We recently finished editing an Asian wedding video for Vivek & Anneka, who got married in a civil ceremony at Ealing Town Hall in September 2007 before going to Goa for their proper Asian wedding. Afterwards they held a reception back in the UK just before Christmas at Addington Palace in Croydon. The wedding reception was well attended by over 500 guests and both the bride and grooms families were absolutely wonderful! Dan and Simon filmed the wedding with me directing, we trialled the new EX-1 camera because of its low light capabilities – very wise considering it was the shortest day of the year! The shoot went well and everybody was in great spirits, I particularly liked the speeches, bollywood dancers (with uncle joining in) and the partying! Highlights of their Asian wedding video can be seen below.
Back in April we were booked to produce a wedding video in Wiltshire for the lovely Andrew & Gemma. Dan and Dishad filmed the day which began at the church and then continued with a reception afterwards at Gemma’s family estate. Gemma’s dad is a well known BBC racing commentator, so it was no surprise they had plenty of horses in the fields. We have a thing in our company about filming animals and wildlife, you’ll see creatures appearing in many of the films we make – so with this one it is horses! Andrew & Gemma were a wonderful couple and Gemma’s father gave one of the most entertaining Father of the Bride speeches we’ve heard so far this year! Another unique feature of their wedding was a Ceilidh which not only entertained the guests but kept them warm on what was a rather cold evening! Like every film we’ve made this year, it was a pleasure to create something visual and entertaining. Highlights for their Wiltshire wedding video can be seen below.
In May we were booked to film a Bat Mitzvah video for a client at Shoreditch House in London’s East End …and what a fabulous event it was! As a film director, I am familiar with Soho House, the original home of this media-orientated members club, but Shoreditch House was a real discovery for me. The party was hosted on the roof terrace which has an open air pool and a fabulous dining area. Overlooking the urban regeneration of the East End, the location provided plenty of spectacle which was further enhanced by excellent weather. Our videographers Dan & David filmed the event using our new Sony HVR Z7E cameras. This gave me some cause for anxiety as one of the cameras was suspended inches over the pool whilst filming synchronised swimmers! The event went well and I would love to do another Bar Mitzvah video like this in the future.
One of the first Indian weddings we did this year was for Saj & Nuwan who held a reception at the fabulous Woburn Abbey. Like many of our Indian wedding videos, it was a very visual affair and the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We worked with Aziz from Aira Photography, someone we really enjoy working with and recommend highly. I think that when you have a photographer and a videographer who both enjoy their creativity and get along well you can achieve super results. I particularly like this video because it shows how both the photographer and videographer have pushed each other on to get highly visual material material. It set a benchmark for the other Indian wedding videos we planned to do this year.
One of the interesting things about event filming is you can never really predict the things clients might ask you to film! One example was a job we did for Wartski a Bond Street jewellers with family connections in opera. They decided to host a reception for a colleague who had be honoured with the Legion d’Honneur in France for his services to opera. The evening was attended by several composers and well-known individuals at The Arts Club in London. By all accounts it was a fabulous evening and the client was delighted to have hired a videographer as well as a photographer to capture such a prestigious moment. Below are some highlights from the event filming we did.
Earlier this year we were invited by the A&R Allstars to film a concert they were doing at Sound in Leicester Square, London. The band wanted us to capture them live so they could create a demo DVD for clients and have a trailer on their website. After consulting us on the how to capture it in a way which focussed on the different vocalists and instrumentalists, we decided on using three videographers with a jib arm and a steadicam flyer. The concert filming was a lot of fun, and the band managed by Lisa and Andy, were a real pleasure to work with.
You can see highlights from the concert filming below, it shows 30 second clips from 6 different numbers. We shot around 12-15 tracks in all which were then edited and put on a specially designed DVD that the band now send out to clients. I like the trailer because it shows some of the camera movements and the details of the performers. I’d very much like the opportunity to do more concerts, although in future I would consider having four videographers and using slightly different equipment.
