Who adds shots of food in their weddingfilm?

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Steven Digges

Have you always considered yourself a documentarian style shooter. I am curious what that means to you?

answer here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...e-wedding.html

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Same as in my country, I never cover people while they are eating except maybe a wide establishing shot but because the food takes up 3-4 hours on average and takes up the largest part of the budget it's expected to at least have a few shots. It's an important part of the day and I would find it weird to pretend it didn't happen.

See, in America, dinner is somewhat rushed, at least compared to what you time it as. 3-4 hours? Jeez, I feel its been too long when an hour's gone by.

For me its generally around 7pm introductions, swept into 1st dance, blessing, toasts myb salad in between, then parent dances. Then once most formalities are done dinner is served, usually before 8pm. At this point, the photog & I take a break, and the DJ plays slower dinner music, often times we all chat. We usually wait or ask the venue when/where our meals will be, and its about a 40 minute window before dancing picks back up, as the B&G & bridal party/parent tables are served first, 30-40 minutes later they wanna be out on the dance floor.

So I think there might be a difference when dinner takes up 3-4 hours as opposed to 45 minutes. Unless I'm misreading or misinterpreting something.

I agree Noa's style isn't traditional docu, but I know why he'd classify himself as one. What & the way he delivers (longform, I'd presume) as well as recapping the day as opposed to reinventing & adjusting timelines as to how it all took place. The lines of photo vs video though are pretty clear in my mind. Video delivers minutes of video whereas photo delivers hundreds of images. One can be a creative videographer/cinematographer, and photographer can dive into videography as well. Although I agree with what someone else mentioned that usually that doesn't work as well, as the amount & learning curve of video editing is pretty high, plus emphasis for audio. It's also alot more of a burden of a day, carry bags & tripods around.

I worked with a photographer who gave video a shot. Has a small studio of a few photographers & offered a video package for free or cheap, to give it a whirl. We talked about the differences the day of & post, and when I mentioned editing & meeting their expectations he responded "Gee, I never even thought of the 'what if' she doesn't like the way its edited'. I laughed a bit & said its rare they ask for changes so long as its good & well done, but I guess its something photographers deal with less, as for the most part WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get).

[Noa Put]

So I think there might be a difference when dinner takes up 3-4 hours as opposed to 45 minutes. Unless I'm misreading or misinterpreting something.

Dinner starts usually between 19:00 - 20:00 in the evening and ends with dessert around 23:00-midnight, the first dance is usually between 23:00 and 01:30 at night.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Dinner starts usually between 19:00 - 20:00 in the evening and ends with dessert around 23:00-midnight, the first dance is usually between 23:00 and 01:30 at night.

Gotcha. See, our weddings are done by 23:00, sometimes 22:00

[Noa Put]

I know, you are lucky, weddings can be brutal here, next weeks wedding starts for me at 07:30 in the morning and ends around 1 at night.

[Jeremiah Rickert]

I almost always shoot the food because a) it's usually very colorful, and b) sometimes when the caterers see the footage they hit you up to record a spot for them. :D

[Steven Shea]

One of the most interesting things about filming weddings has been getting different people's (couples and videographers) views on what's important and what isn't. Definitely seems to vary.

I'll get shots of food because I think the couple might want it...but I can't for the life of me imagine why ANYONE would care about such a thing. Just seems so dull. It hurts a part of my soul every time I have to film the food. But I've never been big on looking at food, enjoying pics of prepped dishes or anything like that.

In contrast, I've heard many people say that they don't film the portrait sessions and that they can't understand why you'd want to. I get some of the most fun, candid and memorable stuff during those times. Not always, depending on the crowds. But if it's often a gold mine with the right group.

[Roger Gunkel]

It all depends on whether you are producing a video containing mainly the glossy and glamorous bits of the day or whether it is a documentary record. Mine is the latter, so anything that is a part of their day is fair game for me. That includes hair and makeup, guests arriving, table decorations, flowers, food, kids running around, dancing and of course ceremony, speeches etc. The key for me is keeping all of that visually interesting and forgetting my own likes and dislikes about weddings.

Roger

[Ryan Douthit]

Even though I'm a primarily a video producer, I actually prefer to do still photography when it comes to weddings. (I don't market myself to the wedding crowd at all. It's only through world-of-mouth.) However, when I do... yes, I absolutely take photos of the food. Maybe it's my background in journalism, but I approach weddings like an event and the food, wine, people are all part of it.

https://www.douthit.org/Einaudi-Wedding/