Lewis, the owner is a great guy. What I like, first, is that the person I talked to (Lewis) is the person that showed up to do the job. He did not sub-contract. Technically, the video was well-edited with smooth, effective transitions. Clearly, he put some thought into it after he went into the editing room. Lewis was also available for consult before the event, which resulted in effective microphone placement for good sound. The informal footage in the front of the video added a real nice touch, and the camera work was good throughout. Bravo to Lewis! read more

Company did not provide the livestream service that I and several families paid for. The camera angle was poor, and the livestream worked for only part of the time Additionally, there were voices from persons in the background for the part of the stream that did show. After several emails, I've been told all sales are final and offered a free video, however I had already paid for the video and there is no confirmation that they intend to refund me the amount I paid. I would absolutely not recommend this company based on the lack of product and service so far. read more

They filmed my daughter's 5th grade culmination ceremony, which was an incredible ceremony with each class performing elaborate dances. My daughter was on the one side during the group dance, and the camera angle wasn't wide enough to capture her for the majority of the dance. The kids on both sides of each group got cut-off. The sound was terrible as well. During the ceremony, we couldn't get good video ourselves because the camera person from A Cut Above was blocking our view. I thought it would be okay since I paid to get the "professional" video. What a joke! This was not professional at all. We missed out on having this very important time in my daughter's life captured properly on video. read more

The video and photo quality is amateur at best. Fixed zoom throughout the entire recital. Poor aperture. The video quality, although at 1080p, looks like VHS. No dynamics. Photos are taken like randomly. It is hard to find a satisfying photo. If the dance studio still uses this vendor for next recital, we will pass next time. read more

It was middle of the week and we needed tables and chairs for a birthday party Saturday. I yelped, and wanted something close to the venue and found these guys. I spoke to Lewis and he quoted out reasonable prices, so decided to go with him. Moments after we spoke the family decided to get a bounce house, so I called back and booked it with them. Day of the party came, and we didn't get the spot we wanted which already had picnic tables, so we were going to be short of seating area. I called Lewis back literally minutes before they were scheduled to drop off the tables/chairs and caught them just in time. He was able to add more tables and chairs and showed up 20 minutes later with everything. Very courteous, no muss no fuss, plain and simple service. Tables, chairs, and bounce house were extremely clean! I've been to some parties where the rented equipment was just filthy to the point I didn't want to go near them which is why I was pleasantly surprised to see the equipment almost crystal clean. Reasonable prices, great service! Would definitely do business with again! read more

