Image from a recent project.

If you’ve booked us for a wedding film set, or you’re considering it, and want to know more about how the “interview” part of the production looks (and how to give a good one), here’s a full rundown on what we’ll be doing, and how we’ll do it.

It’s basically an engagement shoot, but you talk, and your perspectives on your upcoming marriage play an important role in how the wedding video turns out. Our services are personalized to you in a way that no wedding videographer can match.

Scheduling

For destination weddings, this is usually the day before. Otherwise, it’s really whatever time period before the wedding works best.

Depending on the package you choose, the whole process can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. You’ll be doing a lot of chilling out and waiting for lights to be set up, etc.. The sample schedule described at the end of this article is for the deluxe sessions), smaller projects will have sessions which only last a couple hours, and omit the canoodling.

Location Scouting

Part of what allows us to control your costs is that we try to avoid using professional studios to shoot wedding interviews. The flip side of that is that it means you’re responsible for finding a location (not entirely, we do have some go-tos). Here’s what to look for.

An ideal location has three general traits. It’s pretty, it’s easy to film in, and it says something about your relationship.

Pretty

It’s brightly lit, has interesting decor (if indoor) or features (if outdoor), and a generally pleasing combination of colors. If it’s outdoors, it needs somewhere for you to sit.

Easy to Film In

There’s a lot that goes into this:

• Do you have unrestricted access to the location?

• Can you spend 4-6 hours there without causing any problems?

• How difficult will it be for you to change outfits, apply makeup, and make other adjustments on the fly?

• Does the location have a secondary or nearby space where you can go to be out of earshot while your fiance gives their interview, and vice versa? Is there some way to stave off boredom in this area, or are you both comfortable being stuck on your phones for about an hour each?

• Do you have permission to film in this location? (This is generally only relevant if this is someone else’s business, permits can be negotiated.)

• Do you have permission to bring food into this location?

• Is there a lot of background noise (kids, nearby train tracks, highway or airport, etc.)?

• If indoor: does the location have ample available power outlets, and can you control the normal lights (we will be bringing our own lights, and will need to plug them in)? If the location has windows (ideally it should, you don’t want to look like you’re being interviewed in a basement), how nice are the curtains, and how good are they at blocking out light?

• If outdoor: will the weather be nice? Are there any unseemly objects (such as stop signs) we’ll need to ensure stay out of the background?

• Does the location have amenities (food, water, trash cans, restrooms, etc.)?

• Not essential, but good in a pinch: does the location have basic workshop tools–such as duct tape and extension cords–available somewhere?

Relevant

What does the location say about you? What does it say about your marriage?

It isn’t necessarily essential to have a super specific or emotionally poignant location to do interviews in, the interview background will usually be at least a little bit blurry. But if you happen to share an interesting hobby that brings you closer together as a couple, or your wedding is going to be themed in some way, then having an interview location that ties into that is helpful.

Some Basic Ideas to Get You Started

• Are you an outdoorsy couple? A nice hiking trail without much traffic can work great.

• Are you family oriented? A cozy living room or sunroom is a great and convenient option.

• Are you just chill and like having a good time? Plenty of good parks around the city.

• Is your reception location scenic? See if you can get it for free/cheap on an off-day.

• If you’re also a photographer, painter, or other artist, then a well-lit studio (that you already have access to) is a great option, especially if it’s got your art on the walls.

Bad Ideas to Avoid

• Churches. We go to houses of worship to worship, not ask you questions about yourself. It may sound weird, especially if you’re a faith-focused couple, but interviewing basically anyone in a church who’s not a priest will very quickly start to feel irreverent for everyone involved. Retreat centers (such as OLHSC in Norwood) are fair game, and often have scenic gardens and beautiful art that makes for great backdrops.

• Basements. Anywhere without access to good natural light, really. Unless you’re cavers, you don’t want your interview to look like it’s in a cave.

• Any kind of bland/corporate room. It may seem easy, but filming in a repurposed meeting room is something you’ll likely come to regret, even if you really love meetings.

Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe

Hair

Make it look good. If you’re a guy, remember to comb it. If you have long hair, and really want to go nuts with the quality, you can probably use the information we talk about in the next point to your advantage, and get a perfect glossy sheen on your hair like a shampoo commercial. I have no idea how you’d go about doing that, but I assume it’s possible, and if you’re genuinely interested I can connect you with some HMU artists who would probably be willing to explain it.

Makeup

The main thing to know about makeup for films is that the way we use lights often enhances the prominence of reflections on your face.

If you’re dark-skinned, this looks great. If you’re white, this makes you look unnaturally sweaty and gross. Don’t try to compensate for this before we’ve actually gotten the lights set up and know exactly what we’re dealing with, but do have powder on hand (or anything that can give your skin a neutral matte finish) just in case it turns out you need it.

If you have a darker complexion (whether you’re asian, black, inuit, whatever), you can consider using baby oil to actually enhance the effect of reflections on your face. It sounds weird and is completely up to you, but I will say that I’ve seen it done by some MMA fighters and it’s turned out well for their shoots. Again, would recommend waiting until after the lights are set up, and have some way to remove it if it turns out that what makes black MMA fighters look good doesn’t work for black brides.

