Fine Wedding Cinematography by Yabes Films
In the wedding videography industry, all famous vendors begin somewhere. Oftentimes, the path comes from many unfamiliar turns but they typically end into following one’s calling. For the truly great videographers, they wake up in the morning not to make money but to fulfill a purpose. The industry is riddled with superstar videographers but what’s not seen is the tough road to achieve the perceived success, wherein only the persistent survive. Yabes Films is one of those up and coming studios in pursuit of greatness and this story shares their story so far.
Jonathan Yabes, founder of Yabes Films, journey to become one of the renowned names in the wedding videography industry had many fruitful pivots. He started his professional career not as a videographer but as a graphic artist in a local television studio in the Philippines. He got a lot on his first job but one thing he didn’t get was fulfillment. He went about his day job to make ends meet but the true artist in him wanted to pursue a calling, a higher pursuit. After saving some money, this purpose led him outside his comfort zone and outside the Philippines to Singapore. He didn’t know back then how pivotal this choice was but this risk paved the way for his path today.
In Singapore, Jonathan started doing graphic work he was already doing in the Philippines until he worked his way up and landed a job as a senior video editor in a media company shooting television commercials, corporate events, and occasional wedding events. Jonathan has found his calling in this new role. He loved his new found passion and worked in a similar space at a start-up producing short films. At the start-up, Jonathan was in charge of doing the video editing. During this period, Jonathan had two full time jobs but he felt he wasn’t doing work. He was doing something he would’ve done for free.
In typical fashion, Jonathan eventually wanted to pursue greater heights. So, he left his comfort zone again and put up a media company. This was a very bold step for the young media producer. He took on a challenge that even folks with much more experience hesitated to take. Unfortunately, this project did not take off. Jonathan had to endure the complicated regulatory procedure of opening a new business in Singapore. Unlike his previous risk, this was a big learning experience for Jonathan but for a different reason. He realized that some big bets fail and most do for reasons outside one’s control.
This was not the end of Jonathan’s career in videography though. This failed attempt didn’t sway his love for video production and in fact focused him to reflect on what he really wanted to pursuit. This renewed focus led him to wedding videography. Jonathan had found his love and covered his first wedding soon after in 2014. He believed that with his extensive background in producing videos for commercial and news outlets, as well as his experience from the Hollywood Film Institute of Singapore. Also, Jonathan was confident that he could give his customers a unique experience they wanted. This self confidence propelled him to be one of the most sought after wedding videographers and has then re-established his original goal of a media company to instead focused on wedding videography and named it Yabes Films.
In the been a couple of years since Yabes Films started the brand has been able to establish a reputation fine quality and stylish cinematography. Each video provides a unique memorable moment for the couple without letting them know during the shoot. The final product produces an authenticity that the couple didn’t know was captured at all. It creates a very personalized experience without any compromise for quality and class. It’s been a truly amazing experience to watch for the first time for all the couples.
Today, Yabes Films is in pursuit to differentiating their work from all the videographers in the industry. It’s hard given the recent explosion of industry players but what’s unique about Jonathan is that he doesn’t aim to be number one in the space. He aims to do the absolute best work for each and every couple that entrusts their wedding video on him. There’s a saying that when you drive and focus on your side mirrors, you’ll miss whats ahead. This is something Yabe Films makes sure they don’t fall under. They believe that if you focus on the couple then everything, the business and their reputation, will take care of itself and fall into place.
In the short term, Jonathan is challenging himself by learning new techniques like underwater shoots and even more daring aerial shots. He believes that innovation is a huge competitive advantage and this is something he’s relentlessly pursuing for his customers. Beyond this, Yabes Films is heavily focused on expanding their international presence. This includes learning new techniques and sharing their own techniques to other international wedding videographer communities as well as more international shoot.
For a simple graphic artist who was doing work simply to make ends meet, Jonathan has made a lot of progress to now pursuing his passion. Only time will tell is he will sit amongst the greats in the wedding videography industry but enlightening to see the process transpire.
To know more about Yabes Film’s packages or online availability and reservations, please check out his Trippix profile or visit his website. And for questions or recommendations for future videographer highlights — please email us at info@trippix.net or visit us at our social channels Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
