Hi guys....

I can't remember seeing one of these threads recently, and it's in no way meant to turn into anything but giving credit where it's due and sharing. I'm always mindful that there are plenty of talented people out there who don't get a mention or who I haven't heard of, and always love to check out what talented people are producing. So the purpose of this thread is to learn about the best in the biz, from, well... the best in the biz I suppose?

With that being said, from what you have seen online, in person or otherwise, who do you rate as the top guys in the industry. Name the guys you think produce great work...

This is bound to be a tiresome tribute to quack cinematography and nothing else but here goes :- )

Joe Simon does a pretty decent job within the genre e.g.

Kerry + Ollie's Wedding FIlm on Vimeo

He is of course also infamous for sailing too close to the wind with copyright music and learned the hard way; extremely hard way.

http://www.pdnonline.com/news/Wedding-Photographer-4188.shtml

Pete

Too simple!

All the awesome videographers that post on this forum are naturally top in the industry not the odd guy who we never hear from. They all put in the most work and deserve the credit for posting here!

Purely the fact that they are churning out plenty of weddings every season with happy brides means they must be doing something right. I vote 100% for the regular contributors on the DVInfo wedding forum

Chris

I do wonder... If the quality in my locality is higher than elsewhere.

There are five guys who charge more than me in my area, and thats simply because they are better. Not just better, I honestly think they are all super. And this is in NI with a population of under 2million and still competing with too many old school documentary type guys with huge cameras and nothing but tripod pans all day long.

Stephen and Michelle - Creative Wedding Videographer on Vimeo

Xander + Christine on Vimeo

Ciara & Gary on Vimeo

Bob Nicolas is my favorite: https://vimeo.com/bobnicolas

Too simple!

All the awesome videographers that post on this forum are naturally top in the industry not the odd guy who we never hear from.

It's my impression that the videographers that spend very little to no time on a forum are usually the ones that produce the most impressive films.

Hey Noa

That's not a very positive attitude from you? So the fact that you post quite often means that you are way below par?? I don't think so, I have seen your work and it's stunning so technically you shouldn't be posting at all

Chris

Certainly not intending for this to be to be a debate on style of video, or a forum for critique, but rather a way to discover work which you might not otherwise come across if not for people here sharing what they appreciate. No critique or debate needed, just share :)

I for one really like the work of these guys: https://vimeo.com/cinema/videos

And Noa, I tend to agree in the sense that there would be plenty of talented people out there who don't go on forums, don't share their work or get involved in their local or broader video community. Keep em coming.

Wow Stevan, that dude is unreal. Look at this one...

Don and LA Wedding on Vimeo

Hey Noa

That's not a very positive attitude from you? So the fact that you post quite often means that you are way below par??

Most users that are very active on this forum in the wedding section are enthusiastics, most have a job beside filming as well and most like to share their knowledge, they also don't mind sharing what goes wrong in their business and they often ask for critique on their work in order to improve.

The very known weddingvideographers however, the ones that set the trends, that can charge a high amount for their weddings also like to share, but not here, their knowledge doesn't come for free and they organize workshops instead. I think they avoid forums because once you are very known everything you say can be used against you at some time and they are to busy building a reputation.

I have to say that I never post examples of my work as I am only interested in client and potential client views. I would perhaps produce something different if I was trying to impress other people in the same video production business.

My video are are also at least 90 minutes long, so without viewing the whole, the message won't get across. I would also add though that some of the cinematic trailers that I see here are exceptionally well produced even if totally different to my own style. I also see many that are technically superb, but bare absolutely no resemblance to what my own clients would want. Horses for Courses :-)

Roger

I for one really like the work of these guys: https://vimeo.com/cinema/videos

Cinemaworks looks a lot like Bob Nicolas and as far as I can tell they are both from the Philippines, those guys are visually brilliant though often seem less in the audio depertmant, cinemaworks don't even mic the groom and just use the church soundspeakers to capture the vows, otoh they go all the way to present a visually mindblowing piece, steadicam, cranes, 3 camera set up with probably at least 3 operators, I also see they add light in the venue, if you then see how ridiculously low prizes they charge but that is probably a lot of money where they live. I find their steadicamwork also very good, a lot better then what I do with my blackbird. Only the colors from cinemaworks video sometimes looks a bit odd but probably done to create their own look. Good thing they don't live in Belgium, they'd take away all my clients :)
I wonder how they do the ringshot with that blue sparkling background, that looks very cool.

