By Ted Coats, Wedding Videographer, Moving Pictures, Inc.
Okay Boys- get your Groom on! Your Bride went nuts thinking about your wedding cinematic keepsake with Ted as your wedding videographer, in our recent article “Hire a storyteller for your wedding videographer”. Now you guys get to have some fun as Ted shares some of the wedding videographer technical components and high-end equipment needed to make it all happen.
PERSPECTIVE
The wedding videographer needs to shoot multiple cameras (usually 3) to allow the audience to experience the wedding ceremony from the ideal viewpoint. A wide shot can establish the context of the beautiful venue while cameras flanking the wedding party provide compelling close-ups of the action and reactions. For a wedding videographer to tell a story cinematically, it is extremely important to have perspectives beyond that of a seated attendee. Dual cameras allow the audience to see and hear the toast-maker while simultaneously capturing the reactions to the heartfelt words. A well-crafted wedding film allows the audience an “All Access” pass for the entirety of the wedding day.
SOUNDTRACK
Wedding Photography and videography are always important ways to preserve the memories of a wedding day but the soundtrack is often overlooked. No matter how beautiful the imagery, the cinematic story will either be enriched or diminished depending on the quality of the audio. A wedding videographer with an effective soundtrack can artistically “layer” voice, music, and natural sound to support the story, not just rely on a popular song to carry the emotion of the piece.
EDITING
After capturing numerous wedding day activities on video, the wedding videographer has critical storytelling work to do in the editing room. All stories have a beginning, middle, and end but it doesn’t need to be presented in chronological order. It’s often preferable to intermix the timeline structure to move the story forward without being predictable. While there is value in having a real-time version of the full ceremony for a select few, a 5-15 minute cinematic film is created for a larger audience that a skilled wedding videographer weaves together with the key events of the day. The desired result is a heartfelt, entertaining movie that uniquely celebrates you and your wedding day story.
EQUIPMENT
High-quality, cinematic wedding films should be shot by a wedding videographer on professional DSLR cameras (Digital Single Lens Reflex) in order to achieve the shallow depth-of-field aesthetic once reserved for Hollywood. They can shoot at 24 frames per second… the long established Hollywood movie standard and at full HD resolution (1920×1080 progressive frames). By comparison, the “television news look” is 30 frames per second in an “interlaced” format. Yes, all this wedding videographer “tech” jargon results in a cinematic look but it’s only meaningful if used as a storytelling tool in the hands of a talented operator.
LOGISTICS
Your wedding videographer “filmmaker” will also want to be a partner with your wedding planning team. He or she needs to anticipate and coordinate well in advance to be the most effective… just as any other wedding vendor. Successfully capturing the memories of the wedding day is planning to be “at the right place, at the right time” and communicating needs so others can assist in the effort. It also means the wedding videographer respecting the work of other wedding vendors… particularly the photography team… since they will be “sharing you” throughout the wedding day.
SUMMARY
The goal of the wedding videographer is to make a timeless film that is unique as the couple it represents… not interchangeable with other wedding videos. Entrusting the right wedding videographer to capture your wedding day is crucial. By choosing to invest in a wedding videographer filmmaker that takes a cinematic storytelling approach vs. an event coverage approach, you will be giving yourself and your family a unique gift that will be a delight and a family treasure for decades to come.
4548 Greenthread Ct.
Zionsville, IN
(317) 753-9331
Ted’s high-end equipment also came in quite handy when he was recently taking pictures for the Super bowl! Remember guys, this is no “mix tape” that your wedding videographer is making. This is your “Super bowl”- get your game on with a wedding videographer that knows how to capture all your best moves and lets you share the replays in the seasons to come. Score big with Ted Coats as your Wedding Videographer today!
