The fact that EugeneWorks has been winning accolades in the video production world for over 20 years now is somewhat surprising given that the man behind the camera began his career on a whim. It's been over two decades since Eugene DiFrancesco's sister-in-law rented him a video camera and asked him to shoot her wedding; it's been a labor of love for the East Boston native ever since.

Now based in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he's made his home for the past 15 years, DiFrancesco recalls how astonished he was at the power of video: "I said, ‘Let me get this straight. I can rewind this and watch it now? I couldn't believe it!'" From that first moment of wonder there's been no turning back. "I took out a personal loan for my first camera and have been writing checks to Panasonic and JVC ever since."

In the celebrated tradition of the self-made man, DiFrancesco is entirely self-taught. Prior to the getting bitten by the video bug, DiFrancesco was in construction and has since learned everything he knows by trial and error. "It's all learned on the streets," he says. "All the formal training I've had has been from seminars and symposiums but certainly no formal schooling." Much of his video education has come from simple experimentation. "It's all about pushing buttons and finding out what happens when you do it," he says. "That's how I went directly from construction to being executive producer!"

Figure 1. DiFrancesco frequently shoots local commercials and has even appeared in some of his own productions; for instance, he nailed an impression of television food guru Emeril in a spot he did for Ernie's Restaurant.

How (and Why) EugeneWorks Works

If business success is any indication as to how well he learned his art, then one need not look any further than DiFrancesco's company. His digital video production and cinematography company is currently doing a brisk business with an array of corporate, commercial, and wedding clients.

The company prides itself on its creativity and versatility, and DiFrancesco, with a tip of the hat to his Italian forebears, presents the picture of a modern-day renaissance man. As if being a videographer isn't enough, DiFrancesco is also a musician (he plays upright bass) and even acts in a few of his commercial endeavors. He portrays an Italian-speaking bocce player in a spot he produced for Pioppi's Package Store and nails an impression of television food guru Emeril in a spot he did for Ernie's Restaurant. "I've become somewhat of a local celebrity," he quips.

It seems that learning video production was a natural extension of DiFrancesco's creativity and talent. As he explains, "It's a right-side brain thing, much like music. If you've got any musical talent you can learn to play music pretty readily, and I find video to be similar." According to DiFrancesco, the same learning style doesn't necessarily hold true for business. "What you can't learn by accident is how to run a business. We all get into business because we're passionate about doing something, and just assume we can run a business. We're idiots."

DiFrancesco maintains that to the key to remaining "cutting edge'" in the video production business is to focus on one's customers. "Customer service is everything," he says. "You can't treat people on the wedding side of the business like cattle. They want to be treated like kings and queens on their wedding day and I challenge you show me a reason why they ought not to receive that attention."

Cinema Scope

Indeed, customer satisfaction is crucial to making EugeneWorks thrive, but it is his reputation for creative video cinematography that precedes him. "I know that they've seen my work, whether they've seen it elsewhere or they've come here for appointment. It is the creativity and the shooting that they are tripping over themselves to hire me for. That's my big strength, my camera work," he explains. "My real passion in this business is cameras and lights. I understand what's going on with cameras and lights. And to me, acquisition is everything. A lot of folks are fond of saying ‘let's fix it in post.' I've got a better idea: learn how to shoot!"

DiFrancesco has indeed distinguished himself with his emphasis on cinematography. "When I first put digital cinematographer on my business card, I meant it. My big thing with the whole cinematography moniker is that I think you need to know more than most folks before you throw that word around."

Figure 2. DiFrancesco has indeed distinguished himself with his emphasis on cinematography and "true" documentary-style camerawork.

DiFrancesco's claim to the cinematic title is evidenced in the recognition he's received over the years. DiFrancesco has garnered an impressive array of awards, including an Aurora Award, Videographer Award, Vision Award, VISTA Award, and an AEGIS Award. He's also a Wedding & Event Videography Association (WEVA) Hall of Fame inductee.

Flying Solo

EugeneWorks is aptly named as DiFrancesco mostly works alone. On wedding shoots, he says, "primarily it's me. I do not have a single employee. For production, I'm it."

He does all of his own editing as well. The company never does more than one wedding per day and working alone on a shoot allows him to be as subtle and unobtrusive as possible. "I'm big on being unobtrusive," he says. "I shoot true documentary style. I emphasis the word true because many people tell me they shoot documentary style but when I see their work, I can easily see the shots they set up."

In terms of what creative control he allows his clients, DiFrancesco says, "It's the stuff people don't know is going to happen until their wedding has come and gone that they are most enamored of." For this reason, he doesn't interview his wedding clients extensively before a shoot but prefers to get to know gradually, almost intuitively. "This gives me the ability to read them more subliminally," he says, "and prevents me from opening up that dangerous door: the directorial door. We have a saying: ‘We both have the same goal and that's to make you the best wedding video possible; but only one of us is an expert in the field so let me do what I know how to do.'"

On the corporate and commercial side, DiFrancesco has whole roster of independent producers he works with when a larger crew is needed. This arrangement "works out particularly well," he says, "because once you realize that's how to do it, you also realize that you don't need to buy that teleprompter you've been lusting for; you don't need to buy a camera jib." He says this arrangement also allows him a greater flexibility.

Free Association

That flexibility, in turn, allows DiFrancesco to focus on other aspects of his career. In addition to producing digital video, he currently spends a fair amount of his time as a speaker, both at the National Professional Videographers Association (NPVA) events and the WEVA and 4EVER Group conventions. He also often works for other studios in the capacity of cameraman, lighting cameraman, lighting director, director, and director of photography.

Figure 3. 20 years after he entered the business, Eugene DiFrancesco's digital video production and cinematography company is currently doing a brisk business with an array of corporate, commercial, and wedding clients.

Photography associations are also contracting DiFrancesco to speak at their groups. He spoke last year at the Professional Photographers Association of Massachusetts (PPAM). "It's like any industry--people want to ask the guy who knows," he says. "When it comes to photographers switching over to digital, they've got questions that maybe more suitably answered by someone who has been in video. The reason is that before video went digital it was still an electronic medium. So all the problems that photographers are having now in regards to contrast, decreased latitude, or exposure issues--we had those problems even before we were digital."

DiFrancesco certainly sees himself shooting video for the rest of his life. As he says, "This is the only thing I know how to do." Such modesty belies the momentum of success that has been building around EugeneWorks. It also belies the dedication and talent it takes to succeed in digital video production. Such qualities are essential to success in this business, and Eugene DiFrancesco has them all in spades.

For more information, visit DiFrancesco's website (www.eugeneworks.com).