Your wedding is one day that you’ll be reminiscing about for years to come, a fact that makes choosing a professional photographer an integral part of your pre-wedding preparations.
Videography however is fast becoming a priority for many marrying couples who look forward to sharing their special day with loved ones, including future children and grandchildren.
The perfect way to relive your special day, photography and videography are now working together in harmony on the wedding scene. With photography capturing the spectacular stills of all those moments you shared as newlyweds and video completing these special memories with the words and emotions that trigger all five senses.
Making a great video however isn’t easy, especially when you only get one take on your wedding day. Multi award winning video expert Tim Davies of Rediscover Media certainly knows a thing or two about creating stunning videos, and has done for some of the biggest and best international and national brands around, including Gower’s very own Oldwalls and Fairyhill. Here the creative video production specialist shares his secrets so you can plan, execute and enjoy a truly amazing video of your wedding…
How much footage do you really need to create a great video?
“There are no set rules regarding the length of raw footage. When shooting all day, the real nugget is in the quality of the editing and the special effects, not to mention ensuring creativity at every stage. When filming, it’s all about how the camera moves, which angles you put it in, how you use natural light and the reactions that you document. All of these things will give your film a distinct look. Then with editing it’s about how well it’s put together – do the shots flow? Is it all exposed and coloured correctly? Does the soundtrack fit? 650GB of footage shot over the course of one day will produce a one-off wedding video edited down to 7 minutes. This is twice as much footage as a national advert.”
When shooting, how can I ensure that authenticity is captured and retained?
“When you’re given the job to capture any event, authenticity is key. You want to go unnoticed, capturing those natural moments like a laugh, smile or cry. This is very challenging as you need to somewhat try and predict what people may do and get the camera setup, focused and exposed to capture the shot perfectly. Generally, when filming events you end up with tons of footage hoping something may happen at any given moment.”
What angles should we aim to cover and why?
“Weddings are some of the longest shoot days you can do so it’s worth asking what time your videographer will start and what time they will leave. From getting ready in the morning to first dances averages at about 12 hours. Be sure to look after your crew by providing meals as your shots will deteriorate if they’re hungry or not rested. Also ask them what ideas they have for the film and how it will be different from others, not being afraid to ask for examples of said approach.”
Can I contribute my own ideas? Where does your inspiration come from?
“Your videographer should always be open to ideas from you as a client, after all it’s your special day. My ideas spark from several variables, including the client’s input, the location and the time of year we’re filming. Fairyhill has been a great client to collaborate with, giving me freedom to see my own ideas come to life with the magnificent setting of Gower as their backdrop, whilst providing their own inspiration. Our latest video (above) saw us portray the ‘Something Old, Something New’ ethos with the start being very classic, almost set back in time, and the ending providing more of a modern twist to accompany the introduction of the K Room. With the video we wanted to make something special that would really do Fairyhill justice, it’s the most beautiful venue. From finding 1900s wooden sail boats to honing custom soundtracks and writing poetic vows, producing the video was a real challenge, but we absolutely loved every minute of it and hope you do too!”
Speaking of great videos, what’s the best video you’ve ever made and why?
“Now that’s a tough one! We’ve done so many videos over the years and I’ve loved working on them all. I guess a standout would be the aforementioned, most recent Fairyhill advert as that pushed us both creatively and technically. Since its official release it’s been so well received, which is always a bonus, in fact it’s set to reach a quarter of a million hits by January! I can’t mention Fairyhill without complementing the wider Oldwalls Collection brand. The Oldwalls Collection is a great client to work with as their venues are cinematic dreams. Their brand is fast becoming a household name in Wales as they’re so committed to pushing the boundaries creatively. It’s been great to have been on this journey with them since 2015. There’s also the film I shot about five years ago called Sea Fever (above). It was solo production I did myself all about the sea, a dark poetic surf film that went on to be picked up and screened at 10 film festivals around the world and won a few awards!”
I know you don’t do wedding videos but if you did, what would be your single nugget of inspiration?
“For the rare times I do a wedding video I always try and capture every different emotion of the day and portray that in the most powerful way. I first aim to gather the beautiful imagery that’s synonymous with these extra special, hugely unique and personal events before going onto incorporate the right soundtrack, narration, timing and sound effects. These elements really emphasise the moments that make the occasion even more memorable. Things like the excitement, tears, happiness and laughter all need their own moments in the film. Each after all has their own part to play in taking the viewer through their own fairy tale of emotions.”
To finish, tell us a bit more about what you’re working on at the minute…
“We are currently in the middle of doing a load of adverts for Swansea University, promoting courses such as geography and chemistry, which are looking great. We have also just released a seasonal Christmas tree advert for Gower Fresh Xmas Trees (above), which won a nationwide award for Best Short Film. In addition to this, I’m working with national brand Dr Organic to create a showcase video for their health supplements. I’m also in the midst of scripting a new Oldwalls advert, the sequel to the much loved ‘Get Me to the Altar’. I’m not giving anything away but let’s just say we are very excited about this one!”
