Life Times owner Ben Sierakowski came from a family that was very involved with photography and super 8. His parents loved art and photography and both had a keen eye for detail. His grandfather had a home cinema and edit suite set up way back in the early 70’s. Ben started playing with super 8 and photographic cameras from the age of 8 years. He always had a camera in his hands at family parties.
Photography became a passion for Ben who later enrolled at a Melbourne University Art Photography course as a teenager. There he studied B&W photography and dark room techniques. After completing high school he studied Photography at Victoria University. While at Victoria University Ben enrolled in some Drama courses, which spurred an interest in the moving image, and in 1991 he became interested in the V.C.A. Film and Television Degree.
The V.C.A. selection process was rigorous. Out of 3600 applicants only 16 were chosen, and Ben was one of them. Ben made 13 short films during this 3 year course and won a major award recognizing his talent and efforts. His graduating film was distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand. He subsequently went on to work in the film industry.
After a couple of years in the film industry Ben decided to develop his own production company and produce his own high-quality work. Belle Epoque Video Productions was born in 1994. With the advent of the web the name was changed to Life Video in 2001 to make it less ‘typo-prone’. After several years of hard work shooting and editing weddings and events Ben directed, shot and edited a documentary that won the 2003 St. Kilda Film Festival Best Documentary. By this time, however, weddings had become his passion and a whole new world had opened to him. Gone were the days of boring wedding videos. Now Ben could use all of his training to create with total freedom and in a fun atmosphere. The nail in the coffin for Ben’s film making aspirations was in 2004 when Ben made a short film geared at the Film Festivals. He found the process stilted and contrived and realized that working with weddings and events was so much more fulfilling. Why create something fake when the real thing is so much more interesting?
By this stage Life Video had won three national awards for Best Wedding Video and had come second place worldwide on two occasions. The addition of Rayna Thomas and Robert Moya as editors, both Rusden Graduates, enabled the business grow in size and efficiency. Adding professional Film and Television production techniques into event video production boosted quality and service. The spirit of the wedding or event was never lost. Ben’s Film and Television background and directing experience also meant that he was aware of how to bring out people's personalities without having them appear as ‘fake’.
Stemming from his early interest and professional training in photography, Ben decided to expand his business in 2005 to include photography. This led to the third name-change: Life Times Photography and Video. Ben recruited Anthony Milnes (whom he met in an airport lounge while on the way to shoot a wedding in Perth). Anthony was flying to Sydney to shoot a wedding. An instant rapport was formed and they remain a dynamic team today. Damain Vincenzi, an RMIT photography graduate and an assistant for some of Melbourne’s top photographers over the years, also joined the team. Damian’s experience in photography, Photoshop techniques and album production is invaluable.
In 2006 the Life Times Video wing received another national award for Best Wedding Video. Ben also welcomed the arrival of his first child Hugo during the same year. This naturally spurred an interest in children’s portraits, which Ben has found extremely enjoyable and fulfilling. Also in 2006, Matt Weedon and Jaime McDowell joined the video crew. Matt’s several years experience working for another studio offered fresh perspective and his skill with additional software and technical expertise added a new dimension to our capabilities. Jaime, an RMIT graduate, has skills in both photography and video which makes him extremely versatile. Jaime has a lovely and disarming nature which allows him to ‘fit in’ and take beautiful, candid footage.
In 2008 we were joined by Foti Vironis, a La Trobe Cinema Studies and NMIT Corporate Video Production graduate, and experienced wedding videographer and editor with 11 years experience in the industry. For the last three years Foti has also been training as a wedding photographer which has added depth to his skill base.
Over the years we have shot many major events, including the weddings of Rebecca Gibney, Sarah Wynter, Tara Moss, as well as the cream of Melbourne’s society. As a studio we offer a diverse range of styles and services. Our service structure is personalized, so you deal directly with the person shooting, editing, or photoshopping for you. We aim for excellence and our satisfaction is not just monetary; it is in creating and perfecting the work itself.