And finally, stick to your own tastes, and don’t feel any pressure to do anything you think is too much. We’ve worked with brides that do basically no makeup and are more than happy with a natural look, brides that see makeup as an art form and enjoy a chance to try their hand at the skill, and, of course, actual HMUs, who love it so much they made it their job. We encourage you to do whatever fits you best.

Wardrobe

Rule number one: the outfits need to make sense within the context, whether that’s the location or a wedding theme (if you’ve got one).

So if you decided to go with the first idea listed above, cause you’re a super-outdoorsy-hiker-couple, ignore the entire rest of this section and just dress like hikers.

Unless this is a themed wedding with relevant costumes, or you’ve picked somewhere where specific dress choice is required, the man should look anywhere from semi-professional, to fancy casual. Depends on the man, but the main thing we want to avoid is the “pretending to try” phenomenon, where they wear a polo and some khakis and call that a win. We want to strike a balance between the formal attire he’ll be wearing at the wedding, and the more relaxed nature of these interviews.

You (assuming you’re the woman) should follow the same general idea: nice, but not necessarily super-formal. Again, your personal tastes here play a big role, so whether this means a nice T-shirt, a sweater, or a sundress is all up to you. Just remember the rest of the shots in the final cut will be showing you in a wedding dress.

So the main idea here is really just to look good, and not too casual, nor as formal as the wedding. Strike that balance.

General Schedule

Before We Show Up, You Should Eat: It will help you think, and we might be working for a while once we get started.

Arrival: Crew (max 3 people, often just me) arrive, scout location, usually about 15 minutes.

Canoodling B Roll Take: This is an optional section where we’ll get more “standard” wedding video fluff shots. You holding each other, staring into each others eyes, being all amorous and stuff. Extremely free-flowing and unchoreographed.

Initial Set Up - First Interview: We’ll be picking the interview spot, and setting up lights and grip equipment. There’s not much for you to do just yet, but you can always help move stuff if you want. This ideally takes about 30 minutes, but can often take an hour or more, depending on what we encounter at the location.

Camera Test - First Interview: the interviewee will have to sit in position while we finish tweaking the setup. Can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 30.

First Interview Take: Your future spouse (normally we start with the Groom) leaves the room, and we’ll speak 1-on-1 about your life, your relationship, your long term plans and goals, etc. It’s really more of a relaxed conversation. Can be anywhere from 30m to 90, and we’ll probably end up using like about 60s in the final marriage film. The rest gets cut into its own video, and will be delivered privately after the wedding for you and your spouse to hold on to.

Reset for Second Interview: we’ll change the setup at least slightly, so that the interview shots don’t look the exact same, it may seem redundant but it really works wonders for the quality of the final videos. 10-30m.

Camera Test - Second Interview: We’ll need to redo all the tweaking of lights and filters and camera angles with the second interviewee, 5-30m.

Second Interview Take: Swap people. The first interviewee leaves the room, we do the second interview, same topics, same rule (about 1m of what you actually say will actually get used, the rest is for you).

Wrap and Teardown: we’ll unplug everything, break down all the lights, break down the camera, clean up any messes, and be on our way.

Delivery: the final cuts for these interviews will be delivered with the rest of the wedding film collection, standard rule is within the 60 days following the wedding, but check your contract to be sure.

What We’ll Talk About

First of, we want to be clear that this is not a quiz, there are no wrong answers. I won’t be asking leading questions or trying to catch you off guard with anything. It will be free flowing and relaxed, I may have a pad with some notes but not a set list of questions.

That said, there are some questions that are going to come up, in some way, shape, or form, every time. Be prepared to talk about:

• Your backstory (birth, education, family life, etc.)
• How you met.
• Your first impressions of each other, and how those impressions changed as you got to know each other better.
• What they’re like, both in general and with you specifically.
• How you both tend to communicate, what makes your interactions unique.
• Your first date.
• Your family and friends’ reactions to your relationship.
• Interesting and funny stories from your courtship.
• Your personal impression of big moments (when you knew it was serious, when you knew it was going all the way, etc.)
• The proposal.
• Your faith, if any.
• What’s drawn you to your fiance, and how and why you love them.
• How you see your marriage going, what you see yourself doing as a spouse, how you plan on being a good spouse.
• What you’re looking for, what your long term goals are, where you plan on being lifewise in 10 years.
• What you’d want to say to your future self, to your future spouse, your parents, their parents, your kids, etc..
• Anything else that feels right in the moment.

Obviously that’s quite a lot. Don’t worry about it. I won’t be asking in this order or running down these as a list, it will be a free flowing convo on these subjects.

The most important thing is to relax and be yourself. It’s not actually your job to look good, or to try and present everything in the best light. It’s ours, and we’re pretty good at it. The only things you actually need to be are genuine and in love. If you’ve got that covered, we’ll handle the rest.