If I could give NEGATIVE stars, I would. The service of this production team was so horrible that I felt compelled to write my very first review on Yelp so that I could spare someone else the agony of working with this group. Don't get me wrong, Lewis and his team (ACATRP) are nice people - very friendly. I am a Choir teacher and wanted video of our concerts. I got in touch with the company and they offered to send Warton down to my classroom to talk to me about their service - to videotape and edit a concert video for free, in exchange for promoting their service. Also, bonus, we would receive 10% of their sales profits! Win win, right? The first time I worked with them, I completed the contract with the dates, times and locations of the concerts for the rest of the school year, along with an agreed amount of what we would charge for the dvds. I never got word back from the company, so I assumed that it was too late and that they would no longer be videotaping for us. Because of the lack of contact, I did not promote the videography to my parents. The day of our concert, Lewis and his helpers showed up, ready to videotape. I was surprised, to say the least, but rolled with it, and quickly accomodated their needs for a table and chairs, and access to the sound board. The first event ended fine. The video was fine for our needs. ACATRP actually charged more than we agreed to on the contract - I knew my students would not be able to afford their usual prices, and Warton had assured me that I could charge what I thought was reasonable. I believe this is a big reason why more people did not purchase the video. Our next big concert was on 5/23/14. I received an email from ACATRP on 5/9/14 with the order form and a request to please start promoting sales of the video so that we could maximize our sales. I sent the order form out to the parents, and told them that videotaping would be prohibited because we had a professional videographer. Pre-orders began to arrive. A week before the concert, a woman from ACATRP contacted me to confirm the correct date and time of the performance. I confirmed that she was correct. The day of the show, the company was nowhere to be seen. I was so swamped that I wasn't able to make a phone call to see where their team was. No one showed up. Parents did not bring video cameras as asked, and some came up to me and asked if they could turn in their orders. I was very embarrassed and told them that the company did not show up, and that I was very sorry, but they would not have a video of their child performing. The next day, Saturday, May 24, I received an email from Nicole Taylor at 5:59 pm: "Hi, I'm with A Cut Above. Is your concert still happening tonight or was it cancelled. We're at the schools and no one is there." I told her that the show was the night before. She sent the following: "Hi, there must have been some confusion. Your event was on our schedule for tonight. We sincerely apologize for the mix up." I never received a formal apology from the company. The next week I began sending pre-orders back to parents through their students apologizing for the error. I received a message from yet another employee of ACATRP calling to confirm the show for Friday. She didn't mention a date, so I assumed I was getting a late transfer of a phone call from the front office, since I had already talked to Nicole about how they had missed the correct date of the show. After the following weekend, my colleague and Band Director of our school asked me about a strange videography team that showed up to his concert, was filming his kids backstage, and was hooking up sound equipment to the sound board. I told him the whole story about what happened, and he asked me what the name of the company was, and I told him "A Cut Above The Rest" and he said, yes, that was them. I wrote a letter to the company which I both emailed in pdf form and mailed to them letting them know about their "Comedy of Errors", yet never received any word back. Until yesterday.Yesterday I received a box full of DVDs with our high school name and "Spring Choir Concert 2014". When you view it, the first thing you see is the Band that they mistakenly videotaped one full week after our concert. They didn't contact us back to confirm for the first concert. They didn't charge what we asked for the concert. They confirmed the correct date for the second concert, but they didn't show up and showed up the very next day instead. They didn't apologize formally for missing the concert - which NO ONE filmed, so we have no record whatsoever. They confirm again for another concert that does not exist. They show up to the BAND concert and film that one instead. And then, after my long letter, to add insult to injury, they send me a box full of dvds for a concert that they MISSED of someone else's concert! Honestly, it's like no one in that company talks to one another! SKIP THIS COMPANY! read more

I have contacted this company several time ls by phone to try to get photos and videos I paid for. No one has called me back. No one answers the phone either. Poor service . read more

I had to rent chairs for my wife's birthday party this weekend, and I wanted to see if they could price match some wooden chairs I found online here: http://modernpartyrentals.com/pricelist.html First of all, don't believe that they're able beat any price you find elsewhere- all they're able to do is price match. They will just claim that they're not able to beat the price because their product is "better quality," which is impossible to know because the other company I referenced didn't even mention what kind of wood their chairs are made out of. I've been emailing Lewis the past two days to get a final quote and it's very difficult to communicate through email because he only responds with one sentence answers. Finally, this morning he gives me a quote and I respond in two hours from receipt of that email that I would like to schedule a rental. Six hours go by without any answer, and so I decide to call them to see if it'll be faster to book the rental over the phone. When I call, I tell the girl on the line that I need 26 chairs. After a brief hold she comes back and tells me that Lewis says that all the chairs are fully booked for the weekend! She tells me, "Thanks," and hangs up. I'm still puzzled why he never told me that these chairs were already booked after I first contacted him, or why he would book these chairs the same day he told me they were available. These were the only two possibilities of why the chairs were booked. My only other conclusion is that I didn't rent enough chairs to make it worth Lewis' time and effort. Either way, the more reasonable thing to do would be to check if I responded to the offer before giving it to someone else, or at least email me to let me know that the chairs aren't available. The fact that I had to call to figure this out myself is very upsetting. A Cut Above The Rest is definitely a far cry of what this company is about. Don't waste your time. Feel free to contact me and I'll happily forward you the email exchange I had with Lewis. read more

