They recently started producing an e-zine to help couples easily find local wedding services. When they asked us to write something for the section on wedding videos, we sent this over:

The most common thing we hear from happy couples at the end of their wedding day is, “It all happened so quickly” followed by “There were so many people that we didn’t get to see.”

This is where we come in: the wedding film.

Much consideration is given to the flowers, cakes, cars and dress, but it’s the wedding film that will be waiting for you long after the day is over and the confetti is swept away; after the honeymoon tan is faded and thoughts about who to invite have turned to thoughts about baby names.

When we film a wedding we are aware that people want to see the movie as soon as possible, want to relive the day and share it with their friends. But we are also aware of the long game, the value a wedding film has to the future: to your children – and to their children. And to the long line of unknown people who will be able to reach back into their past in a way that we cannot.

Imagine for a moment how great it would be to see your own grandparents saying their vows, your great grandfather giving a speech. Aunts, uncles and distant relations; people who are only a faded sepia-toned memory.

Film is a great medium for remembering – and a wedding day is a great event to remember.

Once you’ve booked the flowers, the venue, the cake, the honeymoon, give some thought to the occasion itself – it deserves to be remembered.

Recently I was contacted by a customer who we filmed a wedding for back in 1984. This was well before I was doing any filming (I would have been eleven…) when my father Ken Jarvis, expanding on his job as wedding photographer, became one of the very first people taking advantage of the emerging video camera technologies to offer his customers a unique way of remembering their wedding day.

I’m sure the couples loved being able to show their family the wedding on television. It would have been quite a novelty back then. So we were delighted to help one of our original customers when they asked us to transfer their old VHS tape to DVD for future use.

I was reminded once again of the way in which the value of a wedding film changes over time. The thought that a whole new generation of the family will get to see the film is very pleasing. I am sure the new viewers will overlook the VHS quality and rather basic filming style (there was no easy way to edit back then) and appreciate it for what it really is:  a way of connecting with the past.

In the wedding I was cutting today, the shots were ideal but the music was wrong. It took me a while before I accepted this was the case. A quick phone call to the Bride was needed to discuss the possibility of a different choice of music for the highlights. Aimee completely understood the problem and we decided on something different – and then it really took off. When the music is right and the shots are in place, it’s a real joy – it seems to have a life of its own, and I feel less like an author and more like an onlooker. I think it may be the secret to editing if you can experience the film in the same way a first time audience would, without prior knowledge.

Now the highlights are done and the film must be watched in its entirety. It can be a real eye opener seeing it like this after working for so long on individual sections. It doesn’t always hang together as I imagined, and sometimes certain sections need speeding up or slowing down (or in some cases, I’ve even removed pieces of music for a better pace.)

This is also the time to archive the finished film and backup all the files. The final job is authoring the DVD and doing the artwork, including the menu screen and chapter points. This can take me well into the evening, but I like to get it done whilst I’m on a roll.

And that’s it. The next wedding is already loaded and tomorrow I start it all over again.

From now on I’ll try and move away from the prosaic day-to-day ramblings in this ‘ere blog and answer some more of those frequently asked questions.

The wedding photographer plays a big part in the flow of the day, especially at the reception. Some photographers have a laid back approach where people are hardly aware that pictures are being taken, whilst others stage quite extensive photoshoots. The photographers often have a difficult job that requires them to co-ordinate many people and therefore time should be scheduled to allow for this.

The videographer, on the other hand, looks to cover the event with as little impact on it as possible. As such, we aim to keep a low profile, and allow the photographer the space they need. This also helps us get candid shots – the best reactions are always from guests who are not aware they are being filmed.

The timing at the reception is important to get right. We usually suggest that whatever style of photography you choose, you should set aside some time to talk to your guests.  Work closely with the photographer and the venue to judge how long you will need. A general guide for an average size wedding is to have a minimum of one and a half hours between arriving and being called to sit down (or begin the receiving line.) This should be enough time to have photographs and see your guests. Whatever you do, don’t rush this part of the day, and make sure you enjoy it.

Back to the editing: First I assemble-cut the pictures, then look at how to incorporate the music the couple have chosen. I find it best not to start with the music because I don’t like to be tied down. Finding the right music for the shots is more successful than finding the right shots for a piece of music. Also, some sections do not play as well with music and identifying these is important. Once the music is in place roughly, I fine-cut the pictures accordingly and then work on the audio mix.

I like to take a little break before finalizing this sort of sequence – come back to it after half an hour and see it fresh, check I haven’t lost my way. Seeing it fresh is key to understanding how an audience are likely to view it. This can prevent some basic problems slipping through – usually issues about the flow of the cut, where it’s too fast or too slow.

Now this is done, the film only needs the highlights (or evening sequence and first dance in some cases) before it’s complete. That’s tomorrows job.

I think the titles and arrivals are important to get just right because it will be the first thing people see – it sets the tone and it’s good to give people confidence in the film so they can  relax and enjoy it.

I have all the shots ready and laid out in the order they occurred, but this will be significantly altered by the end of the day, as I pull everything into a shape that feels right and sets the mood. The music is important, chosen by the couple. I like people to choose as many music tracks as possible so I have  a choice – you never really know what will work best until you try it.

