Short: Cinematic Styled Destination Wedding Film Trailer - Islamorada + Movie Poster

Seriously, now ... rainbows on demand? You must have had some great "connections" to pull that off. :-)

I stink at doing weddings, and admire those who can do a great job of it.

My only critique is that the audio mix seemed a little rough around 1:41 - 1:46 as the narration first came in. I think the music was ducked a little too much and too early, and there was some noise that obscured the first woman's words.

- Greg
 
What can be cinematic about event videography? By definition? How do you define it?
stedicam shots, different shots? To me by no means wedding videography can be called cinematic, never, there is no clear narrative structure to establish, with its flow, act structure, dramatic premise, etc.. Traditionally it's bunch of shots cut to a pop song. ( I make wedding videos for living, 10 years already, studied film at UCLA at some point)
Having a poster and calling it cinematic is just a marketin gimmic .imho.
 
OlegKalyan said:
What can be cinematic about event videography? By definition? How do you define it?
stedicam shots, different shots? To me by no means wedding videography can be called cinematic, never, there is no clear narrative structure to establish, with its flow, act structure, dramatic premise, etc.. Traditionally it's bunch of shots cut to a pop song. ( I make wedding videos for living, 10 years already, studied film at UCLA at some point)
Having a poster and calling it cinematic is just a marketin gimmic .imho.
Click to expand...

lake city is pretty cinematic
 
Lаке city is well shot, I'd say greatly shot, I know personally Kevin Shahinian, Patrick, Joe..
Would you go to a theater to watch that movie on a weekend night with or without popcorn along side?
The shots themselves can not be called cinematic or not cinematic, if there is no real cinema, film, narrative structure, that takes a viewer on an emotional journey. In weddings "cinematic" become marketing term, to differentiate from not cinematic, what is the difference between the two? To me the story told by Iphone can be cinematic if it totally engages the audience to view it. THE STORY, not the techniques by which it was shot. IMHO.
 
If you can't see how a wedding film can be built around a very concrete narrative structure then maybe you haven't been paying attention. In the world of event videography, weddings are the one job that consistently lends itself to telling a contained story through several acts. You can learn quite a bit about telling a story in the context of a short or narrative film from shooting and editing weddings.

Try approaching your next one as if it was a short film for an audience that doesn't know the bride and groom. Introduce your characters, take the audience on a journey through the day. Talk to the bridal party (on and off camera) to get a better sense of who the bride and groom are as individuals. Establish your location in a way that supports the story that you're trying to tell.

I watched Angele&Sergey highlights on your vimeo page. There are beautiful shots there, but what emotion are you trying to bring out of the viewer during that intro? What should we know and feel about the bride and groom as they're first introduced? What is the vaguely ominous music you've chosen adding to the mood you're going for? You have very beautiful shots, but they're not adding up to a cohesive whole. They're not telling a story.

Every wedding is a different story. Sometimes it's the story of a tearful father giving his only daughter away to another man. Sometimes it's the story of two people who have been together for a very long time before getting married. Sometimes it's the story of highschool sweethearts, or lovers who have been reunited after ages apart. Sometimes it's about a playboy type who is finally settling down, or a woman who waited until after establishing a career to tie the knot. You have to find the story (there is ALWAYS one) in your subject matter as if you were making a documentary instead of a wedding film. Make the characters compelling. Use the edit (and music choice) to lead the viewer on a journey of your choosing.

You don't have to open with shots of the bride getting ready or the location. You can open with a candid moment between mother/son or father/daughter. You can open with an interview about the couple. You can open with someone looking nervous. If the couple is lively and prone to fits of humor, open with something funny. I should feel like I know Angela and Sergey a little bit after viewing their wedding film.

The difference between a cinematic wedding film and one that is not is intention and execution. A wedding film can be a collection of pretty shots set to music, or it can be a short documentary film in itself that features not only good cinematography, but the skilled telling of a compelling story as well.

My goal with every wedding film is to get someone who has no connection to the bride and groom to cry. If you can make someone feel something for a set of strangers and their wedding then you're on the right track.
 
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Leon, wedding films, done as documentaries can be cinematic, thus "telling the story", the truth is that it's not really in demand, from what I've seen, being at many international videography forums, I've seen full films, half hour, and so, authors use music, several video clips, different creative shots, put to a pop "cheesy" music, songs, having series of clips, as a documentary part, it's typical to have wows, a preacher speech,
a best man speech at reception, often short interviews in the morning.
Please send me a link or two of what you think is a cinematic wedding, with clear narrative.
Thanks for watching my stuff, it's for the most part in trailer, highlights format, not the film off course.

I have a regret that overall in industry, wedding clipmaking is presented as cinematic approach, really missing the point of what is cinema.
 
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