Igors work is also outstanding:
Kirill & Sofia on Vimeo

As great as all these guys are. There is so much more to making money from wedding videos than just creating stunning films. (Sorry for going a bit off topic here)

I know of studios that do 50-60 weddings a year and their work is awful in comparison to members of this forum which Noa primarily says are 'enthusiasts'

If anything these videos will impress other videographers more than they will clients. At the end of the day a bride looking to get married won't cry over these videos as she can't relate to them. She will only care about price first and if the work they see is on the same level as other videographers that she's narrowed down within her budget and then only care about what you capture on HER special day.

I always felt that the 3-5 minute film is for their friends. The hour (or more) video is just for them. That's why we settled on featuring 15 or 20 minutes into most of our creative edits - to try and balance the two. We do still make the longer hour long video for the B&G, too.

I really like Joe Simon's videos and seeing his work was what inspired us to start videography - or at least to take it seriously.

I think this stop-motion from Delphine photography has some really great ideas we'd like to learn to incorporate. Caroline and Sam: Wedding in Stop Motion on Vimeo

Its a bit sad, but I do agree with Noa. Some of the top wedding videographers use to contribute here but now they dont. I believe Patrick from StillMotion use to chime in here from time to time. You even have folks from Mayad who use to chime in. I do wish they were still around.

Joe Simon does very nice work but is someone who paid his dues by doing wedding videos for years with traditional camcorders before moving over to DSLR cinematic style. He is a wedding videographer who uses DSLRs rather than a wannabe film maker who is doing wedding videos.

My current favourite wedding videos are from a guy in Israel who does a great job of capturing high energy Jewish weddings with a GH2 OM-D & a whole bunch of different lenses. Both camerawork & editing are superb. https://vimeo.com/vadimaction/videos Any of his work is worth watching. Here is a recent wedding highlights video.
Mor Uri Highlights on Vimeo

Have to say I'm a bit shocked that people are bold enough to pretty much call everyone on here average.

I don't think I'm average. Even if I was, I wouldn't appreciate being told it by my peers.

I'm not even sure what the need was bring it up.

He is a wedding videographer who uses DSLRs rather than a wannabe film maker who is doing wedding videos.

Is that a compliment?

Have to say I'm a bit shocked that people are bold enough to pretty much call everyone on here average.

I don't think I'm average. Even if I was, I wouldn't appreciate being told it by my peers.

I'm not even sure what the need was bring it up.
I dont think any of us here think we are average. I have been producing wedding videos since 1982. Straight doco production, I'm to long in the tooth to change now. But new breeds come along at regular intervals, and some of them make you think, WOW. There are three guys who really made a mark on the industry here in the UK in the last few years. John DeRienzo, Danny O'Neill and Richard Wakefield. All these guys are amazingly creative, and know what a cinematic production should be, and produce just that time after time. Very unlike the guys who advertise cinematic weddings, thinking that a few slider and shallow DOF shots do it.

I made a separate post earlier about "Cinematic" weddings, and I think there's some great trailers/highlights out there, but I've always wondered how their full DVDs of the weddings look, such as the full edit of the ceremony.

Really interested in this.

I deliver final product on DVD , Blurray as well as thmbdrive. this is an encore export to Adobe Flash playback on PC, Mac and Android phone and tablet. I also include individual MP4 files on the same thumbdrive for idevices.

Online DVD - YouTube

He is a wedding videographer who uses DSLRs rather than a wannabe film maker who is doing wedding videos.
[QUOTE=Daniel Latimer;1830763]Is that a compliment?

It was intended as a compliment.

There are some who take over the wedding & produce a cinematic epic because they are frustrated film makers slumming it by producing wedding videos. Some even come out with pretentious twaddle like they don't necessarily even include the ceremony in their productions if it doesn't fit their vision for the video.

Joe Simon is not like that even though he commands big bucks for celebrity weddings. I attended a workshop he gave a few years ago and was very impressed.

Just saw another video from Bob Nicolas, his videos have such a smooth flow in camera movements and their eyecandy shots are from a level I have not seen before, just check out that ring shot at 01:00 or that weddingdress shot at 02:00 or just the openingsshot, I know they are a multicam operator team but they sure all know how to operate their dslr's, their videos are really fun to watch.

