Smart & Chic artists and stylists had the chance to work with notable wedding videographer Gary Freedline and his team at Video Keepsakes of Los Angeles during their recent Rock the Dress photo shoot in Malibu. The video turned out beautifully, take a look!
We asked him a few questions about his company and the wedding video industry in L.A. and here's what we found out:
You mention that Asian weddings and Same Day Edits are your specialty. Why are you exceptional at these?
I think we stumbled into Asian weddings a few years ago by offering extremely stylish videos that was not mainstream in nature. Our popularity with the Asian culture grew from there mostly from word of mouth. My wife being Chinese helped, but my American style and producing films for MTV was the recipe for success.
Being in the wedding business for many years allowed us to film many different culture weddings. We had to adapt quickly and pioneer something we felt would match a particular cultural style and flair. Alley ways and train stations started replacing tree's and gardens as favorite engagement and portrait locations, stiff family photo sessions grew into trendy shooting with our couple and wedding party. Our shooting became less traditional and more artsy as we started revolutionizing the way a wedding video is supposed to look.
Same Day Edits became a household work at Video Keepsakes a few years ago. We realized that many guests, family and friends might never see the finished video. We knew we could introduce something fresh, something new, and something very exciting right there on the spot.
During the wedding, what could bring more emotion and impact then seeing the day flash again before your very eyes? The bride is not aware of what the groom is doing while she and her entourage is preparing, and the groom has no idea what is going on behind closed doors in the bridal suite. Our "he said, she said" interview section brings out the best in our couples and exposes things that even their parents and siblings might be unaware of which brings the families closer together.
The reason we are so successful with the Same Day Edit is our experience with weddings in general, our shooting and editing skills, and knowing what makes a good show. This is not something a good editor could tackle without much experience and we have become better and better at them ourselves the more we do.
How do you work with different couples’ personalities and styles when shooting?
Since our video are based around our brides and grooms individuality, we usually have a telephone consultation prior to booking and again after being booked. Some brides like to meet personally while others know our reputation and see our styles in the over 600 videos posted online and do not require in person meetings.
I think today's bride and groom differ from the brides and grooms from years ago. Most work or go to school, time is limited. Our consultations are informative and we listen for key factors that will set a particular couple apart. Two different weddings at the same venue will result in two completely different and unique films. Some like our MTV music video style with no talking or interviewing of the bride and groom, while others love to interact and tell us little things in their life that we can intertwine into the video story. Sometimes we discover things during the prep sessions, but the best videos are ones captured spontaneously, and not staged or planned to a "T".What types of non-traditional wedding-related videos do you think are gaining in popularity and why?
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