I hate doing this, I really really do but the TERRIBLE quality of the photos and video they shot for my kids recital leaves me no choice. Spending as much money as we all did and to have the product be so awful is a shame. I could have taken better pictures and I'm not a professional. I tried to call and while the employee Evan was kind and nice while trying to resolve it he wasn't able to get anything from the owner who wouldn't even call back to apologize at the very least or give a refund. I know they won't be using this company anymore and I'm hoping through this review that they will improve. read more

This company was hired as part of a dance competition. We didn't order any pictures or videos at the competition because it was late when we finished and we were tired. So I went to their website after the fact and went ahead and ordered both pictures and a video. I received the DVD of the pictures within the promised time frame (which is like 4-6 weeks - far too long in my opinion, but ok). Didn't get the video and called the company and left a message, no response so I decided to file a dispute with PayPal. About a week after that, I got something in the mail and I thought - yea! Got the video. Nope, another copy of the pictures. So I called again and left another message (and updated the paypal dispute). Finally, someone from the company (Noreen) called me back. She told me first that she couldn't understand my voice message because their system does some kind of translation to a document and it didn't translate right. Seriously, how do you operate your business? Well, after the phone call, I thought it was going to be resolved because Noreen told me she would email me the video. Nope, no video. Instead a couple three days later another voice message from her asking for more information. Not quite sure what else you need. I provided the event, the location and the dance number when we talked and it is also recorded as part of the paypal dispute. Ok, I left another vm. But, doubt they can understand it - remember translation problem with their messaging system. I uUpdated the ticket again in paypal and I'll give it a couple more days before escalating the dispute. One of the few times, I'm glad I used PayPal. Hopefully, they'll get it resolved. May even send a note to the company who hired them for the dance competition. Who knows, maybe others are also experiencing problems and I want them to know so they won't hire these guys again. No good. read more

After countless searches through google I found "A Cut Above the Rest Productions". The name says it all. I contacted the company via email with my order details and expectations. My email was promptly responded to, with all of my questions and concerns answered in great detail. I placed my order, sent over graphics and I was kept up to date until the very end when the package arrived at my door step! Lewis and his team are the absolute best and as a bar manager/ co-owner of an establishment, he went above and beyond to meet and exceed my expectations. I will definitely be calling him again with my next order! 2 Thumbs Up Guys!!! read more

Never have I ever experienced not only such horrible quality media, but such awful customer service! My photos were blurry, my daughter was missing for the most important 13 seconds of her solo on the video and their photographer's timing of photos was terrible!!! After 2 calls, an email and a PayPal dispute I finally got a call back for them to say 'Sorry, all sales are final. I'll speak to my photographer.' Speak to my photographer???? After acknowledging where they made mistakes!!! How does that change the outcome for me, the client that just paid $85 for awful media?!?! These people should be ashamed of themselves and Fusion Dance should drop them immediately! Don't waste your money! Your toddler could do a better job than this hired "production company". Absolutely disgusting! Shame on them!!! read more

Lewis did my headshots and I couldn't be happier! Here's why I liked Lewis and A Cut Above the Rest. The service: -Making an appointment - he was extremely flexible and accommodating to my schedule -When I arrived, everything was set up and ready to go (lights, backdrop, camera, etc.) -My pictures were emailed to me within hours of the shoot -Lewis himself was very friendly and professional The actual pictures: -Pictures looked great! -Lots of pictures to choose from, with many good options -He edited them on the spot - which meant I could give input into things I liked or didn't like Overall, great service and speed. Glad I opted for a professional. Would recommend! read more

I hired Lewis and his team for our first on-site graduation ceremony (LILA - Burbank Campus) and I was thrilled with not only the look, but the service as well! We did a pipe and drape set up with LED lighting that looked fantastic, and we had them install our seating with chair covers and coordinated bows - it was all awesome. Not only did they arrive right on time to help us set up, but they broke everything down and loaded themselves up to go as well! The photobooth (and the people who ran it) were awesome, the kids/parents/staff had a great time and loved their pictures. Overall - A Cut Above The Rest Productions was a fantastic one-stop-shop for us and I highly recommend their services. *high five read more