Ed and Chimene on Vimeo

As a matter of interest do you know what they do about capturing the audio Noa? In the vows sequence the groom looked startled to find a mic suddenly just below his chin, plus the mic the priest is using appears to be on a moving pole / boom. I have visions of a ninja soundman standing right next to them.

Pete

No idea how they handle sound, must say that in several of their films audio is not on par with their visual expertise, it often sounds they capture the sound from the church soundspeakers. It did look like the cameramans mike that was held in front of the groom as no sound came out of the church soundspeakers which is why the groom looked surprised :)

2 My favorites

Jason Magbanua

Joseph and Cheryll: Life in Slow Motion on Vimeo

Mayad Studios

Payam and Gabriela : My Salvation on Vimeo

Finally a vote for Jason Magbanua :) Had a chance to go to one of his seminars last year...i thought his Same Day Edits were the best until he handed us 6 full wedding edits...simply amazing work and incredible to watch. My favorites, aside from Jason and Bob (Philippines) are Untitled Film Works (Australia), Artisland (Russia), Reb6studios and Jose Ortiz Films (USA)

Hi Kren,

Any chance you wanted to sell a copy Jason's full edit? Always wanted to see what the entire wedding would look like.

Hmmmm.... I'm not sure I like where this is heading. These videos whilst very impressive are beginning to drift further and further from reality.

Furthermore - even if I was talented enough, I'm not sure I'd be happy creating such videos that seem like a weird mixture of self-indulgence and psychological fantasy and money coming out their ears.

Seriously though, who are these people trying to sell themselves to? Am I being over cynical? But I'd imagine 98% of people at least want their cinematic videos to reflect themselves in a semi-realistic way.

If you are saying things like 'yea! like that, smile more, tilt your head a bit - ok now, lets go back up here and try that again' - surely you have crossed the line into creating some sort of marketing promo video for yourselves as the best couple ever.

All very impressive though...

Everything I see in Jason's video is put into scene, nothing is left up to chance, the same way you would do on a photoshoot. It's a style that works very well for demo purposes because you can create a perfect fake emotion that will sell very well to future brides that can relate to these "emotions" when they view the film, they all want their day to be like that as well and think the videographer can make that happen.

I have one trailer of a "high enenergy" wedding, lot's of stuff going on, fun couple, lot's of crazy friends (and a crazy/fun photog), meaningfull speeches, a special first dance and I didn't have to put anything into scene, just keep shooting to capture it all. It's also my favorite film to date but some months ago I show the trailer to a couple and they loved it and wanted their film to look like that, thing is, they have a small wedding with not that many invited, they have a church wedding with all strict church speeches, even their own vows are not personally written, just what the church provides, they don't expect any speeches at the venue and their first dance is like a slow on a tile where they don't move. So I tell them that I can't make the film look like the one I have shown as there is less to work with, they book me anyway but then the bride asks for tips later on to make her wedding look more like fun :)

In that case I am thinking of going Magbanua style and use the photoshoot a smuch as I can to put a lot into scene, just to have something "fake" to work with afterwards, not my way of shooting as I shoot documentary style but sometimes you need to please the client.

Hmmmm.... I'm not sure I like where this is heading. These videos whilst very impressive are beginning to drift further and further from reality.

If you are saying things like 'yea! like that, smile more, tilt your head a bit - ok now, lets go back up here and try that again' - surely you have crossed the line into creating some sort of marketing promo video for yourselves as the best couple ever.

LOL, I thought the entire point for a fair cross-section of people having a big wedding WAS the fantasy of it (Princess for a Day!) rather than the reality. :)

As long as the 'smile more' kind of direction isn't during the ceremony or first dance, I think of it just like a photographer's session. Glamour videography, so to speak. Get a couple of amazing portrait-style video clips, just like a photog might get when he does couple's pictures. Everybody wants to look amazing from time to time, and their wedding day is as good a day as any.

To know whether I'd take issue with anyone's work, I'd want to know more about what they actually deliver. A trailer or super-short form is definitely about the fantasy and is great to show off, both for the pro as a demo reel, and for the bride to her friends. I'm sure no one is confused about thinking that is the real story, except maybe a few guys wanting to start out and think that's all the bride wants. That doesn't mean I will dismiss it's value.

