It's been two days since we covered our first wedding under the trying phase of COVID19.

Filmmaking is about treating the world like an open playing field.
Dream big and shoot fearlessly. 
This is the mantra we used to shoot with. The irony is now we have changed this to "shoot with immense caution". 

Our wedding planner asked us to film a wedding during the lockdown. She assured that the wedding shall follow all government guidelines and safety practises for all the guests. This meant that those attending would be wearing masks, and there would be less than 50 people (including ourselves, the photographers,  and the wedding organisers)

Rounding up the team:
We had to ensure that all on-board understood the safety aspect while covering.
To be clear that we are shooting at our own risk, we had to be respectful to those who were not willing to shoot due to safety concerns.
For those who were willing to shoot, we had to address their concerns collectively and be a 100% transparent regarding the safety provisions. We wouldn't want our own to feel like we are pushing them into a war zone.

The troubling questions:
During the wedding planning, these were some of the most concerning points we were daunted with:

1. "We’re going to have a lot of masks in our frames. How do we achieve the same quality of our wedding films when we rely so much on people’s expressions?"
2. "Half of the groom/bride’s friends and family weren’t going to make it to the wedding, how do we capture their presence when all we can work with is a video call?"
3. "How do we safely capture the entire wedding without putting our team or attending guests at risk?"

We knew this called for more effort to maintain our quality of story-telling. This was paramount in achieving an all-round wedding film that our clients would be happy with.

No escaping from the new norm:
During our initial discussion with the couple, we let them know that there is no point ‘escaping’ from the fact that we are all facing an unprecedented time, and with that - we must embrace some new ideas which will soon be a norm in upcoming wedding films.
As dreary as it may seem, performing wedding rituals in an empty space with a few loved ones watching from their laptop screens shall soon be accepted as a way of how weddings shall go. The sooner we adapt to this new form, the better for everyone.

The couple were very understanding regarding these aspects, and showed all their support towards our new ideas.

Take it from our learning:

1. As the wedding dates approach, keep in touch with the wedding planner, to know of any changes in events, since there are fresh updates on the news every day.
2. With the lockdown in effect, it is vital to arrange for permission, and vehicle permits.
3. We highly recommend anyone to plan their wedding venue at an outdoor location.
4. Hire a wedding planner experienced with outdoor decors, and also a reliable team who follow sanitisation standards.
5. When on shoot, ensure to come in an hour earlier than usual, to know the ‘safe zones’ i.e. safe vantage points by which you can cover the wedding.
6. Emotions would be a bit hard to pick up during the shoot, considering we’ll be covering important family members in masks. So try making more use of the tele-lens to focus on the eyes.
7. From a story standpoint, find time with the couple and their families to get more content - which will help showcasing their personality. We would now have to rely on these personal moments much more than we used to, since emotions are what drive a good wedding film.

There will always be more room for improvisation, so it’s imperative to have an experienced team to ensure all guidelines are followed. 

All credit to an astounding accomplishment by the teams we worked with, to make this wedding the first of it's kind.

Wedding Planner: Bhumika Nahata (Chirmi Weddings)
Couple: Praveen + Anusha
Cinematography: NJM Productions
Photography: Vivek Krishnan Photography

What are your thoughts on how we can improvise our next wedding shoot? Do drop in a line below!

Stay safe!

Imagine a wedding without a priest, or a wedding without reciting mantras..  or how about a sangeet without a wedding DJ?
Coorgi (or Kodava) Weddings are a stem apart from the other kinds of the weddings celebrated in India; Simplicity is the key to Coorgi weddings. It’s a family-oriented occasion which focuses on building up a bond between the two families and is entirely based on the blessings of the elders. Prayers are offered to ancestors at the sacred lamp and the wedding ceremony is guided by elders whose blessings are sought. 

A picture may say a thousand words, but a video captures more. The commotion, the hustle bustle that leads up before the final rituals, the reactions of your near and dear ones as you make your way down to the mandap, and your expressions as you take the final pheras. The day spurs by and these moments are crucial for a seasoned videographer to capture beautifully.

Wedding videography can be an added expense, but at the end of it all, it’s worth the splurge.

