1. Shoot, shoot, shoot
My colleagues at the table are sometimes surprised by how much I run around at the wedding and walk among the guests, along the corridors, around the building, etc. It is one of the most important "secrets" of my work. 400 - 600 shots with a total length of 3.5 - 5 hours are the only guarantee of a good edit.
2. People are always more than inanimate objects
Rings, cakes and dresses on hangers work very well for cameramen because they are predictable. However, we, the viewers are human and therefore we prefer to observe life. When observing a person, I am patient and I usually turn off the camera only after I have captured some motion, mood, gesture, anything that characterizes the given person at least a little. That's a good shot for me.
3. Look there, where no one is looking
I developed this technique only after many years of shooting weddings. For official events such as: ceremony, congratulations, etc. many cameramen are tempted to "play it safe", i.e. film it all from start to finish, preferably with at least three cameras. You will make life easier in the cutting room and at the same time no one will be able to scold you for missing something. The problem is that no one will watch it either.
I try to reduce the ceremony to things directly related to you and your family. Your vows at the altar, the sermon where the priest describes your shared experiences, the cousin reading from the Bible behind the counter, the grandmother mastering all the liturgical songs by heart, the disobedient children who had to be taken out of the church, the napping uncle, etc., etc.
4. Music plays a huge role
There can sometimes be a very fine line between an interesting and a cheesy wedding video, which is made by the music. Music is my life. I've been writing, composing and listening to it since childhood in incredible amounts and variety. When editing a wedding, I often change the song 3-4 times, even in seemingly insignificant passages, until it "clicks" into the atmosphere of the wedding, and I try to get at least basic information from each bride and groom about what music they like, or don't like to set my creative boundaries.
5. Know what you're doing
In order to achieve this, in the years 2010 - 2015, I studied film direction at VŠMU in Bratislava and at the Falmouth University and graduated as one of only two students of that course under the guidance of prof. Dušan Trančík. This is a guarantee not only of my expertise, but also of my independence and superhuman ability to creatively improvise in the most absurd situations.
Working with Mr. Jakubisko, one of the most iconic Slovak directors also gave me a lot of insight.
6. Beware of Too Much of a Good Thing
Large close-ups and slow motions in films suppress the information and emphasize the emotion. I love making them at weddings, but just like you wouldn't eat a 10 pound wedding cake that has 9 pounds of sugar in it, you wouldn't watch a video where 90% of the shots are in slow motion with music that accurately describes everything you see in the picture.
7. Observe and not be observed
It often happens to me that people ask where I am, despite the fact that I am standing right next to them. I use this rare talent especially when shooting weddings. The best actors are those who don't even know they're acting. This naturally includes the principle that I work alone. I think that in order not to turn the wedding into a film set, there should not be more audiovisual professionals surrounding the newlyweds than the newlyweds themselves.
8. Guests make the best cinematographers
When I was a teenager, I organized LARP events that I wanted to capture on video at the same time. Whenever I was busy and entrusted the camera to a friend who happened to be at hand, excellent shots were taken. The cameraman spoke to the players and they answered him in a completely normal way, as if they were not even being filmed. A wedding cameraman must strive for a similar state. When everyone stands in the church, he also stands. When the guests dance, he dances, when they talk, he talks with them. Of course, this does not apply to drinking alcohol.
Speaking of alcohol. I am 100% non drinker, so you can strike out one welcome drink.
9. Don't take yourself so seriously
This is related to the previous two commandments, but also to post-production. The wedding film is uploaded online and later on a USB. It is not set in stone. Therefore, do not hesitate to name anything that bothers you about the film I sent to you. Does the music not match? Did I cut out something you wanted to see? Correction is no problem and I never take criticism personally. It's for you and it's for life, so it has to be perfect.
10. The content is more than the form
Many of my competitors strive for rock steady shots perfect light, perfect sound, or multi-camera recording. These are all great things, but a wedding is full of unexpected and unrepeatable situations. They happen all the time, and every spare minute I have at a wedding I'd rather invest in finding these little stories than in meeting technical standards.
11. No "clients"
I emphasize simplicity and informality, both in camera work and in interpersonal relationships. To be honest, the word "client" gives me goosebumps. I shot my first wedding when I was 17 years old in 2007. At that time, it didn't even occur to me that any supplier contracts were signed before the wedding. Everything was built on humanity and mutual trust. And so I still have it today. To me, you are people, newlyweds, brides and grooms, and most importantly, you have names, hundreds of which I remember to this day.
And here are both your and my stories, told in the language I understand best: