Kym and Chris’ Wedding

I was approached by Kym and Chris to record their wedding about three weeks before the event, which transpired on the 20th September 2014. I like to be flexible for my clients as I understand that having a videographer is not always the chief priority of a couple getting married (though I sure wish my priorities had been that way inclined when I got married). Kym was very relieved to have somebody taking care of the visual recording of her special day and we were happy to oblige. I was particularly looking forward to utilizing many of the new gear purchased since moving up here to Bendigo.

In June 2014 Panasonic released their new flagship camera – the GH4. This camera has to be strongly considered as the 2nd and 3rd video cameras for any wedding cinematographer. There are a number of advantages to this camera. Obviously there is the price. $1,650.00 for your 2nd camera is what most would consider a very reasonable price. Especially for a camera that shoots 4K resolution that looks amazing down-converted. Perhaps my biggest consideration was the size of these cameras. Weighing significantly less than the 5D mkIII that you often see in use at weddings does have a profound effect on the shoulders and back over the course of a very long day. Plus the extra elements included with the GH4, like the Cinelike D profile, make this a more sophisticated beast for filming than its Canon counterpart.

Our chief camera for this wedding was the Sony FS700, which we hired for the weekend from VideoCraft for a very reasonable price. This camera was very intuitive and even my audio tech, who has minimal experience with camerawork, managed to produce some stunning images with the 240fps feature. Utilizing my Canon lenses this camera really elevated our production to another level. We can’t wait to get a hold of the newly announced Sony FS7 for future weddings.

Kym and Chris’ wedding taught me how important it is to have back-up audio recording devices for the ceremony. The wedding transpired out at Providence Gully in Sandon, which is a lovely location. However, it is also a location conducive to outdoors ceremonies which provides a videographer with a whole host of problems, not least of which is audio. It is important to remember that once the Bride starts walking down the aisle the wedding ceremony is going full steam ahead, so you’d better have all your ducks lined up before then. At this ceremony we had the misfortune of a number of our audio recorders failing because of circumstance. Thankfully, four back-ups proved adequate to record all the audio from the ceremony but I am reminded of the many the videography veterans who emphasize how important quality audio gear is for weddings.

The sky was clear all day, meaning that the sun would’ve been causing some havoc for the photographers. Thankfully, the sun has limited bearing on the quality of the video as strong contrasts can evoke the appropriate mood for a wedding. The land around Providence Gully is very stereotypical Australian bushland, in the best possible way. One such floral scene-stealer was the Red-stemmed Wattle which features in the slow-motion dancing scene of Kym and Chris’ highlights video. The flowers on this shrub were amazingly vivid and added a glorious romantic vibe to the scenes in which it was a backdrop in.

This wedding was exceedingly fun and the venue was stunning. It was quite clear that the bride and groom were very content to let the day play out as it invariably did play out. In the end it was this attitude that reflected in the footage captured. A couple not weighed down by the stresses of the day but simply enjoying the company of each other as they looked forward in hopeful expectations to spending their lives together.