Covering a wedding during COVID

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.

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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!