The Memory Maker

Joe Baldo credits Jerry Lewis for getting him started in the video production business. “My great Aunt Bessie was a seamstress at Paramount Studios, and worked with many celebrities,” he explains. “On one of my many Paramount tours, courtesy of Aunt Bessie, I saw Jerry Lewis making The Nutty Professor. I watched him videotape his skits during rehearsal, then play them back to see if he liked them. ‘Wow,’ I thought. ‘Instant film!’ That was my first experience with video and it was magical.”

Joe started making films in college and quickly became what he quaintly refers to as a video addict. “I was completely hooked,” he recalls. “I was either shooting or editing all the time.” In 1977, a friend asked Joe to videotape his wedding, and despite the fact that the wedding party had to watch the video at Joe’s house because no one had a VCR back then, they enjoyed viewing the tape as much as being at the wedding. “For years videography remained a hobby while I worked as a TV cameraman, but eventually I realized that videotaping weddings was where my heart was, and I made it my full-time occupation.”

The Memory Maker is now a well-established company with seven videographers. During your initial meeting, they tune in to your personality, find out what style of video you want and encourage you to share your expectations. Then they show you videos that seem to fit the description of what you’re looking for, and you critique them. “Your feedback helps us identify what you want so we can customize your video,” Joe says. “And after the wedding is shot, you’re welcome to be involved in the editing process as much as you like.”

Two of the many things that set The Memory Maker apart from other videography companies are the technical expertise of their staff—many of whom have network TV or film backgrounds—and the high-end broadcast equipment they use. This is why The Memory Maker’s videos have the look and feel of a broadcast production. “We never do a one-camera shoot,” Joe says. “You need to have at least two cameras if you’re going to be able to film the bride’s and groom’s faces during the ceremony, and multiple cameras allow us to get actions and reactions from everyone.” Even though there may be as many as four videographers at an unusually large event, Joe and his staff are extremely unobtrusive. “People want the kinds of creative angles and shots they see in a TV show or movie, but they don’t want to see us while we’re doing it,” he comments.

Well-respected among their peers, The Memory Maker is considered by many to be the top video company in Orange County and one of the best in the U.S. Says one photographer, “Brides love them—they’re creative, proficient and dependable, a really talented team.” Joe is also involved in his community, where he does a lot of charity work and plays organized baseball, one of his other passions. “I truly enjoy people…helping them or sharing a laugh with them. And whether I’m taping a wedding, playing baseball or working at a church fundraiser, I think it’s just natural for me to share in the joyful times of peoples’ lives.”