Some may think that the only way to have a personal and intimate wedding is to have extremely emotional vows, invite only 20 loved ones, and hold the ceremony in a location in the middle of nowhere. While that would definitely be a great event, it is not the only way, and we believe in that now more than ever. This past week we had the honour and privilege of filming 4 days of Amrit + Gurp's wedding and celebrations. This was without a doubt one of the most intimate weddings we've ever been to and there were over 1000 people who attended. Yup… three zeros. It may seem impossible to have an intimate wedding with that many guests, but let me assure you that every aspect of this wedding was from the heart. There were so many moments of laughing, dancing and cheering, followed by moments when everyone was fighting back tears.
It is rare for us to be able to cover multiple days of a wedding, and this allowed us to learn even more about the couple and their families and loved ones. We were able to witness Amrit and Gurp truly being themselves among the people they've grown up with, and catch glimpses inside of life long friendships and meaningful relationships. We felt so appreciated and welcomed by Amrit and Gurp and their families which made us feel even more comfortable to do what we needed to do to capture the moments we knew we wanted to tell their story.
Amrit and Gurp asked us to put together a next day edit for them to show on the last day of the celebration. We hope you enjoy the film!
TECHY STUFF
This was the first wedding we shot on our new Canon C100s. I'm sure all of the camera nerds that are reading this already know a ton about this camera so I won't add too much to the noise, but let me say that these cameras are incredible tools. Previous to this wedding we shot entirely on Canon 5Ds. While DSLRs are awesome (and we'll definitely hold on to ours), their drawbacks can be restricting, especially in documentary scenarios. Here are the three things we loved most about the the C100s…
1. Ergonomics/Size - The thing just fits in your hand so perfectly. The side handle allows you to have the perfect grip and still have easy access to the controls you use most often. Also this camera is not a whole lot bigger than a 5D with a battery grip. The weight is a bit more noticeable when flying around on a glidecam but other than that it wasn't a problem. Also the swivelling screen is amazing. Just to be able to angle the screen where you need it instead of getting on your belly for low shots or straining to see when shooting above your head. Oooh man, it's great.
2. Dynamic Range: We shot this wedding with the Wide DR profile and it was SO nice to not have the sky blown out while shooting outdoors. The footage was also fantastic to grade in post.
3. ND Filters: Gone are the days of franticly screwing on an ND filter to the end of your lens. It allows us to be so much quicker, especially when switching between indoor and outdoor scenes.
Now there are also many more features like peaking, waveforms, onboard XLR inputs etc., that are fantastic. My only wish is that the sensor was full frame but it's definitely not a deal breaker. We are extremely pleased with the switch to these cameras and we feel that we'll be able to use these tools to be more effective storytellers. These are after all just tools. It's the story that matters.