LOL, I thought the entire point for a fair cross-section of people having a big wedding WAS the fantasy of it (Princess for a Day!) rather than the reality. :)


Its hardly fantasy - most people do it. Its a special occasion - the only time you will wear such a dress - but hardly fantasy - weddings are pretty common.

I guess its a cultural thing - but very few people in my country would go for something like this.

Joseph and Cheryll: Life in Slow Motion on Vimeo

I would imagine most peoples opinions would be 'How much do they love themselves?' or 'its all so setup!'.

But even as I type I know, photography does exactly that. I don’t know why - i just feel its more acceptable to be posed in photography.

For me, in my country I still believe that brides want their highlights to show the family home, the little details, the family members, the guests, the fun, the weather (if its good), the scenery.

People are proud of their day, and their choices, and their organisation and their family and friends. Some of these videos just seem a little too ego-centric.


Again, I stress, this is my experience, in my locality.



EDIT: Just to add, in my country - I'm sure that less than 1% of people would ever want a video of themselves slow motion kissing! Would you???

You can call it a cultural thing. I have mentioned before in the Philippines, Videography is on top of the list. Book church, venue & then Videography. I was actually surprised when I moved to Canada years ago that Videography is an after though.

I also wonder what Jason's full wedding video will look like hence I was asking our colleauge Kren if he can sell me a copy.

It's quite often an afterthought in the UK as well - coming way down the list after the photographer. Over the last few years however I have had a growing number of couples that have booked me, and then got a friend/relative for the photography as they saw video as more important for them - long may that trend continue :)

Videography here in NI splits opinions and is also an afterthought.

I'm always hearing 'I've been trying to convince my fiance' or 'my mum said we should probably get a video'.

And it also a lot of the time comes last on the list and on the basis of 'have we enough money left?'.

As a result I can quite often be taking enquiries for less than 6 months in advance.

I also wholeheartedly believe that most people that book me were going to not bother (based on traditional wedding videos in NI), and seeing the stellar work of my competitors and I changed their minds on wanting their day filmed.

Saw some good stuff in here. I'm not really a fan of the "produced" wedding film. I prefer things to happen more naturally. Definitely followed a few of the guys that had videos posted in here on Vimeo.

I can now add Bob Nicolas on my list after seeing this Video. It has been awhile that a wedding film made my jaw drop

Echo and Kim on Vimeo

In that particular video it looks like a movi was used, that in combination with the jib, the copter for the areal shoots, their full frame camera's and a small team of operators has just raised the bar for high end wedding "cinematography". The only thing I do find lacking in their videos is good sound quality, especially when they are shooting brideprep, looks like they just use the onboard mic.They only charge about 3100 dollar for a 3 camera set up, 3 blu-ray discs, a 20-30 min summary, a same day edit and all raw footage unedited for 3 hours.This does include the flying shots I mentioned earlier as well.
Life seems to be very cheap on the Philippines...

I do agree with the audio part. $3000 is quite expensive back there considering the minimum wage there is $ 350/month, that is a year's salary almost.

I made a separate post earlier about "Cinematic" weddings, and I think there's some great trailers/highlights out there, but I've always wondered how their full DVDs of the weddings look, such as the full edit of the ceremony.

Really interested in this.

Believe it or not, some companies ONLY produce a 'highlights' film of the wedding day. In other
words there is no 'documentary' full length edit on their DVD. They are very popular in some locations.
Think of photography. Photography is capturing 'moments'...brides look through a photo album and
don't expect every second of their day documented. Yet they are willing to pay high price for photography.
Similarly lots of brides want something similar for their video. Something that everyone can sit and
watch and not get bored when it drags on into its 20th minute. Very high production values but shorter.

brides look through a photo album and don't expect every second of their day documented.

Here at least many do, they want to have a picture taken of every guest that enters the venue, they do that by giving them an empty photoframe which the guests have to keep in front of them. I also see much more photogs having to stay until the after the first dance, not because they want to, most don't, but because the clients are expecting them to cover every single detail, the general mood and they want as much as possible pictures.

Over the past 10 years I have seen a clear shift to "highlight" photography only to "I want to have it all" kind of photography which you can compare to a wedding documentary.

It's quite often an afterthought in the UK as well - coming way down the list after the photographer......

Videography here in NI splits opinions and is also an afterthought.....
And it also a lot of the time comes last on the list and on the basis of 'have we enough money left?'.....

