a Q&A from the Fabulous Together “Ask the Experts” series

So recently I was asked by Andrea from wedding planners extraordinaire Fabulous Together if I would contribute to their recent “Ask the Experts” series where they speak to different sectors within the wedding industry about all things weddings. Hope you enjoy it :-

“Tell us about your business Dave”

My business is Dave Bone Films and I’m a wedding videographer. Over the past 17 years I have been lucky enough to film over 500 weddings both here in the UK and abroad.

“In light of the current pandemic how do you think things will change for weddings in 2021?”

The actual day itself I don’t see changing very much. Hopefully Social distancing will be a distant memory and we can all get on with hugging our loved ones and enjoying being social butterflies again. In terms of the marketplace I think it will become less of buyers’ market and more of a seller’s one. You are potentially doubling the amount of wedding taking place in one year but having the same number of suppliers so It’s just a case of supply and demand. I also think we will see more mid-week weddings, again just due to volume. If I could give one tip to couples who are getting married in 2021 I would say get you suppliers locked in as early as you can.

“You are really passionate about what you do, what do you think sets you apart from other videographers?”

I don’t really concentrate on what other videographers do anymore, don’t get me wrong, in my earlier years I was constantly looking at how people did things and yes, I will admit I copied them. It took me a few years to have the confidence to have a style of my own rather than a mish mash of everyone else’s. Due to social media you are constantly being fed subliminal messages about how wedding films should look and feel so I don’t tend to watch other people’s work that much. There are lots of disadvantages to running your own business but one of major advantages is that you are your own boss, you call the shots and you decide which way the business goes and how it operates. In an industry like weddings I feel your business should be an extension of you and your personality, it should share the same values. People buy from people and my business, when you boil it down, is just me and a camera, so my values are to never lose sight of how important this day is to the couple and the day I wake up and think, “another wedding” really is the time to call it a day. I am very passionate about what I do because I really care, I know that’s sounds all cliche and ticks the boxes you should tick but it’s the truth, I’m a perfectionist, people say it’s a great trait to have but from a business perspective it means spending more time on an edit than I maybe should but that’s who I am, every wedding I shoot gets exactly the same amount of attention and care. I’ve no idea how hard other videographers work and you may find another videographer who works as hard as me but I guarantee you won’t find anyone who will work harder both on the day and in the editing process to produce a wedding film you will want to watch again and again and that will stand the test of time.

“Is it important that you work well with the photographer, how do you ensure this?”

The relationship between Photographer and Videographer is crucial, get off on the wrong foot and the day can become incredibly difficult. Experience helps and even if the photographer isn’t co-operating, I will make sure I get everything I need, it’s just more a struggle. Luckily as the years have passed the relationship between the two have definitely thawed. When I first started, the photographer was king, they were paid more, videographers were not in vogue and only a tiny percentage of weddings would have both. Then videographers began to use the same cameras as the photographers and as an early adopter I was being asked constantly, “You’re not taking stills with that are you” Funny how the tables have turned with many photographers shooting video as part of their packages 😊 Nowadays Its commonplace for a photographer be working alongside a videographer and 99.9% of them appreciate we are both their to do the best job for the client. I always contact the photographer beforehand, I would never send them a link to my work but most of them do tend to have a look on the website and hopefully they see the work is of a high quality so they are already arriving at the wedding with the knowledge that I know what I’m doing. I adopt a similar process to photographers as I do to marketing to couples, I try and build the know, like and trust factor. I let them know in my initial email that I believe video and photos should dovetail and complement each other not duplicate, I tell them that I won’t be taking video as the group shots being done for example. There is no point, all it does is draw out process for the photographer because guests don’t know if they should look at me or the photographer, the photographers picture will always be better than my video and they are documenting that part of the day so I should away documenting another part. Once they know you “get it” they work with you. Another thing I don’t take from them is time. The one thing a photographer doesn’t always have at a wedding is time, so I always mention to them that I do not need to take the bride and groom away for any staged shots because I shoot in a documentary style, this always puts me in the photographers good books because I’m not impacting on how they work.

“Sometimes couples are put off having a videographer as they envisage this means always having a camera in their faces, but that’s not the case is it?”

It depends on the type of videographer they are looking for. If they want high fashion, lots of posed shots then yes you will have a camera on you and it will be very visible for a large part of the day. I shoot in a documentary style which is all about keeping out of people’s personal space and just observing rather than directing. I just use my experience to anticipate when things are going to happen so I can capture real emotions and feelings. If a couple can look at their wedding film and say, “when did he get that shot” rather than, “ahh yes that’s the shot where Dave said hold hands and walk down the path” then I’m happy.

“Music is really important to accompany your films how do you pick this and can couples have any input?”

Music is really important to set the mood and tone, it’s a skill to choose and blend the music, to make sure crescendos are placed at the right time etc. I use a lot of the audio from the day itself in my films, so speeches, vows, readings, even the ambient sounds of wind whistling in the trees or wedding cars arriving on a graveled path. Music choices need to be able to blend seamlessly into the ambient sounds of the day so I usually select tracks without lyrics so the two do not clash. Sound stimulates the senses because your ears are more sensitive than your eyes and it is such an integral and important part of the film making process, (its 50% of the production actually) and that is why I like to choose the music rather than let the clients decide. I have tried it in the past and it felt like someone had put a straitjacket on me, I couldn’t be creative because I was being limited by the song choice. It just wouldn’t be one of my films if someone else chose the music. If I was going for a meal in a nice restaurant I wouldn’t walk into the kitchen and ask the chef if I could cook it myself 😊. I’ve lost bookings because of this but I have to stay true to my values.

“Tell us how you like to work with clients?”

I like to meet them before the wedding if at all possible. Obviously if they live too far away or in another country then I will Skype them but for me it’s not about the data capture in terms of the day itself it’s more about just seeing the whites of their eyes and building up a rapport and also putting their mind at rest that I’m just a normal happy go lucky guy who you will enjoy having around. Just breaking down any barriers and putting everyone at ease. Its never a good look walking into bridal preparation on the morning of a wedding and having to rely on the back of dressing gowns to find out who the bride is. During that meeting we will go through the timings and just talk about what the couple’s expectations are and what is important to them. Many creatives don’t like input from the bride and groom and I know I’m kind of contradicting myself after the comment about music but in terms of content, the more information they give me the better the chances I will produce something they will love and cherish.

“What about if weddings have to become smaller in size, do you think couples still need a videographer there as well? ”

OBVIOUSLY, you need a videographer 😊 Firstly you may have people who, for whatever reason, were unable to attend and there is just something about video, hearing the laughter and seeing a smile slowly come across someone’s face that still images alone cannot always purvey. Secondly your living in a digital age, children today are the You Tube generation, they consume the majority of their content this way. If you have or already have children, when they are older they will say without a doubt, “what do you mean you have no video of your wedding day” and sure, you will may have some phone footage from guests, shot vertically with poor sound and that’s all well and good but a professionally produced wedding film will be an investment that will give you years of pleasure and….whisper it quietly to any photographers…. but I guarantee you will watch your video more times than you get your wedding album out 😊

Me an expert…..who knew :-)