We made a decision a while back to start thinking of our selves as “Filmmakers” rather than “Videographers.” Is there something magic about that title that transformed our work into Cinema? No, but it served as a constant reminder to us about what we wanted to focus on. It set our creative souls at rest, and allowed us to stop always comparing our work to others and worrying about how it would fit into the market.

You see a documentary filmmaker, or at least a good one:), is not doing the same product over and over again. They take on subjects and try to display that particular subject matter in the best way they can to the world. Each documentary is unique because what it is about is unique and the filmmakers view of it is unique.  Yet, it connects us all because it is about human themes and truth in our world.

So, how does this apply to a wedding?

It is very easy to forget that there is a wonderful thing going on in front of us as wedding videographers or photographers. There is a commitment being made between two people that is one of the biggest commitments that we as human beings can make! Young love is committing to become old love…together. That is amazing!

Think about the layers and complexity of this for a second. This story is about the couple to be sure, but it is also the most public thing the couple is likely to do. There friends and family are there to “witness” this promise. This is about some of the most base and common aspects of life (doing the dishes, maintaining a house, etc.) married to the most holy and sacred images we ever hold before our mind; this union is compared to the union that Christ has with the church! It is a celebration, a party that looks ahead to the fights and difficulties that lie ahead in the long life of the marriage and says remember this time, this commitment before your family, friends, and God and hold it as an anchor in the coming storms of life.

This activity is so rich with meaning!

The Problems We Were Fighting as Videographers

The problem we had before we decided to commit to being filmmakers is that it is very easy to start viewing what you do with weddings as the final product. What I mean is you look at that highlights video or that ceremony coverage and say ok that took me this long to do how much should I charge. Or worse how much does X company charge and what did they do. The pull is to make this an assembly line. I get ABC shots and I can make a video.

The problem is that every time that video comes off the assembly line it is a bit more lifeless. It is kind of like the image that you make a copy of a copy of a copy of. The video is about love and the wedding but it can feel disconnected to the real people that you are shooting.

We would end up losing a lot of the complexity of what is going on.  If we only are able to talk about love and marriage in general terms but we do not make the connection to this particular love story, then the video feels flat to us. It will not bring to us a true feeling of young love committing to be old love unless it can connect these two real people to the general ideas.

How do we do this?

We have to pay attention. One of my favorite quotes is “the first act of love is the giving of attention” – Dallas Willard. When we capture a wedding we need to be willing to give our attention the the couple and their love story. It is important for us to tell it well so that when they, or anyone else, watches it the film can be true to the awesome and rich commitment it was.

There are enough poor love stories and cold analytical realities that lower our view of marriage. As wedding filmmakers we are given the privilege of documenting the rich and glorious nature of what is really going on, and hopefully elevating the feeling of marriage.

This is being real, this is paying attention, this is telling a good love story:)

Reminding ourselves to pay attention

This is why we are calling ourselves Filmmakers, why it is up on our website and why we are saying it to you. Because we want to hold ourselves accountable to take this seriously. We want to remember the responsibility we have capturing weddings. We want to be challenged by ourselves and everyone around us to create art from the weddings we cover.

We hope that the films we make will help the bride and groom through their married life. At least as much as it helps us in our married life to make them:) And we also hope that, in as much as the wedding itself is public, for the edification of the couple and the audience, we hope that the wedding films will be able to be more than home video. We hope that, as art, they can communicate the wonderful story of this commitment to whoever sees them.

The Ceremony

There is something sacred about the wedding ceremony in its’ entirety. Being able to watch it again and hear the words of exhortation that may not have sunk in that day just because of all the nerves…listening to the specific vows you made to each other…hearing the music you chose…all of the special details you carefully planned to honor your coming together as one.

We’ve found that it has been great for our marriage to spend so much time with so many wedding ceremonies. Your own ceremony can serve as a great reminder of your commitment in the rough times. To hear those words of encouragement and to hear the sincerity in your spouse’s voice as they spoke their vows to you and to hear the vows you spoke and ask yourself if you are still honoring them. We really believe that watching your ceremony together regularly (valentine’s day or on your anniversary, perhaps) is a great way to keep that tenderness toward each other and always remember your first love for each other.

The Wedding Film

Our wedding films are much shorter but, we feel, have even greater potential to remind you of the emotions of your day and is a more practical, entertaining way to share your wedding with others. We carefully craft your film to tell your unique story in just a few minutes. These are what you will find examples of here on our website. Please take a moment to watch a few if you haven’t yet. We love condensing and layering the most meaningful aspects of your day into a captivating film that is both powerful and practical. It is a great way to share and celebrate your wedding with loved ones that weren’t able to make it and a fun way to share it again on anniversaries. It can also be a regular reminder to yourselves without the time commitment of sitting down to watch the full ceremony.

We spend a lot of time searching for music, sound bytes, and images for your film. Alone, they may not make the average viewer/listener feel anything but, when layered together, your film has the power to draw in its’ viewers to celebrate your love with you even if they don’t know you personally. We find this incredibly rewarding and worth every minute of labor we spend mulling over and reworking each film until it speaks to us the same story of your love that we were so privileged to come and witness. :)

Ok so the trend in our industry is to use DSLR cameras to capture video. Just so you know if we are going to shoot your wedding we will not have any video camcorders:) but not to worry, this has become the trend only because of the remarkable boost in quality they provide. They out perform their video counterparts in low light and expand the creative pallet allowing for cinematic movements and looks that are just not possible with conventional video equipment.

Oh yeah and they also take great still photographs :)

But even though we will be armed with multiple cameras capable of taking great pictures… we will likely not take any.  Why?

Well the short answer is… because we will be too busy taking video:) But seriously, it is no small thing to change your artistic eye away from thinking in the language of filmmaking into the language of the still image.

The Language of Filmmaking

Filmmaking in all its forms, from the most scripted to the most avaunt guard is about flow and layering. It is about putting things next to and with each other to create context and add meaning. And doing all of this in a way that flows in time. We play with pacing and rhythm and repetition of themes.

While this is possible to a lesser extent with layout in a photo montage other aspects of Filmmaking are alien if not opposite to photography.

For example a huge part of filmmaking is the movement of the camera. Where photography shares framing and composition, only film can add the 3rd dimension of movement. This movement can add a whole new feel and meaning to the content.

Focus is also something that can change over time and add or change meaning. the photographer can make this decision once for any shot, but the filmmaker is constantly making this decision as the action unfolds.

There are technical differences as well from flashes vs. constant light, to tripods and support but in my mind the real difference is that the photographer aims to capture a moment by stopping time and the filmmaker lets the time flow in a myriad of ways.

Which is Better

Oh no, no young grasshopper, that is not the right question:)  We love great photography, there is a beauty to the moment frozen in time that is unlike any other art. One does not ask if sculpting is better than panting, or if live theater is better than movies. They are different arts, wonderful in their own way if done well.

We are filmmakers and we realize that to do wedding photography we would either need to have some people on our team just do that or bring in more people to focus on photography. They are so different in philosophy that we believe it is not a good idea for us to try and do both at the same time.

This is why we love to recommend our great photographer friends. They have a passion to speak the language of the still image.