Five things to consider when choosing a company to film your wedding.
Five Things To Consider When Choosing a Company To Film Your Wedding.
1. Budget:Professional wedding film services range in price from less than a thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. And while you may really love a particular company's work, if it is not in the budget it is not in the budget. However, you should not view the money you spend on film the same way as cake or flowers, where the purchase’s value is limited to the time at the wedding. With film, you are not spending the money on your wedding day. You are investing it in a living memory that is truly timeless and that value will increase every year you are together and live on long after you both have passed, as it becomes your children's favorite keepsake. On your 50th anniversary do you think while sitting down with your grand children about to show them the cinematic blast from the past that is your wedding film you're going to think, “boy I really would have rather had that money after all these years”?
2.You get what you pay for: (Okay, so yes and no) Yes, most companies that produce top notch work are going to charge in the mid to high end range of your local market. Like with anything quality goes up and down with price as a general rule. But only to a point. Alot goes into what a company decides to charge per production and it is not always the quality of the films and service. So don’t automatically assume more expensive = better film.
3.What format do you want your wedding captured?: Traditional vs Modern can also be rephrased as Documentary vs Cinematic formats. Traditional/documentary wedding videos are more akin to a tv news crew covering an event. It shows what happened and how it happened and little more. Cinematic wedding format is essentially the art of filmmaking adapted to capture real life in a way that makes it look like a movie. As you might expect, cinematic films will be more of an investment than traditional wedding videos and for very good reason as the filming/editing are exponentially more challenging. Most companies are now offering cinematic films as their primary product with the traditional edits as bonus features. 4.Referrals, More of a guideline than a rule: Getting referrals from friends and family as well as other wedding pros like planners and venues are a great resource when navigating the wedding film market. However, don’t end your search there. Sometimes referrals can be more based on relationships and favors rather than whose film style would speak the most to your personality. Which conveniently brings me to my last point!
5.Whose style speaks most to you?: Because film is an extremely rich medium for storytelling, where it takes the art of photography and then adds motion of both the subject and the camera, builds meaningful sequences with continuity, pacing, sound, dialogue etc, and uses these dynamic elements to create one cohesive viewing experience. It creates a greater amount of freedom for the artist to tell your story. The best way to know a company's style is just by how you feel when watching their portfolio. You should have an emotional connection to a couple’s story, even though you don’t know them personally. Keep looking until you find a company whose work truly captures your vision.
In my professional opinion these are the big 5 considerations to keep in mind when hiring a company to film your wedding. The great news is there are a lot of very talented companies out there and surely you will find one that works best for you!
Jared
loeproductions.com Lead Filmmaker Film Editor