Update Even worse than the digital photos that were drop box emailed were the printed photos, were the printed photos via Costco. Very expensive recital 2 set blue ray DVD, sent out one with the wrong images, and the other was unplayable. Duplicate copies promised waiting for response. May be time to file BBB complaints. read more

Lewis did the video for our wedding in December 2013. It took him six months to finally produce a completed video. He rates poor with communication. We would ask him for updates, he wouldn't respond. It was only when we threatened legal action six months after the wedding did he finally respond to our emails, and even then, no apologies. We asked him specifically for video of my husband's side of the family, interviews, etc, when we met w/ him, along with our wedding coordinator and DJ. We showed him photos of importance people. He never clarified that day, or had any questions for us (which would have shown some type of interest or confirming exactly what we needed). In the end, he has the video of my family being interviewed, with almost nothing on my husband's side (no interviews, not even from his mother, although they interviewed mine, and my father, brother, sister-in-law, etc., all in the video). The final video (sadly missing important people) seemed good, for what he had though, it put a bad bad taste in our mouth, as he provided poor customer service, poor communication, never returned emails. We would not recommended. read more

Our elementary school used them for their culmination. The quality was terrible and the sound was terrible. So sad I did not record this special occasion myself. I would not recommend!!!!! read more

We used Lewis for our daughter's Bat Mitzvah and he was great. He was everywhere during the party. I could always see he was in the right place to capture the moments. Great to work with. Would recommend. read more

Amazing services! Building a website for me and it has been coming out amazing. Taken me so long to gather info and with the business of life I've been slow and delivering. The owners have had nothing but patience with me. Not making me feel rushed and producing just what I want. Highly recommend. read more

They did screw up the editing on our recital video but once I made contact they said they would send out one with the editing errors corrected,and they did. They did a good job read more

Poor Customer Service. We have purchased DVD/Videos from them in the past of high school dance productions and always received a DVD. When we did so again this year, but we were told via email it would be a video download. We did not want the video download, but a DVD. We asked for a DVD and were told "No" that we would have to convert the file and burn our own DVD. Last year they charged $35 for a DVD, and this year $50 for an MP4 file. Almost 50% more for less work!!! When we told them we aren't very "computer savvy" and would really like a DVD (that is how we watch movies and store our keepsakes - like our kids performances) Sam refused. I won't be purchasing from them again. You lost a customer. read more

They did an amazing job for my recital. Their email communication is extremely professional and prompt. Not only were they on time for my company's dance recital but they were 30 minutes early. They were able to get everything set up with minimal assistance from me and provided easy links and forms to enable easy dvd orders from my clients. The dvds were also beautifully covered with my logo and dvd cover graphics. The show was recorded to my satisfaction, showcasing all the dancers and maintaining a wide shot. The sound was great as well!!! I am looking forward to working with them throughout my yearly dance recitals and would definitely highly recommend them! read more

When it comes to producing a video what A Cut Above does better than anyone else is listen. They listen to what you want and then they deliver. The qualify of the camera work is only exceeded by the creativity of the editing. Lewis has this uncanny abiility to shoot a lot of footage and then know when he's got what he edits. His use of music and the pace in which his videos move is well worth his fees. It's money well spent. read more

Lewis is awesome and so professional. He was on point with all my photos and got them to me in the rush time that I needed them for my daughters birthday party! I'll be using him next year! read more

Lewis, owner of A Cut Above the Rest, has been instrumental in filming and editing pieces for my daughter's music portfolio for college applications. He is professional, punctual, offered key advice on filming, and followed instructions beautifully in assisting us in following portfolio requirements for each school's submission requirements. Turnaround time was fast and his fees are very reasonable and competitive. His company also filmed Agoura High School's spring dance concert for the past few years which is how we initially discovered him. So grateful he has been there for us! How lucky are we! Thank you Lewis!!! read more

