot of the groom casually wiping sweat from his brow -- a shot we could not cut away from as it was seen on three cameras), we quickly did a re-edit at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE and sent it back out, still within her estimated delivery window.

Also of note regarding our willingness to go above and beyond for our clients, after a very long and hot 8 hour day, we stayed an ADDITIONAL 20 minutes to cover her grand exit on church street, AT NO EXTRA CHARGE because I wanted her to have that moment on her wedding video.

Cayla's final package was delivered and received about the 5 month mark. While this may seem long to some, it was firmly within her estimated delivery time (and as a vendor who has good relationships with several of the busiest videographers in town - much sooner than most of my colleagues who can take up to a year to deliver).

We believe we delivered an outstanding product to Cayla (again, please watch her finished film), exceeding the requirements of our agreement by giving her both extra time on her wedding day and a complimentary re-edit at no additional charge, and delivering in a timely fashion, according to her contract. We feel she is being disingenuous in rating us so low in every category, when she herself admitted that "Everything seemed fine on the wedding day -- on time, respectful, etc". We addressed her primary concerns with regards to an errant shot of the dance floor and the groom's sweaty brow and quickly issued a re-edit. However, despite making every reasonable attempt to satisfy Cayla, she chose to give a negative review based on the assumption that we would be giving her something that was not part of our product, even though it was explained to her several times both in our consultation and our website.

Despite that, Cayla and Bill were wonderful clients and we are very proud of the work we did for them. It is just unfortunate that a misunderstanding on her part resulted in a such a negative review impacting our business. While we strive to make every client happy, it is not always possible. We take this in stride and do, however, look forward to going above and beyond again for all of our future clients.

Best,

Brian Bazala
Owner, SugarPop Films
www.sugarpopfilms.com