Wedding Venture

My exceedingly talented friend Kerry Bartlett recently made the brave decision to branch out into the wedding video market.

A venture into the capturing of a couples' 'perfect day' on film would send most people into a panic-driven seizure, but Kerry is a seasoned pro - cutting her teeth in this market many years ago as a wedding photographer.

I too have a lot of experience as a wedding service provider: many summers as a teenager spent behind the scenes at a stately-home-cum-wedding-venue gave me a robust 'bomb-proof' mentality and propensity to keep calm and carry on in the face of any unplanned wedding misdemeanour. I've witnessed fights, blood, oceans of tears (and some happy moments too!!). Nothing can ever surprise me at a wedding.

When you're backstage at this type of 'production' - even though it is an exceptionally special event for your clients, if you've prepared yourself for every eventuality, you will come through with a satisfying outcome (and a sprinkling of cinematic gold dust).

So, at the beginning of this summer I was delighted to be asked to accompany Kerry to a series of weddings, acting as her assistant (second camera operator). I was in the midst of a frantic spell on a medical documentary series for C5, but thankfully, weddings are generally on the weekend, so these extra curricular activities didn't interfere with my bread-and-butter production work. The weddings were a welcome glimmer of light relief to be perfectly honest.

I've witnessed most kinds of human drama during my TV production career, so working with a best friend, in a Mediaeval Barn on a bright and sunny Saturday in the heart of the Somerset countryside seemed like a superb idea - a stark contrast to filming in stressful hospital environments the length and breadth of the UK.

I'm pleased to report that we work very well as a team. We have a giggle: singing in the car, setting up Go Pros in unusual places, stretching our limbs in order to create the perfect pan across a high-growing maize field with a cumbersome crane.

We've produced three films together now. They're short non-dialogue music videos that capture the emotions and key points of the day. Kerry's style is elegant, intimate and ethereal. Improving all the time.

We thoroughly recce the locations in plenty of time before the guests arrive - looking for that prime backdrop that somehow encapsulates the bride and groom's personalities and also complements their outfits - without taking them too far away from the party they've been planning for months. 

Shooting with up to three/four cameras means we can cover things from a multitude of angles as well as making sure we don't get blamed for kidnapping the bride and groom in order to indulge in Hollywood-style auteur filmmaking.

I'm amazed at the standard of Kerry's work and her speedy mastering of Adobe Premiere Pro and editing to music. I'm proud to be involved and hope that we go from strength to strength as a partnership. Fingers crossed we double our bookings next year.

Here's a a taste of what's on offer when you book this wedding-proof production duo:

http://www.kerrybartlett.co.uk/category/films/