With video montages taking center stage at today’s parties and celebrations, The Montage Maven is seeing a 40 percent growth in sales, thanks to new and repeat customers.
Now that video montages are one of the core essentials of a great party, business is booming for The Montage Maven
a leading video montage company in Westchester County, NY. Sales are increasing each year, and the demand for video montages continues to grow.
The “maven” behind the business is Jackie Marek, a mother of two who grew up in Westchester. Whenever Marek watched video montages at the Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and various events she attended, she’d get a nagging feeling that she could do a better job. “I would think, ‘I would change the music’ or ‘That transition isn’t in the right place,’” says Marek. “I was critical of what I saw and felt I had an eye for the business.”
Marek decided to test her intuition five years ago, when she did her first video montage for her niece’s Bat Mitzvah. “Back then, most montages were standard slide shows, with typical music. I believed they should be fun, creative and exciting, and also capture the personality of the honoree,” she says.
In her niece’s case, iChat was just catching on with teens. “I decided to create a theme around that,” Marek says. “It was a unique approach and everybody loved it. I started getting referrals from relatives and friends.”
Those referrals eventually turned into The Montage Maven, a business that has become known for its high-quality, multi-media video montages. Marek, it turns out, has an eye for the visual, as well as a knack for story telling and music selection, and she aspires to turn video montage into a true art form.
“You can buy a dress at Kohl’s or you can buy a dress at Neiman Marcus—a dress is a dress,” says Marek. “But the quality and attention to detail really makes a Neiman’s dress stand out. It’s the same thing with montages – our emphasis on quality and attention to detail set our montages apart from the rest.”
Today, the video montage is a very important part an event—often it is the only form of entertainment. “We make sure that all of our montages are highly entertaining and engaging for the audience. We want everybody to enjoy the experience and remember the event for years to come,” says Marek.
Marek’s montages are designed from scratch and the videos are all professionally edited.
Her husband runs a video production company, so she has access to a professional studio and a sound stage. The company can produce HD-quality video and uses the latest editing technologies, such as a green screen background, which gives her the ability to feature clients in movies and television shows.
“For example, a client’s daughter is a great singer, and we created a really fun montage featuring her singing on ‘America’s Got Talent,’” says Marek. “Our studio capabilities allow us to really showcase our client’s talents or interests in a variety of ways. We’ve used the green screen to combine clients with sports figures and TV and music stars—we can accommodate practically any ideas or wishes our clients may have.”
Each video is as unique as the person or couple that is being featured. Marek is instrumental in developing her client’s videos—from start to finish. “Typically, they have a theme in mind and I take it from there,” she says. She helps select the photos and home movie clips, finds the appropriate TV or movie spots, and helps with the sound track.
“Music can make or break a montage and I make an effort to keep up with the current trends in music,” says Marek.
She also works with the video editors to ensure that her clients are thrilled with the end results.
Marek admits she doesn’t have a background in video, but she’s making great use of the organizational skills that she honed as a production manager in the garment industry. “I was responsible from concept to end product—and that experience has served me well with my current business.”
Business for The Montage Maven continues to grow, with sales growing more than 40 percent each year. While the initial focus was on Bar Mitzvahs, the business has rapidly expanded to include engagements, anniversaries, birthdays, vacations and even memorials.
“Montages are a great way to commemorate special occasions and observe milestones in one’s life,” says Marek. “We help people create extraordinary movie montages that tell stories of their own. We make events a red carpet production with our video montages—we’ve been told over and over that our montage was the highlight of the event.”
About The Montage Maven
The Montage Maven, based in Purchase, NY, is a leading full-service video montage company serving the New York City metro area. The company provides an array of services, including live streaming video, video editing, sports portfolio highlights, film transfer to DVD or Blu-ray and media duplication and replication. For more information, go to: http://www.TheMontageMaven.com
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