VIP In the Fast Lane!

    On February 28th, nearly 2,000 people swarmed the parking lots of Camana Bay for the two-day Cayman Auto and Boat Expo. Anything new and exciting in the industries, rare collectors' items, custom cars and cycles, race cars and so much more were put on display for the public to enjoy at the show. VIP was tapped by Autohaus Ltd.'s Christian van der Bol to create a promotional video for his exhibit, as well as film the event. Autohaus Ltd. is Cayman's official Mercedes and Porsche dealer and were a highlight of the weekend with their display of the world's first motorized carriage, made in 1886 by Karl Benz. 

Also on display at the show was a replica of the first ever Cayman Islands NASCAR to race at Daytona.  There was food, music and good times all around at Camana Bay over the course of the Expo, and if you weren't there this year, be sure and come out for the next show. We'll see you there!

Cayman Plays Host to World Class Equestrian Competition

    On Wednesday, March 4th, Grand Cayman was the site of the FEI World Dressage Challenge hosted by the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation, marking the first time Cayman has hosted such an event. Cayman's best riders flocked to the Equestrian Centre for the competition and VIP was there to catch all of the action on film. Riders ages 12 and up competed and were scored by internationally recognized judges in both individual and team competitions throughout the day. At the close of the competition, awards were presented at Casanova's by the Sea by His Excellency the Governor Stuart Jack and Donald McLean, President of the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee.

VIP to boost land development project for sister islands

On Monday, Martin joined forces with top realtors Neil and Cathy Williams of Remax to travel to sister islands, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, for their latest real estate promotional video.
Flying on Cayman Airways, Martin shot footage of new land development sites, as well as capturing some of the stunning natural beauty and wildlife that the islands are famous for.

“The demand for professional film production in the property industry is growing as realtors on island are facing increasing pressure – thus looking for fresh new ways to attract investors, win sales and stay one step ahead of the competition.”
Quote – Martin Wilkinson

VIP Productions Takes A Red Carpet Ride Amongst The Stars

The spectacular natural beauty of the Cayman Islands can be witnessed not only by day but also by night, when the stars light up the skies above. However, a different kind of celestial body lit up Camana Bay on Friday night, when this recreational epicenter was the location for the launch of the Cayman Islands’ Film Commission. This prestigious launch event was attended by a number of important local dignitaries headed by Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford and adding extra sparkle, the red carpet was graced by Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie, Legally Blonde) and John O’Hurley (Seinfeld, Family Feud).

VIP Productions was there to capture the event moment by moment, with Martin and Sam shooting on our broadcast-standard video cameras and Lisa conducting red carpet interviews alongside production teams from our local TV and radio stations.

***Watch this space for YouTube links to the footage.

“The atmosphere was electric. Cayman has probably not seen media hype like this since the early nineties, when production crews for The Firm (starring Tom Cruise) descended upon Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach. John O’Hurley, in his red-carpet interview, said that he expected the new Film Commission would set the wheels in motion for future Hollywood shoots on the islands, attracting the attention of more Hollywood A-Listers.”

The purpose of the Cayman Islands Film Commission is to collate a comprehensive database that details the services, resources and talents of businesses and individuals on the islands who could assist in the production of film, television and music videos. This information would be accessed by producers worldwide who are considering the Cayman Islands as a filming destination. Producers will be offered guidance to fast-track them through the minefield of regulatory issues, thus making the Cayman Islands a more desirable location for future movie productions.

The decision to use the Cayman Islands for a film shoot would have enormous benefits to our economy, creating hundreds, if not thousands of new jobs, from catering to carpentry, acting work for extras to hotel bookings, equipment hire to transport and of course, film crew and production assistants.

As the island’s premier film production company, with experience on land, in water and in air, VIP is already in a prime position to be first in line for direct involvement with any future film shoots.

The Blog Goes to the Movies!

Get ready for the blockbuster event of the season! 

We're working around the clock to put many of our videos up on YouTube so that we can show you all the amazing things we've been seeing around the North Sound recently.  We'll be posting some of them here as well, but links will be up so you won't miss a second of it!  Our photo library is in the works at the moment as well, so you can have a look at everything we've been working on lately.

Stay tuned! It's not to be missed!

The Sky's the Limit for VIP!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's VIP!

On Saturday, Martin took to the sky with Jerome of Cayman Islands Helicopters to capture some aerial footage of Cayman Luxury Property Group's new development site on our world-famous Seven Mile Beach. Kansas based company, Real Media, will be integrating the footage into a web video simulation showing how the new Sea Breeze condominium development will look on completion. Potential clients and investors will be able to see the progress as it happens on Cayman Luxury Property Group's website.

We are very excited to be working with such prominent companies and cannot wait to see the finished product.

Of course, this isn't Martin's first tour of the island via helicopter. Last October, he was airborne, camera in hand, for Captain Marvin's Watersports. The footage shot was used in promotional videos that can be seen at trade shows around the Caribbean (as well as at our own Owen Roberts International Airport!).

Keep your eyes on the sky in the future because you never know when we'll be flying by!

VIP Brings Hollywood Technology to Cayman's Real Estate Industry

As part of his latest expansion, Martin Wilkinson at VIP Productions has brought a touch of Hollywood to Cayman’s real estate industry, offering innovative Steadicam film tours that promise to open up a new world of marketing possibilities for the island.

VIP Productions is currently the only specialized film production company in the Cayman Islands using Steadicam equipment, which is used prevalently in the Hollywood movie industry. This type of equipment uses “a hydraulically-balanced apparatus that harnesses a camera to an operator's body providing smooth tracking shots without using a track.”

In terms of the real estate industry, this filming technique will result in fluid cinematic walkthroughs of key properties, which will be available for viewing on a range of media – including widescreen playback, web publishing, and mobile technologies such as Blackberry and iPod.

Owner, Martin Wilkinson predicts that these virtual tours of Cayman’s property market will increase accessibility for potential buyers and create a wider appeal to an international audience, giving a boost to the island’s economy as property sales go up.

“Real estate marketing just went digitally mobile, and without any loss of quality – our compression techniques maintain superb visual quality while fitting into a palm-sized iPhone, iPod or Blackberry.”

- Article January 2009 by Lisa Evans
- Published in the Caymanian Compass on Tuesday 17th 2009

VIP Celebrates the Holidays with Grace Christian Academy

     Even the rain couldn't dampen the spirits of the children, teachers and parents attending Grace Christian Academy's annual Christmas play. The first show of the season, put on by the students in grades one through six, was staged outdoors at the school and even when the skies opened up, the show went on. Umbrellas opened throughout the audience (our videographers were even forced to make use of them to shield the cameras from the down pour) but performers and spectators alike were not put off their Christmas spirit.

     The next week, the kindergarten class staged their version of the nativity story at the John Gray Memorial United Church in West Bay. Both performances were received enthusiastically by parents and teachers alike.

     VIP is very excited to be playing a more prominent role in our community - including working on school events like the plays

at Grace Christian Academy. We want to have a more central role in the promotion of local schools, teams and organizations and look forward to working on similar projects in the future.