A professional take
Professional videographers are trained to get the best results and know exactly where to be at the right time. They invest in high quality and expensive equipment to give you a grand outcome.  Editors can piece together the footage with just the right music to accommodate anything you wish to have.

Celebrity for a day
Wedding videography has changed drastically in the past 20 years. A professional videographer can edit all your raw wedding footage to create a movie, set to music, that will truly tell the story of your wedding from start to finish.  Wedding videos these days are just a couple of steps away from Hollywood. With the right videographers, you’ll get an opportunity to be the star of your own movie! 
The 'larger than life' experience can either be included in your wedding film or as a separate 'pre-wedding' film that serves as a great Save-The-Date invite.
Read our article on pre-wedding films featured here on the economic times.

Moments you miss
Your wedding day goes by as fast as a camera flash, and it is impossible for you to be everywhere and see everything all at once.  But a videographer can capture these moments and allow you to watch them as though you were there and see even more moments than you were able to on your wedding day. Your videographer may even offer you extra footage that didn’t make it to your wedding film.

Share it
Your wedding video is just a button click away from being shared. Videographers now upload wedding videos onto various social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. Share your big day with your family, friends, and guests who were unable to attend the wedding, giving them a chance to be part of your special day just as though they were right there with you.

Something to have and hold
Your wedding video is something to watch and share with generations to come. It’s a great way to reconnect with magical moments.

All the reasons you need to hire a professional wedding videographer, STAT!
 

​The Premise:
South Indian weddings are packed with traditional rituals. We usually associate a classic ceremony seeing the south indian wedding stage decoration, floral arrangements, the banana leaf entrances – these are all images that can never be erased from our memory.  To appeal to the generation of today, most couples off late celebrate their wedding with a concoction of modern innovative themes with older traditional rituals. However, the weddings we will be talking about today are the purists, where all the rituals for the couple are completed on stage- witnessed by a hall full of close friends and relatives. The beautiful, time tested customs are more than enough to set the mood for the audience as all these rituals bare an interesting story. 

The Problem:
To produce a candid wedding film is a big task since most of these rituals are conducted on stage with less scope of movement by the cameramen. No couple would want these rituals to be ruined by cameramen setting up their tripods in the center of the stage just to complete their shot, without any concern for the family/relatives who have traveled far to watch the wedding rituals. 
​
The Solution:
So how do we manage getting all our shots to produce a candid video, without disturbing the peace and sanctity of these functions?
​
Use the Telephoto Lens:
Long lenses are great to achieve closeup shots of the groom and bride, even from a distance. You can station a Tripod with these lens at a strategic place where there is enough room for your own movement so you can adjust when incase your shot gets blocked by family members who stand in front of the couple.

Know the rituals before-hand: 
This is crucial to know so you and your team are always aware of the movements on stage and they are better prepared to capture all rituals instead of last minute scrambling for shots. This shows a professional approach by your team as against an unprepared, messy, get-out-of-my-way videographer.

Watch your Equipment:
If all bets are off, get into the scene to get your shot but always look out for the family members' safety first. Ensure that your Tripod legs don't stick out as you make your way into the crowd, which can cause a lot of nuisance to the people around.
In the mandap area, where the place is packed with people, try getting in with a single legged monopod instead of a 3-legged Tripod. 

Be polite:
If you need your shot, don't forget to be polite as you request the person in front to clear the frame. One impulsive, arrogant move from you can define your reputation in that instant. Be gentle, and they will be more than happy to move out of the way.

Issshmille Please:
Any traditional wedding can be a long grueling process that will tire out anyone, even the enthusiasts. That's when the natural smiles diminish. Get the couple to smile from time to time, or at least try. In a place which is packed with one traditional custom after the other,  their facial expressions can go a long way to make an interesting wedding film.

I've always wanted to do something for myself rather than be a cog in an enormous well-oiled machine. The real beauty is in all those little things that you build on your own; as you watch your small sandhill grow, and you strengthen it's walls with your bare hands preparing it to weather high tide. 
So the first thing I did for myself to keep my sanity, is that I made a list of all the things I needed to build a company from ground up. 