This is something that's driven me nuts over the last few years. I'm sure most of you have had that phone call, "we're getting married on xyz date and weren't going to have a video so we've no budget left - how cheap can you do it"?

Or, "We weren't going to have a video, so can you do it for free / cheap and then we'll recommend you to all our friends"?

Or, "We weren't going to have a video and have no money left. The guy down the street says he'll do it for £200 but we really like your videos, can you match him on price"?

Or, "We don't need you there all day, we're getting ready at 2pm, married at 3:30pm, speeches at 6:30pm, first dance at 7pm (yeah, right!) and it's a weekday in winter (read: it will be really dark the entire time!) so you won't have any other work on that day, so can we get a 75% discount?

Or..... oh I'm sure you have lots of your own. I must have turned away at least 50 offers of work now from people who think they deserve special pricing just in the last 12-18 months, so someone out there is getting lots of work at stupid prices! I've even stopped trying to make them understand how much work goes in to a full wedding film because they're simply not interested, they just want it all 'cheap'.

As a result, wedding videos are way down my work priority list now. I hope for the rest of you it's picking up again nicely.

Getting more awesome videos out on to the forums where Brides go would probably help the idea of videos being a more important part of the wedding planning process in every country. How we collectively go about doing that is open to discussion.

Over the past 10 years I have seen a clear shift to "highlight" photography only to "I want to have it all" kind of photography which you can compare to a wedding documentary.Which is really bizarre considering that nowadays every guest is also taking photos with the camera in their smartphone.

Roland Mihalszky Kata & Zsati Wedding Film 12'48" -Masterpiece of 2013- at the Lake Tata, Hungary on Vimeo is my Top favorite videographer! His style is different. Very good on details and blending his footage with the music which is very important! Check his other videos.

After reading this thread I start following "Cinemaworks Wedding Art Film". They are very good as well. So thanks for sharing and creating this topic!

+1 for Bob Nicolas. Amazing work from them, always inspires me.

+1 for Bob Nicolas

Eventhough it's just a very small, almost negligible part, of the video, but I have no clue how they do their ringshot each time, it almost looks as if some after effects is involved or they just try that shot 20 times just to get the timings right. :)

I just watched the Roland Mihalzsky movie. Beautifully shot. beautifully edited, but what use is it as a wedding record? I found myself flicking through it to find the interesting stuff!

Speaking as a potential customer rather than a wedding videographer, what we really want is Autie Mabel spilling trifle down her cleavage or cousin George getting his face slapped for propositioning one of the bridesmaids, a true record of that momentous day in our lives.

Of course, I may just be a bit old-fashioned! :)

Dave

Eventhough it's just a very small, almost negligible part, of the video, but I have no clue how they do their ringshot each time, it almost looks as if some after effects is involved or they just try that shot 20 times just to get the timings right. :)

Haha I was thinking the same - at least 100 times surely! It's almost like CGI!

I just watched the Roland Mihalzsky movie. Beautifully shot. beautifully edited, but what use is it as a wedding record? I found myself flicking through it to find the interesting stuff!

Speaking as a potential customer rather than a wedding videographer, what we really want is Autie Mabel spilling trifle down her cleavage or cousin George getting his face slapped for propositioning one of the bridesmaids, a true record of that momentous day in our lives.

Of course, I may just be a bit old-fashioned! :)

Dave

It's an incredible film, but I agree completely - I also skipped the film and it brings back the saying that I hear most videographers say - audio is more than half of the video. Sure, his shots hold up and if I'm watching from a cinematography perspective, I'm incredibly impressed, but when trying to learn about their day? I found it inadequate. Also, he jumps between having already seen the bride at the altar and before... I don't think he quite captures time-shifting. It should be progressive... whereas his brings the story forwards, then backwards etc. I don't think it's quite there... that said, it's a million times better than what I can do! Incredible footage.

I agree with Dave

Sure the images are stunning and very cinematic and romantic BUT for a bride there is virtually no storyline. To me it's simply a very very good example of the videographer showing you. Look how great I am, I am the greatest but content wise for the bride she comes second best ...it's all about the videographer so as a portfolio it's awesome but as a wedding video that the bride wants for memories, to me it fails completely.

A very impressive piece to show off your skills but sadly the bride was purely the model here ...it would, of course, impress the pants off other videographers but if I was the bride I would have said "What about me ..who's day was it anyway.