I think I can safely say we’re nearly at the end of wedding season. Fondly referred to by many wedding industry suppliers as ‘Silly Season’.
This means for me that while I have filmed almost half of this year’s weddings, I still have more to go.
But for some suppliers, and I’m talking mostly about videographers and photographers here, our work has hardly even begun.
While, on the day we work our magic, it’s in the edit where your wedding comes alive.
I cannot speak for photographers because I have very little idea of the processes they go through in post production. But for videographers I’d say each wedding takes at least a week to come together in a film. And that’s when we start to edit your film.
When some couples return home from their honeymoon they’re understandably still excited about their day. Some may have already had a ‘sneak peek’ of their photographs; some have seen all of them within weeks of their wedding day.
I appreciate how excited you must be knowing you have a film on the way but I thought it might be nice to explain to those waiting for their films, whoever your videographer might be, what it takes to make beautiful, cinematic wedding films.
And why we appreciate your patience.
For me, I film every wedding as if it were my own. I am true to myself and others and what you see is what you get.
Integrity is a value I hold close to my heart with family, friends and all my beautiful brides and grooms. I will not compromise on quality and capturing the perfect moments and memories of someone’s special day.
The reason I have a 16-20 week lead time in my T&Cs (which may be longer if your wedding was in peak wedding season) is because during the summer months I am filming weddings almost every weekend.
During the week, as well as managing the day-to-day running of my business, I am working hard on the edit to create beautiful wedding films… even when the sun is shining outside.
I edit films in the order they are shot … although some couples choose to pay a premium for their trailer to be edited within a shorter time frame.
There’s also an opportunity to order a sneak peek of your day, a short one-minute film, which some couples book who really cannot wait to see their trailer …
Here’s one I made for Fiona and James who had the chance to look back on their wedding just a day after it was filmed.
Fiona and James // A sneak peek from Story of Your Day.
I know you booked me because I do not adopt a ‘sausage factory’ production process and I am proud to have a personal and business philosophy of ‘integrity without compromise’.
Rest assured when I come to editing your film it will have my undivided attention and it will not be rushed. That way you will have beautiful, timeless and cinematic wedding film that you can enjoy for years to come.
But the work actually starts before your wedding day. After talking through each wedding in detail with each couple and their suppliers I put together a call sheet and then prepare all my kit. Cleaning lenses, charging batteries and formatting card.
The day after each and every wedding I film I back up the footage. On to three separate drives. No matter if that’s a Sunday when I ‘should’ be with my family who’ve usually missed me the day before. I will always do that.
During the week as well as editing each film I also have the day to day running of my business.
Recently, I took my family away to a wedding in Italy so I could combine working away with spending some time with my family. The following week I went on a proper holiday. Just a week. Me and my patient family. No cameras … Well maybe a little one and a go pro ?.
You may wonder why I did this during the wedding season but as well as having to take my boys away during the school holidays I did it for you and for me.
I called it my mid-season recharge. And it did just the trick. I came home fully refreshed and totally ready for the rest of the wedding season to film and the start of the edit season.
When it comes to the edit of each film I am working with, on average, ten hours worth of footage from the day.
I tell your story by finding every single sound bite and moment captured that reflect that. This takes time. Painstaking time and passion.
Almost there.
Now it’s time to colour grade your film and mix the audio perfectly and seamlessly.
All taking time.
In summary, what I am not going to do is rush this to give you or any of my clients a half-baked run-of-the-mill wedding film.
That is not what you invested in.
Your film will be timeless. By that I mean it will stand the test of time. A rushed job will not and can not do that.
So please believe me when I say your film will be worth waiting for.
Believe me that I want to get your beautiful film out there too. Your wedding film is my shop window. The trailers I make are the reason couples book me. They fall in love with my work. Just like you did.
