I’ll be honest, the last year has been the toughest for my wedding videography business by far (and I’ve been shooting weddings for 10 years now) but it has also given me time to reflect on my filmmaking , on the direction I want to take my work, and I just can’t wait to get out filming again as soon as the situation allows!
In the last few years I have tried to hone my wedding videography style to be one reminiscent of classic cinema, to (try!) and give my films at least a hint of the timeless quality of, say, a Fellini film like Dolce Vita or maybe Casablanca- not to say I could ever emulate these masterpieces, but at least imbue my films with an essence of what makes them stand the test of time.
This idea is important to me because I think there is a risk nowadays, particularly with the prevalence of social media, to feel like videos have to be snappy, showy, frivolous even, to be “Liked” then forgotten- but I don’t want my films to fit a fleeting trend, I want them to be enjoyed for years to come when (dare I say) social media is a thing of the past.
Yes , you may be watching movies on an iPhone nowadays rather than at the cinema, and maybe every film I make will only ever be watched on a small screen, but I like to film, to edit and to grade as if they’ll be watched on a big one some day- I called my company Handcraft Pictures because it’s at the “pictures” that I feel most at home.
This doesn’t mean all my films will be black and white like the film above (although I do love the simplicity of a black and white tone!) rather I will compose my shots, choose my music, colour grade my films and tell your stories in a way that emulates the sort of filmmaking that has stood the test of time.
What all great books, songs, photographs and films have in common is their ability to remain relevant, to age gracefully, to mean as much to people today as they did on the day they were released into the world; this is my number one aim with my wedding videography- to create a family heirloom that will be enjoyed for decades to come.