A large amount of time is spent with the audio. As much time as I spend with the shots. The sound should flow really nicely, with no abrupt joins. I think of it like composing music, keeping in mind the pace and rhythm of the sound. Wind buffeting, camera noise, microphone knocks, clicks, hums etc. all must be taken out, and often there are plenty of sounds added in. Shots filmed from a distance may not have the necessary sound accompanying them. Pulling the sound from other shots and using  pre-recorded FX is then required to make up for this. If the bridal car arrives with Church bells behind, I may decide to get rid of the bells and use music instead - sounds of a car are then needed to replace the lost audio. I keep an extensive library of sounds from weddings I have filmed over the years for this purpose.

I think the sound plays a more important role than is often appreciated. When it’s done really well, nobody mentions the sound. Unlike the pictures, the sound never gets any credit for giving the film so much of its life and vibrancy.

After the shots are cut, the audio tweaked and everything in its correct place, the final stage is the audio mix. Blending the music and natural sound and balancing the audio so you never need to adjust the volume.

That’s it, the opening sequence done. Next up is the Reception. So far this particular wedding has fallen into place extremely nicely.

I can really go to town here, designing fun shots with flashy filters, all without worrying too much about it looking overloaded. Usually, for the more straightforward parts of the film, its important not to over-use effects, dissolves, and filters etc. Good straight cutting and “invisible” colour correction are required, but anything fancy can detract from onscreen action.

For the Table shots, however, anything goes, which means it can be fun to play with. Each part of the film has a different feel: the arrivals are usually full of nervous energy; the ceremony delicate and restrained; the reception drinks fun and bubbly; the table shots flashy and impressive; the speeches straightforward and uncomplicated; the evening darker and exciting and the first dance romantic etc…

Finally, I did the “assemble” on the rest of the clips (arrivals, outside Church, reception etc). This can take a good half day or so. It is essentally is locating each possible shot and getting rid of the unwanted bits (any repetition, shots of my feet etc,) and putting into some sort of rough order – I also do a bit of colour correction as I go – the aim being to make the fine cut (the next stage) as fast as possible so I am not distracted by irrelevant tech stuff when I need to be  concentrating on the “feel” of the film.

A Church of England service will typically run for 45 minutes but this can be cut down to 20 minutes without losing the detail. A Roman Catholic service may run for 75 minutes and be cut to 30  minutes. A civil service can be as short as 8 minutes so there’s usually no need for cutting anything out here. It all depends on the couple and how much they want in this section of their film. If we can get decent positions for the cameras (this can vary from Vicar to Vicar and Priest to Priest) then we can usually get plenty of good detail that holds the attention.

Todays edit had really good shots that matched very well. This should have helped speed me along but instead I find myself half a day behind schedule.  I would have liked to get on to the next section (Shots of the room and sitting down for the meal) but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I was very pleased to see that everything was in order and that there wouldn’t be anything that was going to slow me down

All relevant media (photos, music, titles) are also added and conformed for use.

I tend to begin with the sequential sections first – The speeches and service. They have their own natural order - I just need to make sure they flow well. Sound is very important here, so I often work on this first. Reducing background noises, Equalizing audio, balancing across different mics and creating a stereo mix.

Time is also spent colour correcting between cameras. Getting the images to match makes a huge difference but it’s only noticeable when you see it done badly. As with most elements of post production, the aim is to make all the work invisible, so that the audience can enjoy the action.

Once everything is ready, the cut begins. This should be quite quick, because by this stage all the prep work has been done.

Today the speeches section went very well despite some tricky camera matching and dealing with the noise of an air conditioner under the speeches. Most of the audio for the service was also prepared. It went very smoothly, largely because the Church had been very accomodating and allowed us time to set up proir to the guests arriving. This is always good because it means there is less tweaking at the edit stage. Tomorrow, the service gets cut.

To go along with our newly revamped website, I thought it would be interesting to start a Blog.

Here it is. Welcome.

As part of the website design, I considered including a FAQ section, but decided the site should, in the main stick to the key points and not get too clogged up with detail. The Blog however would be a good place to put such information. And I could keep it updated and relevant.

Also, I thought it would be interesting to do a “diary of a wedding” – to show, on a day-by-day basis how we put our films together. Each wedding takes around 7 days to edit,  and what actually happens during this time is something of a mystery to most people. It would be nice to open this process up a bit so that people understood what we did.

With this in mind, I’m going to combine the first FAQ with the diary.

Q: How long does it take before our film is ready?

A: See day one of the diary below!

Day 1

Download. Each film needs to be put into the computer and backed up. This can take around 8 hours depending on the size of the wedding. Using 2 cameras can mean longer download times and longer edits. We always use 2 cameras for at least a part of the day. 2 Cameras can be useful during services and speeches to cover different angles and provide coverage whilst the camera that is not “on” changes frame or moves.

The most recent wedding to be edited, filmed at St Luke’s Church in Holmes Chapel, and Rookery Hall in Nantwich was successfully downloaded two days prior to the start of the edit. It had been a great day with terrific weather. The experienced photographer, Keith Goodwin, had time to do all the shots without rushing, and this helped ensure people were relaxed – which makes for the best films.

At this stage, no edit decisions are taken, it’s all about making sure all the relevant files are in the edit suite, ready.

Coming next…Day 2 of the edit.