As longtime Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Pro users we were more than slightly upset with the direction in which Apple was taking Final Cut Pro X. With Adobe offering 50% off their production suite we have made the switch to Adobe Premier Pro CS5.5.

Advantages to our cinematic weddings
The main advantages this offers is its integration with their world leading applications Photoshop and After Effects. Also the way it handles and maintains quality of DSLR footage.

We are looking forward to learning all the benefits and adding to a growing improvement in the output of our films.

As a company we use quite an array of applications and plugins in post-production to achieve the best results and finish to every wedding film we produce. For many years now we have done this by using top-end Apple computers and using Final Cut Pro as our main editing platform.

Apple announced that there new version of Final Cut Pro is being released through the App Store in June and this is very exciting as it has been completely rebuilt from the ground up.

At this point we don’t know all the features and have only been given a taster. For wedding video editing it has several noticeable advantages straightaway, it uses all the technology available in new macs to make editing many times quicker. It has also improve image Color corrections and matching, stabilisation of shots and checking audio levels and peaking (then making changes) is now even easier.

There are many clever new features, yet a major advantage is the new organisation and quick browsing of clips on import. Final Cut Pro now has face-detection so it can tell how many people are in a shot and even the type of shot it is (distance from the subject).

We will be purchasing Final Cut Pro X for all our systems in June, lets hope it helps us in producing even higher quality wedding videos.

As a company we spend most of the winter months filming stage, corporate and television productions. Viewable on out other websites for corporate video work and televsion production . We then spend time considering how we can bring our new television and corporate styles into our wedding market for this year.

We have invested yet again in new equipment this winter and have filmed several creative style corporate productions including the one below for Dominoes Pizza. Here we practiced using our new equipment and aim to use this in our 2011 cinematic wedding videos.



Our aim for 2011

We aim this year to win awards for our professional and unique approach to creating the best wedding videos. Using a blend of digtal SLR cameras and professional shoulder-mounted cameras, mics and lighting (when needed).

Our Cinematic Approach to a Truly Bespoke Wedding Film

Now its true that every wedding day is different, so it follows that each wedding video is unique in what it captures. Wedding filmmakers usually approach every wedding day the same and will have a checklist of shots they are looking to achieve in the day. This footage is then edited using templates of a set style with similar effects/mattes to all the other weddings the videographer has covered.

For many years wedding clients have been happy with this approach to wedding video production. Couples just wanted a professionally filmed record of their day, capturing all the important moments, with correct exposure/colour balance, no camera wobble etc, set to music of their choice. Modern day cliental however sometimes now view these as over-romantic set films, being a bit stereotypical and sometimes slightly ‘cheesy!’, from this the field of wedding cinematography has been born!

Wedding cinematography is bringing the art of bespoke film making into the wedding industry. Using different film-making tools and cameras to capture a variety of styles of shot in a highly creative way. This approach requires a high level of experience and knowledge and this is why only a handful of companies in the UK can offer a truly cinematic wedding film.

“ Wedding cinematography is like trying to produce a film in real time with no re-takes!”

The approach varies right from the start. The first thing to establish is the clients characters and style of wedding ( venue, amount of guests, religious importance etc), from this it is then possible to get a feel of what style of film the couple are after. For example some couples are not overly religious and have a humorous character, for this more ‘fun’ shots may be captured in a quicker way, with the final film being cut together faster, with more creative colour grading. Whilst other couples will be more romantic and slower paced with long romantic sweeping shots being captured in a more natural way.

The style of the film and shots captured will also be heavily influenced by the style of music the couple choose for their wedding film, as this is usually a strong indication of their characters. When it comes to big live event! (the wedding day), this is where professional camera operators with vast experience earn their money! All the best laid plans will often need to be adapted and quickly! An Usher might now be standing where the camera operator was supposed to be standing or the order of service may have had a last minute change! All these thing need to be worked around to capture the day with the most film-like professional possible for a love event.

At least two camera operators will be filming proceedings, often in a hybrid like way. The first camera operator captures the day professionally in a less artistic way making sure that all the moments are captured perfectly, whilst a second/third operator(s) has a more artistic licence, using a variety of styles and professional equipment.

The final way the approach differs is in the bespoke way the footage is professionally cut together in post-production. The video editor will get a feel for the style of wedding and will work closely with the videographer to create the couple a unique film, with no pre-set templates/mattes of effects being used. Every colour grade, effect of transition is only selected due to the way in fits into the film and is only there to add to the overall look of the cinematic experience.

The all-new Steddie Pod cf77 is our new bit of kit designed to add versatility and ease of use to our wedding cinematography packages.

It is an award winning hand-held camera stabiliser from Barber Tech and can be used like a conventional monopod, a camera boom or even as a stedicam alternative.

We were in the market for a new monopod to help us achieve great looking shots with our Canon 5d mark11 camera. A monopod would enable us to create rock steady shots for a longer period of time and in confined spaces.

The Steddie Pod was 5 times the price of a regular monopod, yet offers some succnificent benefits for filming a wedding video.

1) It is made of carbon fibre, so is lightweight and durable. (ideal for long wedding films)

2) It can be used as a conventional tripod, ( so our wedding videographer can carry one less bit of kit)


3) Ease of use and setup. It can be setup within seconds to capture big moments as they happen. You don’t get a 5 minute preparation call in weddings- your equipment needs to be ready to use at all times!

So keep an eye out for some new creative looking cinematic shots in our up and coming wedding films!