There’s something really nice about having a wedding all in one location, it means that you don’t have to factor transportation into the plans (not that we don’t love some of the creative ways people come up with to ferry their wedding party about) and it makes the day flow easily from one thing to the next. When you couple that convenience with a great location, like The Fennes Estate in Essex, which Louise and Jonathan chose for their Jewish wedding, it makes for a winning mix. They were helped by a beautiful August day, which meant much of the wedding could be enjoyed outside. We followed Louise as she went about busying herself to prepare for her nuptials, and we were there to capture the finished product which was stunning! The guests found their way to white covered chairs which were stacked in neat rows on the deep green grass. Louise walked up the ‘aisle’ in her stunning white dress and every eye was on the bride. She met Jonathan under the canopy where they made their wedding vows.
The couple took full advantage of the location for some really fantastic wedding photos – they showed real imagination in how they posed and the locations the used and the results are fantastic. It was great to be involved in your wedding day – thank you Louise and Jonathan!
Many clients visiting our website and YouTube channel find it useful to watch clips featuring a venue they are planning to hire for their event. Over the years we’ve filmed at hundreds of venues around the country so now have an enormous resource which we can offer people access to. Consequently, we have just launched a weddings & event venues section on website which lists all these in an easy to use way. Over the coming weeks we shall be adding more and more videos. We are excited that this will provide a fabulous opportunity for people planning their weddings & events to visualise how they might look in these locations.
For 2010 Bloomsbury Films has already been booked for dozens of new and interesting venues both in the UK and overseas. We therefore hope that we shall be able to continue adding to this resource in the future and look forward to helping our clients plan the perfect day. To visit our new wedding & event venues page click here.
A few months ago we decided to launch our own Facebook Page as a way of interacting with past, present and future clients. We now upload highlights of different jobs to the page as they are completed, so visitors can see our range of work and make comments in an easy, friendly environment. I am pleased to say it is very popular, with clients taking a keen interest in the videos and newcomers watching these as a source of inspiration. Indeed our videos seem to not only serve as an example of good videography, but provide an excellent source of ideas for planning their wedding or event!
We heartily welcome comments from prospective clients, whether they are wondering about how to achieve the best videography, which photographers we recommend or what venues to book. As film-makers we know a lot about making things look good, so our advice is sought after on many subjects. Meanwhile the ‘Discussions‘ section of our Facebook page has a number of topics that are being widely shared. We’ve also included some general tips and advice which we hope our clients enjoy.
If you haven’t already subscribed to our Facebook page or know a friend who might like to check it out, please don’t hesitate to look it up at The Bloomsbury Films’ Facebook Page
At the start of this month Bloomsbury Films was neatly packed up into boxes and moved across town to a new studio location in London’s trendy East End. Taking advantage of the hard hit property market on the periphery of London’s financial district, we were lucky to find a 1500 sqft unit in a converted warehouse that would suit our needs now and in the foreseeable future.
New Bloomsbury Films Office
A stone’s throw from Brick Lane, it is conveniently close to Aldgate & Aldgate East tube stations as well as Tower Gateway DLR. From these new offices we continue to operate our sales & administration, video kit storage and maintenance, production planning where our director’s overseeing all our projects. Over the coming months we shall also be introducing additional in-house studio facilities that will enable us to extend our range of services.
We’re very excited about the move, especially as we continue to expand the range of services provided by Bloomsbury Films. Although wedding videos are still currently our biggest market, we are beginning to attract more types of live event filming including interest from businesses for conference filming. We hope you will be able to pay us a visit sometime!
Perhaps this a reflection of being based in London, but perhaps also it shows the growing acceptance in our society for marriage based on love and like-mindedness, rather than seeking a cultural safety net. A particularly good example of this is Shahara & Christophers wedding which we filmed at York House, Richmond in early August. Shahara is from a Muslim Bengali family and Christopher from a traditional English one. In marrying Shahara, Christopher not only adopted a new family, but a new (Muslim) name. When I met them both months prior to their wedding, it was clear they were both very much in love and that whilst Christopher may not have have grown up in a Muslim/Bengali lifestyle, he was more than willing to adopt one.
I like their video very much, and the trailer shows their coming together well. They had splendid weather on the day and I am glad that there was a lot of opportunities for filming outdoors – which I always believe looks so much better than filming indoors! We have done several Bengali wedding videos of late including a stunning Bengali wedding in Newcastle, but this is the first mixed Anglo-Bengali marriage I am aware of filming. I therefore wish Christopher and Shahara all the very best in the future! Below are highlights from their day:
The first Jewish wedding video we filmed this year was on a cold wintry day in March. It was for Michel & Michael a couple whose special day was hosted at the Millennium Hotel Gloucester Road. The couple booked our Director’s Cut™ package at a time when it was only two cameras (now three). We used Sony Z1 cameras and our jib arm, we also hired a Steadicam Merlin for the occasion to see if it was something we might buy. I must say I was very pleased with the Steadicam and would have no hesitation buying one if it wasn’t for the fact that we ditched our Z1 cameras for the new heavier Z7 cameras. Creating a Jewish wedding video is always interesting, especially filming the ceremony, dancing and blessings. This particular Jewish wedding was a bit more orthodox than those we’ve previously filmed as the men and women were divided during the reception banquet. Despite the very dark time of year (and being two levels below ground for the reception), the wedding presented enough spectacle to create a fabulous Jewish wedding video. One thing that stuck in my mind was the Talbis which took place before the ceremony and involved the males of the family each singing in turn before being joined in chorus. You can see highlights of this wedding video below:
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.
