You’ll Want to Capture these Moments from Your Wedding Day on Film
Videography is the counterpart of photography, it is the film that captures moments in time, telling a story that combines not only the visual, but also audio. The cherished words of a loved one, their laughter, the sounds of your authentic life. For this reason wedding videography is an important part of the wedding day. And while no two films will ever be alike, we couldn’t help but wonder what some “must-have” shots are to make videos memorable — as those are certainly the shots you want to make sure your videographer captures after all. To answer this question, we got with the traveling wedding filmmakers from Prague at Perky Pug Films and the talent behind the camera — Petr, because if there is anyone who creates authentic, one-of-a-kind wedding films, it’s Petr. Before you go any further, check this video out to see what we’re saying.
And right away, he gave us interesting advice we simply must share: “Although I think that the list of ‘must-have’ shots should be designed a little differently than classically — at weddings where they have such a list, it often happens that something didn't happen (for example, the bride has already [put] the dress [on], but the list says ‘dress hanging by the getting ready window’ and so on) and so the bride (or the couple) is stressed (more or less) because they have a list, but something on it was forgotten (bride is already dressed) or didn't get filmed — but usually there are lots of interesting things going on that just need to be filmed instead and a great video is born. The first thing that usually goes wrong at a wedding is some sort of plan.
“[The video] should focus on the feelings, the memory [you] want to have of [your] wedding day — and choose the filmmakers accordingly. I often see that the video is full of shots of ‘stuff’ (the dress, the venue, the reception...) and yet so much is happening, guests arriving, hugging, toasting with champagne. . . . Just look at my last video from St Giles House, there was no list and yet everything essential [was] captured.”
So from that tidbit, to us, it sounds like there is no definite “must-haves” but rather giving the videographer freedom to simply be, do. But, if you’re like us (Type A and super organized . . . we know you’re out there ;)), then perhaps a list would help you feel a little better. And so for that reason, Petr did give us something to work with, so here goes:
The Family
“Have your guests, your loved ones, your family — the way they enjoyed the wedding, the way they had a good time at it — captured on video.”
The Emotions
“The video needs to be about how you felt (which is hard to put on the list by itself), but remember that everything needs to fit together when you watch the video, it's not just moving photos (which, unlike the video, can be skipped) following each other.”
The Party
“My list will definitely not be lacking a good party, let the filmmaker shoot long to make the video complete.”
The Rehearsal Dinner
While this one is optional, and not elicited by couples often enough, you may decide to invite your filmmaker to the rehearsal dinner, that way they can film it and “you’ll get to know each other better,” Petr explains.
Photo courtesy of SBJames Photography, videos courtesy of Perky Pug Films
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