Our experience filming weddings for over 16 years has taught us a thing or two about what belongs in your wedding film and what definitely doesn't. When you're looking to hire and wedding videographer you will spend a lot of time watching other couples wedding films. You'll probably get a feeling right away if that film is good or not. And if you've never watched a lot of wedding films before you might not be sure why you like it or not. Below is our wedding video checklist. It's our take on what makes a great wedding film.
Authentic emotional moments.
By far the most important element of your wedding film is that you see and feel the emotions you felt on your wedding day. A good wedding videographer is always looking for those moments. They know real emotion isn't staged and can happen on the drop of a dime. (and is ready to capture it!)
Laughter and tears.
Everyone loves to see the tears down a groom's cheek as his bride is revealed to him. But, alongs with tears your wedding is a celebration filled with laughter and cheer. A good wedding film traverses both emotion with ease throughout his film.
Drone cinematography
When it comes to crafting a cinematic wedding film, there's nothing quite like an aerial video to provide a spectacular perspective of your wedding day.
Sound bites from your vows,letters, and speeches.
Storytelling is the art of filmmaking. The words spoken on your wedding day provide the backbone of your film and make it "YOUR" story.
Shallow Depth of Field
All hollywood films use this technique to create seperation and draw the viewers eye. We use vintage lens that give the image character and softness that helps balance the detail of a 4k image.
Music and Ambient sound
A good wedding film knows the picture is only half of the experience. Ambient audio from various locations on your wedding day can be mixed with music that suit your tastes. A good videographer is going to ask you your musical preferences and deliver a film that reflects your tastes.
Timelapse photography.
This photography trick take thousands of photos over 1-2 hours and condenses that down to just 10 seconds. This tool creates nice visual transitions in your wedding film.
4k resolution.
All cameras are now capable of filming at 4k resolution. Your film should not only be filmed in 4k but also delivered in 4k. This standard make sure your film is seen at the highest quality and also future proofs your film.
Color grading with film emulation LUTs.
A good color grade is ecential to a beautiful looking wedding film. This skill alone takes many years to master. Good films will have true to life skin tones and natural looking colors. To get an even more authentic "film" look we use real film grain in the color grade. This helps with reducing the harsh detail that some modern digital cameras introduce.
And here's a few Red Flags you might encounter in a wedding film that is BAD.
The first shot is of the brides shoes or random flowers.
Empty spaces. (A few details are nice but the story is better told when the spaces have your people in them)
Rambling speeches. (Our job as the editor is to cull down and craft a story, not just plop and speech in the middle of your film)
No storytelling.
Poorly filmed images and colors that look off.
Filled with forced or posed shots that lack emotion.
Thanks for taking a look at what we think make a great wedding film. We also consider wedding films to be art just like any other and that everyone's entitled to their opition on what makes good art. At the end of the day if you watch a wedding videographer's work and it resinates with you then that should be the videographer you hire for your wedding.
And if you'd like to learn more about our films don't hesistate to reach out.
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