This company is the absolute worst. It's been 6 months and still no dvds or blu rays or even a date to have these shipped. I just keep getting an apology and thanks for your patience response. Very unprofessional and would not use them for any event as everyone can see I'm not the only one that hasn't received what they paid for. At this point I think we've all been scammed out of money. I'll also be filing a complaint with the BBB. read more

Lewis is amazing! His team worked on a special project for me. They were able to get great shots in less than the time scheduled, and put together a TV worthy final project the same day. Unheard of from any other production company. I would recommend A Cut Above the Rest to anyone who wants professional, creative and timely video productions. Thanks guys for such excellent work. I look forward to working with you again. read more

They were at my daughters dance competition over the weekend and with my daughters solo they had captured just a couple really good shots. I wish there was more but I would say for the price it was worth it! Very reasonable pricing! They were friendly at the table helping us. My only problem was there was only 1 laptop for everyone to view photos on! More computers would've been nice. Overall good quality and great pricing and easy to work with! read more

Anybody planning a wedding knows that wedding expenses can add up so easily. My husband and I never intended to have a videographer for our big day. We both thought that it would be an unnecessary expense considering we already had a photographer and a flipbook station. We are BEYOND relieved that we decided to add a videographer for our wedding and reception. On top of that we were absolutely fortunate to have Lewis from A Cut Above the Rest Productions work with us on our big day. All of our married friends warned us that our wedding day would go by in a flash, and they were not kidding! We were in such a blissful daze throughout that we couldn't possibly see and enjoy every special moment from that day. Thankfully we had Lewis there to capture those moments at our wedding and reception. He did such a FANTASTIC job putting together our wedding video AND surprised us with a beautiful wedding highlights video! Lewis was such a pleasure to work with, and he must be some sort of ninja because he was able to capture special moments without being intrusive at all. My husband is a bit camera shy, and most of the time he didn't even realize that Lewis and his camera were there! Even after the wedding, Lewis was always so quick to respond to all of my emails. He impressed my husband and me whenever I would send him late night emails (I'm a night owl), and Lewis would respond within minutes. Honestly, Lewis is super considerate and very accommodating. Most importantly he is a man of his word. If he tells you that he will have your video ready by a certain date, you better believe that he will have it done and shipped out to meet that deadline. Our videographer was definitely worth every penny, and after seeing the high quality work that Lewis did for us we wouldn't have hesitated to pay more. If any couple out there is still debating on whether or not a videographer is a necessity, then my humble opinion would be, "Absolutely! Without hesitation, Yes!" Think about it this way, your wedding will be one of the most important (and expensive) days of your life so don't you want to be able to relive it and enjoy it whenever you wished?! Having a wedding video (by Lewis from A Cut Above the Rest, of course) will let you do just that! read more

Less than one star. You cashed my check on 4/6/17, for photos of my daughter at her dance studio in Plainview NY. I have called for months now, I have spoken with your assistant, left msgs., emailed you. NO RESPONSE. I am not the only one with this problem, from this particular dance studio. JUST REFUND MY MONEY - terrible customer service. Seriously unbelievable at this day and age. read more

Lewis and his staff are amazing!!! We've used them for multiple events and the results are very consistent. Always friendly and able to work with us no matter what type of event or location. The video is always excellent quality and they also do party rentals. So, we can get multiple things from them which makes things a lot easier! read more

We were referred to Lewis first in January because we were hosting a movie screening at our center and were looking to rent the necessary equipment. He was, by far, the most reasonable of all the companies that we talked to, and so very professional, punctual, and helpful. Since then, we have used his services for another screening, as well as in designing and printing postcards for our various events. We can honestly say that A Cut Above The Rest Productions is an all around good company to have by any business' side. Thank you Lewis. read more