• Incorporate it: Make it legit. If you don't take it seriously, nobody else will. If you have no idea where to begin, try www.vakilsearch.com - who were really helpful in getting us incorporated.
• Building your brand: your logo, your business cards, your color palette, your elevator pitch, your Facebook page, your domain name, your website, Instagram account, Google Page - all of that will be representing you and your company. Create the atmosphere that you will be breathing into for the next phase of your career!
• Stand by our mission statement: Know for yourself why did you start this company. Keep it written somewhere, so you can always go back to it someday if you sense you are losing your way. Mine for example, was to erase others' notions who say "films are too expensive" by producing quality films for our clients at an affordable cost.
• Start with your showreel: Yes. I didn't say slide-deck. Nobody has the time to go through well garnished slides full of hollow promises. Nothing is better than to actually 'see' your product work. What better way than to showcase it via a short video? Here's something we made before launching our own company.

Imagine a concert waiting to happen on the day of your wedding, and YOU are the star. The cameras will follow wherever you go, and they would flash their lights to your every smile, every nod and every 'pranaam'. Later on, you can do nothing but hope that you gave your best angles to give a good show for the final video.

But let's not stop there, and stir things up a bit. What if you knew exactly what song will be used for the final film, you come in slightly prepared and break into an amazing choreographed sequence or lip-sync a song for the cameras to make a video that will be remembered for years to come.

Introducing you folks to the new era of lip-dub weddings; the lyrics in the song play more weightage over other aspects in the film. Our own journey in the wedding space began with shooting a lip-dub wedding video to the song 'Sugar' by Maroon 5. You can watch our video here. 

Here's a list of all the essential bits we learnt from own experiences in producing these films for couples on their wedding day.

Whether you are a couple or a videographer or neither, this list will certainly help you make the most out of the lip-dub video - even as a participant.

1. Learn about the couple: On the first interaction with the couple, ask questions to understand the dynamics between them, including their back-story, their favourite movies, songs— all the way to their favourite color :)
2. Pick a song: This is (obviously) the most critical part which will define the backbone of the video. The song you pick should answer "why did we pick this song in the first place?" and should be in tune to the dynamics of the couple, and have enough room to showcase the wedding as well. Keeping in mind that this is meant for family as well, try ensuring the lyrics have no 'inappropriate' words.
3. Do you think you can dance? If the song we pick is an up-beat one, envision a bunch of your own friends owning some parts of the song with their dance moves. If you can’t dance, that’s absolutely fine- we have a dance choreographer who will assist you in getting your feet right on the wedding day itself!
4. Plan the sequences: We take the lyrics of your song to the storyboard, and we think of all the possibilities that will help make this song better than the original cover! This is where we (the videographer, editor and choreographer) sit together and talk about how to execute the ideas within the space and time we have on the wedding dates.
5. Let’s DO this: The day of the wedding is finally here, and we bring in our A-team to create the magic! We interact with your family/friends just so they know who we are, and what we intend to capture. Making everyone feel comfortable and not feel intimidated by our cameras is VERY important to make the film seem natural. 
6. Turn your magic on! We assume the couple to be extremely busy with the wedding rituals, so we focus on capturing the friends and family first. Our videographers will also cover parts of the wedding ceremonies - including the main pheras at the mandap. 
7. Just for the Couples: As the newly weds can now spare time with our dedicated team, we will capture the most important sequences of the film, getting the couples to lip-sync / dance as we had envisioned during the storyboard process. Again, we will keep reminding you that your smiling faces are golden to our cameras.
8. That’s a wrap! The hardest part is finally done! We take this to our editing room, review all the footage and from all the permutations, narrow in on the making the best edit ever! This usually takes a lot of time - usually 4-6 weeks - until the first draft is screened for our newly wed couple!

And ... voila!! Upload your final video and watch your fan-base build with all those views streaming in. It seems like only yesterday when you imagined yourself to star in your favourite song, that too on the most important day of your life!

Do check out some of our best lip-dub wedding videos here.

​Nikhil Mehta
NJM Productions (tm)
You Narrate. We Create.