What is the most important thing to remember during your wedding day? Have fun and enjoy it! You don’t want to be distracted and encumbered by multiple video takes and bright lights in your face. To shoot with a documentary style means I am to objectively film and capture the day as it plays out.
It’s imperative for you to have a stress free day and take it in for what it is. In order for me to deliver a beautiful film, I need you to be relaxed, happy, and have no idea that I’m there. That is the true meaning of documentary style filming. In order to capture those raw moments and emotions, I need to be a fly-on-the-wall. This is especially important during the significant events, like the ceremony, speeches, and reception. The most important part of my job is to remember that this is a wedding and not a production. You are getting married and you’ve invited your close friends and family to help you celebrate. It is my job to document it and not interfere with the events and happenings of the day. If I’m blocking someones view during speeches, I’m not doing my job. If I’m being distracting during the ceremony, I’m not doing my job. If I am hindering peoples ability to have fun and dance the night away during the reception, I am not doing my job.
Through out the day a docu-style videographer will have an onboard microphone to capture the raw sound bites that may be said. The genuine words that are spoken throughout the day. This really drives the reason why I need to be a ‘fly-on-the-wall.’ I expand on this idea in my other blog post, ‘The Importance of Audio' Being objective allows me to capture the authentic emotions that happen throughout the day. To be honest, if you forget about me, that’s amazing. If you forget that I’m there, that’s when I will get my most genuine content.
This is your big day and I am there to document it. That’s it. If I influence the events of the day, not only does the film lose it’s magic, you also get distracted from enjoying your wedding day.