Hate this company. I feel like they have no idea what they're doing at this business. The sales associates are awful! A female named Lexy answers the phone and doesn't know anything about what she's talking about nor how to handle customers. Seems as if the owner is a teenage boy and the sales associates are as well. I DO NOT recommend this company for anything. Bad quality. Bad service and way over priced. The owner is a prick and is money hungry which puts the icing on the cake. A cut above the rest productions had filmed my child's culmination and I had paid for it via Paypal. After a month of not receiving the DVD I gave them a call a girl (Lexy) had said she would send my DVD again and she verified my information. Her excuse was "it was probably lost in the mail!" Another month had gone by and still nothing. I had called back and asked to speak with Lewis and apparently he wasn't available and that she would take a message and call me back. That "callback" never happened it had been a total of 3 months before I personally asked Lewis (the owner) to drive to my house and deliver my DVD. I notified the school of the difficulties I had and they had agreed that I was not the only one complaining. read more

I used A Cut Above the Rest for party rentals this past weekend. I was stressed out because my boss had asked me to come up with a new idea for our Holiday Party this year (we normally rent out a small, private bowling alley) and my budget for this party is teensy-weeny so I had no clue what to do. I remembered meeting Lewis at a business mixer and I called him up to see what it would cost to rent a tent. He totally worked within my budget and I was able to throw a magical holiday party in our company parking lot by renting a 20' x 30' tent, black AstroTurf, tables, chairs, linens, a small sound system, heat lamps, lights, and twinkle lights. Lewis was in touch with me through the process, his crew was there nice and early to set up the tent and everything came together beautifully. Aside from his help I bought some pretty Poinsettias for centerpieces, hired a lovely duo to perform live music, and catered in some food from a local deli, but the space was just perfect and totally transformed our parking lot into the winter wonderland I had hoped for. My boss was totally impressed and loved the party. We'll definitely be using A Cut Above the Rest again because they were professional, timely, affordable, and I really couldn't have asked for better service or rentals. A+++ read more

You're only getting one star because I can't give zero and make a review. I purchased video and photo dvds for my daughter's dance recital back in June. I was told roughly a 5 week turn around. About six weeks later I checked in and was told it was be out in 3 more weeks....over 3 more weeks went by and I checked in and was told a few more weeks...and that they kept encountering roadblock after roadblock to get it done.....Ummmmm....you have the footage or don't you? Really seems like it was their first time at this, or that I should be expecting some amazing product....more weeks went by and then again I was told almost done. Cowards wouldn't write me back when I told them it was unacceptable and they should be asking how to make it right. Finally got it this past week. Took until the last week of October to receive when the recital was the beginning of June. And the quality sucks. So disappointed. I urge anyone and everyone to stay away from this company, unless you like disappointment. And you guys should really change your name because it's false advertisement. How about "Mediocre and Far from the Best" read more

I have used A Cut Above the Rest Productions for many of our dance shows. He gets the job done. He is on time, knows his equipment and above all captured all the performances the way I wanted: close up when it was appropriate and wide shot when it was necessary. The quality of the film was very good as well as the sound because his equipment was appropriate for the event. It takes 4 weeks to get the product, but I understand that there is editing to do and this takes time. A rush job is always noticeable. I put my stamp of approval on A Cut Above the Rest Productions. read more

Lewis met our regional sales rep at a local client and produced 2 short customer testimonial videos. We have an industrial product so nothing to glamorous. I would use A Cut Above the Rest Productions again if I needed a similar project in California. read more

This company runs a poor business which has little regard for what its clients actually want. I attended a school dance event where parents were told video recording was not allowed but that professional video DVDs were available at the show from a vendor. There was no mention that any photos would be available by a completely different vendor. A Cut Above had its table right at the front entrance of the event, and I purchased a DVD for cash while rushing into the event. When I received the DVD, it contained only photos, no video. When I explained the context and tried to return the DVD for an exchange, the company stated in substance "too bad - you should have read our contract more closely." To some extent that is true, but the company took advantage of parents to mislead them in a context where only video DVD was expected. I am sure the company will have other excuses, however, be warned, with this outfit it's their way or the highway - the customer is never right. read more