Right – get your popcorn, tissues, and notepad ready – today, we’re getting an industry perspective from the best of the best on wedding videography: Grace & Andrew from Bottlebrush Films.
Welcome back, team! It’s so great to chat again. We’ve been watching the rise of wedding videography and how this particular niche evolved to rapidly become a must-have for couples instead of an after-thought, what’s your take on this?
Andrew: Our earliest experience of wedding videos is home VHS movies, like the one of Grace’s parents on their wedding day, with Grace’s dad pulling his comb out of his pocket, checking himself out in the camera lens reflection, and self-grooming like a good little Maltese lad! Their film was hours long, just a point and shoot continuous wedding video on a camcorder – and wedding filmmaking has come a long way since then. Thankfully, the value of those memories hasn’t changed at all.
Sophie + Conaill – Rom Com Goodness
The cameras and technology available to wedding filmmakers are now way beyond what was used to shoot home videos and the Hollywood films of yesteryear like Breakfast At Tiffany’s. The skills, innovation and storytelling expertise of the wedding filmmaking community is also evolving faster than ever, and people are starting to realise that there are options beyond the cheesy and cliche styles of even a few years ago. For example, we no longer have to stick to romantic and cliche songs of love both during our wedding day and for our wedding film – now we find ourselves using whatever feels true to our style, from R&B tracks to rock & roll tunes and heavy-hitting songs, there are no limits to how much you can tailor a wedding to your own style which is the biggest and best change we’ve seen in this industry.
Wedding films are becoming a reflection of the couple and their personalities more and more, from bright and quirky, to wild and loose parties disguised as weddings, and even the deliberate and heartfelt declarations of lifetime commitment. The trend of injecting lots of personality, stories, and a sense of fun into wedding films is starting to take hold and we predict that as more and more couples start to become accustomed to this style of wedding filmmaking that the appetite for good stories will only grow.
Jem + Taku – A Filmmakers Wedding Film
Wedding films are thankfully starting to prioritise showing real moments with real people rather than anything too cheesy and polished, people are hungry for raw moments and a piece of moving art that shows them truly as they are.
We see platforms like TikTok on the rise because of this (a platform built solely for sharing video instead of photo), and platforms like Instagram are now pushing video content out more and more too so things are certainly shifting as we see technology and digital media grow. We can airbrush and alter a photo quite easily, but that’s much harder to do in film – film gives more of a sense of reality and people want that now more than ever.
That makes sense, what kind of trends do you think can we expect to see going into 2021 and beyond?
From a filmmakers perspective, in 2021 we expect to see more innovation – like the use of time-lapses, scripted short-film type shoots outside of the wedding day to complement what happens on the day, and even the use of animation in wedding videos (it’s already happening),
The craft is growing and evolving so quickly, and with so many great new filmmakers creating amazing work there has never been a more exciting time to be looking for a wedding videographer.
Sophie + Jackson – A French Village Wedding
Tell us about the positives of videography in times like this – we think video has become more important than ever since it will be shared even more with loved ones and friends who can’t make the wedding:
Grace: There’s no knowing when life and when weddings will get back to ‘normal’, there might be a new normal that we all have to get used to. Either way, the value of documenting life’s best moments now holds even more importance, and most wedding videographers now do live streaming as well because of this. Shared experiences of life’s best moments don’t have to be limited by border closures, masks, or social distancing when we have the technology to connect via the moving image and the spoken word – that’s why we love video.
Photography will capture a frozen moment in time but film goes further, capturing the way a person speaks, carries themselves & how wild they dance after a few too many.
We recently live-streamed a wedding for a couple who had friends and family viewing from both Brazil and Italy. We didn’t understand much of what was happening in the live-chat during the ceremony, but when the couple came over afterward to have a read of the well-wishes and a giggle at the banter, we saw all over their faces the waves of elation, joy, and euphoria that brought them – life ain’t half bad in times like those.
I think for us in these Corona times, it’s really stood out to us how important shared experiences are. Especially when we’re currently deprived of that in Stage 4 Melbourne. At the end of our days, the most important thing will be our memories, experiences over things. Getting to relive the experience of your wedding and hear your loved one’s voices long after they’ve passed on is literally the most valuable thing we can think of.
Nora + Marte – A Norwegian foreign language film, captioned
What are your tips on picking the right videographer and what should the couple expect from them on the day?
Andrew: I think first off you obviously need to decide whether you like a filmmakers work, there are lots of different styles of wedding videography out there and it’s definitely not a one size fits all, so do your research and look at a few different companies to get an idea of what you love (and make sure to watch at least 10 of a videographers films for consistency’s sake!).
A lot of businesses only put their best films on their social platforms so dig a little deeper and watch a good spectrum of their work first (head to their website or go further to their Vimeo channel where you’ll likely find more of their work than what is shown on their Instagram).
Tahlia + DJ – A Musician and a Dancer’s Backyard Festival
The major thing we’d suggest though is to make sure you and your videographer get on well!! This can’t be underestimated if you love the experience chances are you’ll love the film, but a bad experience will always cloud even the best film ever. You’re going to be spending a pretty important day with a lot of people/vendors you haven’t known that long so make sure you like them and you get on well.
For us, on the wedding day, we usually tell a few shit jokes and go with the flow. We like to make sure all you have to worry about is enjoying every single moment, and it’s just as important to us that you have an incredible time as it is that you receive an incredible film.
To see more examples of film mastery from Bottlebrush Films, pop over to their website or visit them on Instagram.
