The backbone of our business is wedding videos, which we love doing – it’s always an honour to be there for someone’s special day. But we also do a lot of corporate video work; so to combine both of these by providing live event filming for the National Wedding Show at London’s Earls Court was right up our alley!
The National Wedding Show is a chance for some of the best bridal designers to showcase their creativity and skill in front of their clients and peers. As one beautiful model after another came out wearing spectacular wedding dresses, it was clearly going to be a tough assignment for us! We used a two-camera set-up so we could have a master shot showing the whole stage but also have a second camera to get in close and film lots of detail, after all when it comes to choosing wedding finery it comes down to the details. We were then able to cut between the two to give a real impression of what it’s like to be at a fashion show.
It wasn’t just the brides who were accommodated for in the show, there were spectacular morning suits, and less formal suits for the groom, wedding outfits for flower girls and ring bearers plus looks for bridesmaids. There were also trends of multi-cultural weddings which reflect the current wedding industry in the UK. It was a great event and we were glad to be a part of it.
Anyone who has done an MBA knows the sense of relief/satisfaction that comes with completing the journey. So it was at the graduation ceremony for the University of Chicago Graduate Business School in February.
Our videographers are experienced in corporate events – particularly Awards Ceremonies – so when we were planning our day’s shooting we knew we wanted to capture ALL of the day – not just the handing out of the diplomas. We got there early in order to film London’s Ironmongers Hall before the guests started to arrive, but also to catch all the guests and graduates as they arrived. Of course we didn’t miss out on them receiving their diplomas – that piece of paper is important – and we wanted to record the smiling faces all around as people received their just rewards.
And then the real fun started. The champagne corks popped and the cheers, congratulations, hugs and kisses began to flow around the room. We wanted to know how the Graduates were feeling, so we pulled them each aside for a brief chat. We feel these interviews add so much to the final video. But the day didn’t end there. There was the masked reception/dinner with all of the guests donning elegant face masks. After a civilised dinner, the real party began. Coaches took the guests to the Proud Galleries where a DJ was ready to help them rock out into the wee hours of the morning.
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!
In July our videographers set off to Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire to film Melissa and Brett’s wedding at Stapleford Park. When I saw the raw footage afterwards I was immediately struck by how well Melissa came across on film, she appears very animated and expressive. However the expressiveness didn’t end with her, indeed it seemed that everybody was openly brimming with feelings and emotions that day! I found this very rewarding as I don’t want clients to be inhibited by our videographers so the material we capture is purely natural and spontaneous. This discretion is something we go to great lengths to achieve, both in our training and preparations, but also technical issues such as the cameras and microphones we use.
Looking at the finished wedding video, one of the most amusing parts is the Surprise Sopranos who entertained everyone during dinner. Disguised as hotel staff, two sopranos and a tenor perform a seemingly improvised act for the guests. You can see it was a big hit with the audience and it was great to watch on video too. You can see highlights from Melissa & Brett’s wedding video below:
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:
There is no better way of experiencing the quality of one’s wedding video service than being a customer of it! Iris and I got married on Friday 31st October; we had a small private ceremony at Westminster Registry Office followed by photography in Regents Park, a champagne reception at The Landmark Hotel and then dinner at Galvins Bistro-de-Luxe in nearby Baker Street. Afterwards we surprised our guests by whisking them off to see the new James Bond Film on its release day at the Odeon Leicester Square (oh yes, we are serious film fans!). The following day we had just enough time to recover before hosting a large wedding reception with a ‘showbiz theme’ at Bridewell Hall adjacent to St Bride’s church in Fleet Street.
Westminster Registry Office
Bloomsbury Films’ videographer Dan covered our wedding day from our preparations at home through to the champagne reception. He and our videographer Matt then covered the reception together on the following day. Despite obviously being familiar with both of them, they were totally professional, always thinking ahead to capture interesting and creative material. Its absolutely true that they are so unobtrusive you often forget they are there! That said, they were always on top of the events, missing nothing of importance and covering the event in the natural and spontaneous way we are known for.
Iris & Andrew's Wedding
We were lucky enough to have top wedding photographer Aziz from Aira Photography available for our wedding ceremony. He created some beautiful images for us here and in the park afterwards. Aziz is a really splendid guy who can think on his feet and was able to create exceptional images for us – we can’t thank him enough! For the reception we had the very talented David McNeil, who despite being a relative newcomer to the business did a sterling job. David has bags of enthusiasm and even set up a photobooth in the reception which provided a fun way of capturing original images of guests who attended our function. Once again we can’t thank David enough for all his hard work!
Wedding Photography in Regents Park
I think getting married is a momentous experience and the team of people one has to document this once-in-a-lifetime event is absolutely key! Iris and I will probably never have so many people who are important to us in one place like this ever again – so these still and moving images are worth the world to us. Without such quality professionals covering our special occasion we would be impoverished every time we came to reflect on a day that changed our lives forever. I hope as a result of having this experience of our own service, we will be in a better position to help those clients who follow in our footsteps by booking Bloomsbury Films in the future!
Towards the end of last year we were invited to film Rachel and Alexander’s wedding at the Palace of Westminster. This was a very special opportunity for me being a former arts student with an interest in Gothic Revival architecture since their wedding was conducted in AWN Pugin’s masterpiece St Mary Undercroft. The service was conducted by the Bishop of St. Albans one of nicest members of the clergy I have ever had the cause to work with and the wedding ceremony was very moving. Rachel and Alex’s wedding was attended by a number of dignitaries and familiar faces and their reception was held afterwards in the House of Lords banqueting rooms overlooking the Thames. It was nice to have a really iconic place to film and I enjoyed making this wedding video in Westminster particularly. Photography was done by Matt Link Photography who I enjoyed working with and certainly knew what he was doing. You can see highlights of their wedding video below
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.
