“On the day of filming, Melissa… was able to blend effortlessly and seamlessly into the background. Throughout the day, she came in and out of our awareness but we still always felt at ease. My husband is actually a very private person but Melissa has such a gentle and calming presence that neither of us felt self-conscious or awkward while being filmed.
…And I truly believe that’s a testament to Melissa and her skill as a documentary filmmaker. Melissa was such a pleasure to work with and takes such pride in her work. I believe her service is really one-of-a-kind… I have a film that captures the core essence of our family, which is the depth of the love that my husband and I have for each other and our kids.”
– Lotus, Baby Mini Doc Client & Mommy Blogger
“Melissa, I don’t know how you did it (again!) but thank you for capturing so much of our reality, joy, and challenges in just ten mins!”
“We are so happy with our entire experience with Melissa and Perspective Pictures. Melissa made a day of filming feel like the most natural thing in the world. She was professional, discreet, and a pleasure to be with, sharing all of our family moments. We are also over the moon about the final product that she delivered. Not only was the footage beautifully captured (she even got us some nice stills from it), but she was able to weave it all together to tell a story. We have enjoyed sharing the video with our friends and family, and most importantly are grateful to have this time in our lives documented. As any new parent can tell you, days can pass in a blur — but thanks to Melissa, we will have crystal-clear memories of Alden’s early days.”
– Zach, Baby Mini Doc Client
“We worked with Melissa on a baby mini-doc when our twins, Leo and Alexandra, were just 4 weeks old. Our days and nights were hectic with constant diaper changes and feedings, but we wanted to remember these early moments. Melissa produced the most beautiful, humorous, and loving account of a day in our crazy new life. With friends and family all over the world, sharing this mini-doc brought them a little closer, and they have all truly enjoyed it. The music and dialogue that she incorporated was done thoughtfully (particularly impressive since some of the dialogue was in Greek and Arabic!) so the final product truly feels like a special story with the babies as protagonists and all the characters playing an important role (including our four year old). I have watched it dozens of times and our babies are just 4 months old. I can’t wait to share it with them when they can understand!
While I was thrilled with the final product, Melissa isn’t only a talented videographer. As a mom herself she was amazingly considerate in scheduling the filming, was able to discreetly shoot without changing the dynamic at home, and was fully responsive to all my questions and requests. For example, when I told her that I wanted to remember nursing the babies (tandem nursing is a big feat that I’m proud of!), but didn’t want much nudity, she was able to capture the beauty and intimacy of those moments without any awkwardness. It was truly a pleasure working with Melissa and I am sure her baby mini-docs will help many parents like us remember the special first weeks, months and years!”
– Natalia, Baby Mini Doc Client
“We had an incredible experience working with Melissa. She spent a day with us, our newborn, and a handful of friends, put us all totally at ease, and produced a video that not only captures moments, but that captures the essence of our home. As new parents, it was hard to get out from under it all, but as everyone said it would, the time blew by. Now Alden is two days away from his first birthday. Those early days seem like ancient history, but re-watching the video Melissa made brings all those good feelings back. We feel so grateful that Melissa found such a beautiful way to document that time in our life. We love the time capsule she created and are so thankful to have worked with her.”
– Amanda, Baby Mini Doc Client
“I cannot say enough good things about Melissa and the Baby Mini Doc Project. After a few hours of filming she put together an excellent documentary, capturing precious family moments. Her discreet presence and pleasant personality allowed her to blend naturally into my family’s routine, and the result speaks for itself. Thank you, Melissa.”
– Katerina, Baby Mini Doc Client
“Doing a baby mini doc is an excellent way to capture those everyday moments, which go by so fast! It’s a unique perspective too since these are the moments that are often forgotten when taking your own video or photos.”
– Elaine Keller-Duemig, Baby Mini Doc Client & Certified Nurse-Midwife in NYC
“Melissa spent several hours with us filming our family in multiple locations as we proceeded with our normal day with our infant daughter. She was quiet, respectful and unobtrusive, simply being there to capture moments as they unfolded. We felt utterly comfortable with her, and her ability to document our lives together, authentically. We were very happy to have this film in the hands of a professional committed to a natural flow of events, as we preferred not to have anything imposed or planned out. As with the process, the film she delivered was very natural, and kept to a rhythm that we resonated with instantly. The visuals she captured told the story of that moment in our lives, far more powerfully than any still photograph. It is a cherished gift that we can give our daughter and our families. We highly recommend working with Melissa.”
– Vanessa, Baby Mini Doc Client
“Melissa is so amazingly talented! I cried through the first baby mini doc I watched (I can’t believe it took me so long to watch a 12-minute film, jeeez!) – I LOVED the whole thing: the perspective, colors, music, images, the way she put it all together. Melissa really does make the mundane everyday parenting stuff look so beautiful! Families lucky enough to work with her will no doubt treasure these films forever. Her films really show how much love and energy parents put into taking care of their children, reminding us that families are all so beautiful and amazing!”
– Rachel Siegel, Certified Nurse-Midwife in NYC
“Melissa’s films are distinguished by their empathy and imbued with remarkable emotional intelligence. As a documentary maker with a sure eye for visuals that sensitively augment the feeling of her films, she celebrates humanity and family with gentle, caring and astonishing confidence. Few filmmakers achieve the accomplished expression of feeling and emotion that Melissa’s adroit handling of her camera and excellent editing achieves.
Melissa’s present project, The Baby Mini Doc Project, is ideally suited to her exceptional talents, resulting in video portraits of families enjoying their babies, preserving for all time the early days of a new life in a loving and supportive home. While replete with the means to sensitively capture this time in the lives of her subjects, Melissa also brings to the work her own experience as a new mother.
I have absolutely no hesitation in endorsing Melissa and recommending her to be the one to capture the precious early days of a new addition to the human family.”
– Christopher Laird, Award-Winning Filmmaker & Founder of Banyan Ltd.
“I got to know Melissa first through her documentary film work, then through hiring her to work at my organization, CaribbeanTales. In her documentary work, I saw a bright talent who captured her subjects with unique love, honesty, and compassion and an ability to turn the extremely personal into the universal in her stories. At CaribbeanTales, Melissa brought her wonderful energy and warmth, as well as much needed clarity, precision, organization and reliability to our team. We missed her dearly when she left to become a new mother – an experience that has clearly transformed her life and work.
Melissa has an uncanny knack for turning her life into her work and art, then turning around to share her joy and skills with others – and she has done exactly this with The Baby Mini Doc Project. The quality of her filmmaking in this genre is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. Any family lucky enough to invite Melissa into their home to document their littlest ones will walk away with an invaluable family treasure and so much joy to share with generations still to come. What a breath of fresh air!”
– Frances-Anne Solomon, Award-Winning Filmmaker & Founder of CaribbeanTales
“Melissa is the rare filmmaker who is both compassionate, trustworthy and very efficient in getting it all done. She’s one of the most reliable producers we’ve worked with and any collaborators she chooses in the future are lucky to have this talented and sensitive woman on their team.”
– Heidi Ewing, Academy-Award Nominated Director of Jesus Camp & Founder of Loki Films
“Melissa has a very special way of capturing intimate moments so you feel lucky to be part of them while watching. She is sensitive and intuitive. The films are professional and unique. Her work is just beautiful.”
– Lora Heller, Founding Director of Baby Fingers
