It’s your film – What to expect
I’m a sucker for movies that hit all the emotions, happy, sad, funny, etc… I think many people like this genre of movies because it pulls you into the experience. If you notice, many of the award winning movies has one or two characters that you, in some way, identify with. It doesn’t mean you are just like them but on some level you identify with something about them. Maybe it is how they interact with someone they have a relationship with, a parent, husband, wife, grandparent, etc.
Since being a wedding cinematographer, I watch movies a little differently. Ever since I was a child I was always interested in photography, so composition is something that I inherently look for. How the camera moves on a dolly shot and the placement of cameras and their angles are all things I look for and study while watching a movie. If a particular scene made me move into the action, I ask myself, why? Why did that particular scene move me? Was it the dialog, the music, the cinematography? Usually it’s not just one thing it is the sum of the parts.
Wedding cinematography is a little different than shooting a movie. Ok it’s a lot different. But our approach is to somehow transfer what you experienced on the wedding day into a film that will help you experience the day again. We like to include dialog where appropriate. The music and camera angles compliment the dialog.
What makes a great wedding film? First it requires the Bride and Groom to just relax and be you around the cameras. If you like photojournalistic photography style, you will like our style. We NEVER put anything in a video that might embarrass someone or get someone in trouble. We once did a love story shoot and the Bride said the proposal was at one restaurant and the Groom said it was at another. In all honesty, the Bride was probably right. Why are women so much better at details? I digress. So the point here is to just relax and let the candidness of the day define the film.
Second, the camera or cameras need to be with you just about everywhere you go. With the exception of a few places (you know what I mean). Just think of us as your bodyguard. The best moments are really captured this way. We always run audio but again, we never want to include something that would embarrass you. We had a Bride once that and she received her wedding day gift from her soon to be husband and said, “I don’t like it”. I found out later that she was concerned we would put that into the film. No way would we ever include that in our finished product.
Third, a timeline really helps us coordinate logistically where and when things are happening and what equipment we will need. This is one of the reasons we like working with wedding coordinators. They tend to keep things well organized and if there are any changes, everyone knows about them.
This next item is so critical to a great wedding film. Lighting. First, we love warm candle lit wedding ceremonies but if that’s all the light there is, you will have a dark, grainy wedding film. This can also have a negative effect on the photographer too. Remember that the photographer needs to focus and to focus you need some light. Be sure to check that you will have some overhead lighting or window lighting. Any ambient light will help. We don’t need a lot but dark is bad for both the videographer and photographer. There are some things we can do ‘in camera’ to help with the lighting like changing the format to a slower frame rate. One of the advantages to outdoor ceremonies is the lighting is usually great to work with. During the reception, we like to use off camera lighting especially for the first dance and father / daughter and mother / son dances. We usually kill these lights when the guest dancing starts.
I guess the bottom line in all of this is that you should have fun, be authentic, keep us and your photographer involved in your day and you will be happy with the end result.
John
www.northernlightfilmworks.com
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