Tags: blu

How important is it to you to have the most important day of your lives as a couple documented carefully and thoughtfully by a professional wedding videographer?

If you’re reading this, I’m guessing it’s very important to you.  In 2010 money is an issue for everyone, and we’re willing to work with couples as best we can when discussing price and package, however, at this critical stage in planning your wedding you don’t want to put a foot wrong and make a fatal decision that you’ll regret later.

Your wedding only happens once.  And it will happen quickly.  There are no second takes on your big day.

I make a living as a wedding videographer, and I make sure that I provide each couple with the best possible wedding video/DVD time and time again.  Read just a few words of thanks that brides and grooms have sent to me over the past couple of years, just after they watched their finished wedding DVD:  http://www.brideandgroom.ie/feedback/testimonials.html

If you’re considering hiring your uncle Charlie to film (and edit?) your wedding, you might want to reconsider before your decision causes you heartbreak in the future.

Price is important, but you’re not going to feel very good in 10 years time that you saved a few hundred Euro in a time of economic recession, when you’re stuck with a terrible wedding video that you’re ashamed to show to people. As the saying goes “The bittnerness of poor quality remains, long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”.

In July 2009, I had the pleasure of filming two concerts for Metallica in Copenhagen, Denmark. Metallica are one of the greatest and most successful bands of all time.  I was chosen to be part of a group of only about a dozen freelance videographers from all over the world.  It was a great experience and a dream come true to work on a project that involved artists who I greatly admire.

Here’s a photo montage of myself and the four members of Metallica.  Top left is myself with bassist Robert Trujillo, and to the right is myself and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett (always ranked 0n top ten lists as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, right up there with Hendrix).  I’m pictured with Lars Ulrich (drummer) on the bottom left, and vocalist/lyricist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield on the bottom right.

I was there for two days in a row at The Forum in Copenhagen.  The backstage experience was fantastic.  The band are very warm and open to everyone.  I was filming the last two of five concerts in Copenhagan, the drummer’s home turf.  Since it was the first time Lars Ulrich had been home in quite some time, and the fact that he was performing for five nights at The Forum, it meant that all of his family and friends were there and he had his hands full to say the least.

Soundcheck on the first day was a great experience.  It was very intimate, and it made me stop and reflect for a moment.  I felt honored to be using my skills on a project for Metallica.  It was just us the videographers, Metallica, and the other technicians.  Here’s a low-res backstage shot I took at lunch time on my mobile phone:

In addition to the two full concerts, I shot an interview with James Hetfield, which I’m told will feature as an ‘extra’ on the DVD.  The interview took place in the “tuning room”, the holiest of holies I’m told – not just anyone is allowed to enter that space (I must be special).

Here’s a clip to show the power, ferocity and dare I say…elegance of their live performances.  Nothing Else Matters is the song (The Black Album, 1991).  I have been asked to use this song on a couple of wedding videos/DVDs in the past and it has always worked very well.

Here is a great music video (more like a short film) by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (‘Festen’).  Vinterberg was in attendance, as a guest of Lars Ulrich.  And although I didn’t see him, Vinterberg was accompanied by another well known Dane, and one of my favorite filmmakers, Lars Von Trier (‘Dancer In The Dark’, ‘Dogville’, ‘Anti-Christ’).

This music video/short film is for the first single off Metallica’s latest album ‘Death Magnetic’ and is entitled ‘The Day That Never Comes’.  It is an incredibly well shot and produced music video.  When you have a filmmaker of the calibre of Vinterberg making your music video, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

Metallica play The Odyssey Arena, Belfast on May 11th and 12th 2010.  Tickets available from Ticketmaster.

The Copenhagen DVD is due to be released sometime in 2010 I’m told.  It may be a two DVD set, and there was also talk of it being released on Blu-Ray disc in a ‘Fan Can’.  I will be proud of my on-screen credit.

If you haven’t seen Martin Scorsese’s classic 1980 film Raging Bull, to me, that’s like saying you’ve been living on earth all these years without seeing the sun or the moon.  It’s that good.  Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and others give searingly honest and towering performances.  It is not just a film.  It is a slice of life.  Having watched it recently on Blu-Ray for the first time, it was like experiencing the actual film for the first time all over again.

The following clip, which is a short montage from the middle of the film, is my favourite wedding scene in any movie.  It is a simple, haunting piece of great, nostalgic filmmaking.  When the time is right, and when circumstances fit, I hope to do a homage to this scene at some stage on a future wedding video.  So if any of your grooms out there are boxers, let’s get this happening.

When I watch this clip I’m very grateful that I don’t have to shoot weddings on 16mm or 8mm film.  Thank science for the wonders of digital technology.  Enjoy!

The Brooklodge in Macreddin Village, Wicklow is one of my favourite venues to shoot a wedding video in.  It’s only an hour drive from Dublin and is nestled away in the quiet, relaxing countryside.  There’s a beautiful, quaint white chapel on the grounds where I’ve shot many wedding ceremonies.  Having your wedding here can also save a lot of time on the day, as you don’t have to go very far for your photography session and the family photos.

The food is excellent, so nice that myself and Laura went there for dinner one Sunday last year.  The Brooklodge is known for having Ireland’s only Certified Organic restaurant, The Strawberry Tree.  There is also a Southern Italian restaurant there, La Taverna Armento, which deserves a special mention.  The bar food is also excellent if you’re a vegan or a vegetarian.

Check out the following short wedding video clip of the Brooklodge from a wedding in October 2009.  Sarah and Neasan were a wonderful couple on the day, and they were surrounded by loving family and friends who were visibly having a great time.  Their photographer was Dermot Byrne, a photographer who I have worked with a number of times, and it is always a pleasure to do so.  Dermot has a great sense of humor, and is always able to make a couple feel at ease on their wedding day.  He is also a consummate professional, and his work is second to none.  Sarah, Neasan, Dermot and myself worked together very well on day, and the ever-present smiles on the faces of the newly married couple showed me they were enjoying every minute of it.  It showed on their wedding video/DVD as well.

For more Brooklodge sample wedding video clips, please visit our new sample video page at the Bride & Groom Films website.

I’ve recently changed the look and content of the sample video page on our website brideandgroom.ie.  It used to look like this:

Our old sample video page at brideandgroom.ie

It now looks like this:

Our new sample video page at brideandgroom.ie

We’ve enlarged the size of the clips so you can see more of what is happening, and we’re also using a new and better player to display the clips .  The new sample video page features dozens of all-new wedding video clips from venues all over Ireland.  You may see your own church and venue there.  If so, you can take a look at it to give yourself a sneak peek of what your day will be like, or to give you an idea of what someone else’s wedding was like at that particular venue.  You might even get a few ideas from it.

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I’ve finally set up a blog.  A new year.  A new blog.  Well, it’s my first blog.  I still don’t “get” the whole Twitter thing, so until I do I think it can wait.  One Twitter page I like is:  http://twitter.com/kevwilliamson.

I hope that you my dear readers will visit often and that we can stay connected.  Whether you are a client, a bride, a groom, sister of a bride, filmmaker, wedding supplier — you are very welcome.  Please don’t be afraid to comment on any post – it will keep the blog alive.

To my clients, I hope that you will gain a more in-depth knowledge of who I am and what I do.  Although I live in Dublin, I specialize in filming and editing weddings throughout Ireland, and have had the pleasure of filming hundreds of weddings for couples in literally every county. (more…)