The meaning of wedding videography with Cinastage

Creating a wedding video that produces intentional yet natural, intimate and emotionally powerful footage, is not as easy as it seems. Cinastage Studios managed to create a portfolio that conveys a wedding day in a class of its own. Combining elegance, creativity and quality.

What is the impact a wedding video makes?

Videography has a way of captivating your day differently than a still image. Photos in themselves are timeless and can be preserved for years to come in albums and on walls. They take a moment and allow you to reflect on it deeply. However, videography’s impact is both visual and audible, allowing you to relive your vows, ceremony, toasts, and the emotions of loved ones.

Sound has a way of drawing emotion and when combined with the visual element that goes with it, videography has a gift of taking us back to one of our most precious memories. That’s why we are moved by our favourite shows and movies as it has a way of drawing us into that very scene. The sounds and visuals work in harmony to emotionally impact us and become a relatable moment. A practical way of explaining the above is as follows: Would you rather see a still image of Marley & Me or watch the whole movie? The emotion would just not be the same.

How is Cinastage pushing the boundaries in the wedding industry?

We are blessed to have some of the most talented creators in the industry work full-time in our Cinastage Studio, sitting together and sharing ideas (sometimes crazy but always welcomed). This allows us to never settle for a “good wedding film“ instead we push to produce a result that blows our own minds. We never edit until our client is happy, as our client is emotionally invested. As a creator, you can often get away with so much and still get a happy client. This is why we edit until we are blown away. We push the boundaries of the wedding industry because we are our own clients and nothing goes out until the room is left in awe.

We noticed you make use of black and white snippets in your video, why is this?

We have always been drawn to the streets of Paris in 1910, the birth of one of the biggest fashion brands in the world… Coco Chanel.

This is where we found a deep and intimate love for a world seen in black and white, a world where elegance and class were the norm for those walking the streets of Paris. We believe this is still true today, that black and white carries the essence of elegance and will always be timeless, no matter the era.

How do you ensure that the detail is captured to its fullest potential?

We build hundreds of short stories throughout the day from the smallest details to the main events; approaching every element as if it’s a story. This gives us the mindset of filming different angles and being intentional with every short. When all these stories get placed before our editor, most of the thinking has already been done and this ensures that everything we film is created to its fullest potential.

What is your take on Sony gear when it comes to video?

We’ve been filming with Sony for most of our career and we’ve never been disappointed by our gear. It’s always sharp, on point and ready to film in some of the most difficult environments. Because we film at a high pace we need gear that will keep up with our workload and be able to remain stable through extended periods of time. Our Sony cameras give us exactly that and more.

Which gear is a must when shooting a wedding?

How much editing goes into wedding videos?

Depending on the length of a wedding video, and the amount of storytelling that needs to be conveyed, the editing process differs.

In order to create a striking, well-narrated video there must be a balance between the sound (music), the narration and the visuals, in order to capture and hold the audience’s attention. A video plays a vital role in capturing a wedding day’s emotions, and if the song choice in the video is off, then the emotion of the day is lost. So one needs to make sure that your song selection is accurate to the brand and the couple in the video. This requires substantial research and planning.

What accessories do you make use of? Constant light, sound etc.

Contrary to most of the industry, we don’t make use of any additional lighting and try to use the natural look and feel of the setting and enhance it to its most elegant form. Sound is a vital element of our films, therefore we use receivers that feed clear sound directly into our cameras and automatically sync to our clips. This also saves time in the edit as the syncing is already done to perfection. Gimbals play a big role in the quality of our work to ensure the clips are stable, however, too much use of the gimbal can rob your films from feeling real and authentic. Therefore our standard practice is around 60% gimbal and 40% handheld. We use a drone from time to time but the emotion on the ground always takes first priority.