Sundance Video is owned and operated by former entertainers, Buzz and Toni Wolfe. Former might not be an accurate assessment. Buzz bowed out of professional dancing in the mid 90's as he turned his talents to video, but the dancer is still there even when he walks across a room or animates a conversation. Toni, his partner and wife, is a fantastic singer. But there's more to their story ...

Tara Foy (internationally known ballet mistress) and Buzz were adagio dance partners in 1988, in a show called "Hitz." "We started to videotape ourselves doing routines to check our progress. I decided to create an MTV style video of us just for fun and to possibly submit for future work (video resume). When I began working at the "Lido" in 1989, I showed the video to the cast backstage. The ice-skating adagio team asked me "How much to make us a video like that?" Sundance Video was born.

It was local dancer and Toni's friend, Jayne Samuels, who told Toni about making a video through Sundance. She did, and shortly thereafter (three weeks to be exact) Toni and Buzz were married. Ironically, the two had traveled in the same show biz circles but had never met. Buzz hails from East Liverpool, Ohio and Toni is Vegas-born. They now raise two loveable shih-tzu puppies.

The key point is that when it comes to video, Buzz and Toni know entertainment. "We know dancers, musicians, entertainers of all types, and producers ... we know what they need," Toni says. "We were entertainers first," Buzz adds. Buzz then rattles off a list of shows he has danced in: Alakazaam and Country Tonite at the Aladdin; Legends In Concert at the Imperial Palace; Lido De Paris at the Stardust and many more.

Toni performed in various bands, showbands and production shows around Las Vegas. Her shows include Country Tonite at the Aladdin, Legends In Concert at the Imperial Palace, her own Top 40 Production Show and doing impersonations of Madonna and Gloria Estefan all over the world.

Their focus is Sundance Video, specializing in video editing. They shoot and produce as well, but because of the sheer number of national and local clients, most of their time is spent in the editing room. Buzz shoots on Betacam SP and Mini DV/DVCAM and uses Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, Sound Forge and many other programs in the editing suite.

"We can edit from Betacam SP, MiniDV, DVCAM, SVHS, VHS, Hi8 and 8mm video," Buzz says. "Most clients request broadcast quality," he adds, "but don't always have the budget to pay broadcast prices." Buzz's broadcast and corporate clients needing television commercials and infomercials need the high-end quality.

Types of projects include promos, commercials, infomercials, docudramas and a variety of other video projects. Sundance provides other services such as DVD production, graphic design, website creation and audio editing. "We do record voiceovers right here in the studio. I can also work with pre-recorded voiceovers," Buzz says. Sundance has special effects capability for use in both client videos and movie trailers.

Sundance also uses chromakey for shoots. Chromakey is a technique for shooting footage over a blue or green screen, which is then edited from the footage and replaced with a different background shot. A familiar example is a weather forecaster "composited" over a weather map, which allows for greater control of the image.

Sundance has shot, produced, and edited video for numerous clients ranging from choreographers like Minnie Madden (publisher of CALLBACK) to magicians, singers, dancers, bands, and show producers. Sundance has been developing corporate clients as well, such as Heli USA, National Association of Home Builders and BAR/BRI (Nevada Bar Review Lecture videos).

Many performers are still unaware of the advantages of having their own videos and particularly having their videos viewable online. Sundance designs websites and offers other online services like streaming video (in Windows Media and Real Player formats) and Flash Animation. Again, knowing the needs of entertainers and entertainment professionals is critical in designing the right kind of website. Sundance offers a variety of web packages. For more information and samples of websites designed by Sundance, see the Sundance website at www.sundancevideoonline.com.

As markets shift, performers look for work where they can get it. Shipping out standard press kits is becoming antiquated. Having the right video and website can prove critical to ease of access from prospective employers. Plus, Sundance can upload files on the "fly," which means if a client wants to see something "now," they can. Sundance has many out of state clients, such as Jean Ann Ryan Productions in Florida, and edits are watched and approved over the Internet.

What Sundance does is a synergy of both art and science. They know entertainment and they know technology. "Part of the joy of editing is watching the clients project take shape," Buzz adds. "As the clients watch their video develop in the editing suite, their confidence begins to reach higher levels."