Recent wedding film documentary highlights at DVinfo.net

Recent wedding film documentary highlights · May 22nd, 2009, 01:08 AM

working, developing a documentary style of storytelling, shy away from videography, wedding clipmaking.

It's a bit heavy, edgy on dialogue, comments, (sorry about that, it's on Russian) I will add subtitles, to be better understood what they say. Let me know, how is it with visuals?

???? ?????? - ????. - ??????? ?? ???????, ???????? ? ?????????? ??????????

Cheers!

Monday Isa · May 22nd, 2009, 07:53 AM

Oleg that was quite a clip. Very edgy and definitely not your typical wedding video style. Excellent! Enjoyed every minute though I didn't understand a lick of it. Wow nice style you have going for yourself here. I'm going to go watch it again ^_^ Thanks for sharing

Monday

Ethan Cooper · May 22nd, 2009, 08:05 AM

Amazing. I can't imagine how long that takes.

It's all your own, I've not seen anyone else do it that way. I've seen people try edgy before and they almost always went too far, made it cheesy but you kept it classy while being edgy at the same time.

You're good man, not just for weddings either, you're just a good production guy all the way around. I still think you're in with the Russian mafia though, I mean who's got a house like that?

Anthony Vu · May 22nd, 2009, 08:45 AM

Oleg,

I think you do wonderful work and you are a great inspiration to many.

I like your edgy style. It's very different from what I'm used to seeing. I did enjoy your use of slow motion, fast motion, stop and starts, and shakes. It all adds to a great edit.

I think there were times when there was a bit too much going on as far as effects and shakes, but that is just my opinion and you probably did them on purpose. At that point it's a matter of style preference.

Overall, great work. I look forward to seeing more. Thanks!

antz

Oleg Kalyan · May 22nd, 2009, 12:23 PM

Тhanks, everyone, you are too kind to me :)
(no mafia here), it's a big apartment building in Moscow, kind of prestigious though, if you talk about tall building at the beginning. the wedding took place at a 18th century estate outside of Moscow.
http://www.serednikovo.ru/serednikov...o_gallery.html
it was rented for the wedding, kind of common place to have a reception.

the wedding itself was anything but the glam, and show off, kind of pushing the envelope with lots of fun, spontanaety,
improvisations during the dinner party was part of the scenario. Sincerity and the bride's father's tears was also present there.

Cheers!

PS
will add subtitles soon, so you understand what they say, some comments go beyond limitations of what is common in "wedding language" though. Wanted it that way !

Jason Magbanua · May 22nd, 2009, 12:42 PM

Why is it that most of the stuff you post are barely understandable (from a linguistics point of view), and yet completely involving and arresting?

Why is it that all Russian brides are beautiful?

Why is it that just when people have you pegged as the "documentary storyteller" guy, you come up with something like this?

Astounding work Oleg!

Ethan Cooper · May 22nd, 2009, 12:54 PM

Oleg - it's just fun to make Russian mafia jokes, I mean no offense.
That was the bride's father? He looked really young, I thought he was the best man or something. Maybe you Russians age well, could it be that all the vodka preserves you?

Oleg Kalyan · May 22nd, 2009, 02:44 PM

Jason, appreciate, getting such a comment from you means something!

Ethan,
""could it be that all the vodka preserves you?""
it could be, possible, maybe too much "from Russia with love" too :)

Cheers!

Matt Barwick · May 22nd, 2009, 05:47 PM

Outstanding Oleg. 100% out of the box and truly unique. The time & effort you've put into this piece really shows.

Obviously I didn't understand a word of it, but still 'got it' :)

Well done!

P.S. I loved the shot of the groom walking away with the blue soles of his shoes showing - simple, yet great stuff

Susanto Widjaja · May 22nd, 2009, 07:55 PM

Its like watching guy ritchie's wedding video work. and I'm a big fan of mr guy.

so well done!

Santo

Ram Purad · May 22nd, 2009, 08:21 PM

Oleg,

That was unique and refreshing. Like many others, I'm a big fan of your work and your approach to wedding cinema.

As much as I like this clip, I was wondering whether or not this will sell well with high end clients. Most of the clients who are willing to pay big bucks for the weddings (at least in my market) looking for more of a "cinematic production" or something along that line. Not sure how well this style will fair with them since its missing the "WOW" factor in terms of visuals and music.

don't get me wrong, I love what you have done here but I wish our wedding clients are much more open minded to style such as this.

Great work Oleg. Look forward to watching more clips from you.

Michael Ojjeh · May 22nd, 2009, 09:23 PM

Oleg, That was beautiful, a unique and different approach to a documentary style of storytelling.
I think if we understood the words that would have been more enjoyable with the "WOW" factor in terms of emotional effect.

Great work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oleg Kalyan · May 23rd, 2009, 08:54 PM

Ram, Michael, thank you for a nice feedback.

"""I was wondering whether or not this will sell well with high end clients. Most of the clients who are willing to pay big bucks for the weddings (at least in my market) looking for more of a "cinematic production" or something along that line. """

Ram, thank you for asking. Would like to share few thоughts.

First, obviously that on the internet we are limited to a short form of presenting our material,
a clip, a trailer, a highlights, excerpts, promo, so on. Short form exists to showcase the wedding with means of our personal approach of presenting a material. It's sort of a teaser, but never a "complete form" in a true sense. There is nothing wrong with a short form, but by no means it's a complete product, and sometime we forget about that.

(and in considering someone work, sometimes getting in the hype of who is the best videographer, film maker, we do not realize most of the time that, consideration comes from that we see only limited, short form presenting a wedding day, highly personalized version of reality, most of the time a clip, cutting footage to a music) Each of us use our own creativity to present it in a unique way.

In professional exchage we almost never see a complete wedding film that the client gets. (average time is 45 minutes here) Short form can show a "Cinematic" approach to present a video, but what does that mean?
A meaning cinematic means a "cinema", a film, a movie like, a feature, long form.
A dramatic premise, a three act structure. A narrative. A beginning, middle, end. A protagonist. Plot and middle points. Climax. Resolution. (there are more criteria).... Overall it's a "meaningful emotional experience". (of any kind)
Obviously most of wedding films are not cinematic in a true sense. Some bits in a short form can look, feel cinema like.

What do the clients want on the other hand?
IMO, the clients want ideally something that show their wedding in a unique way.
The degree of their presence and truthfulnes of emotions revealed to the camera determines how cinematic it is in a long form is a wedding film. Watching 30 minutes or more can provide a unique viewing experience not only for the B&G but the parents, guests, but possibly to a wider audience.

When we happen create a "meaningful emotional experience" in a long form, we can call our work as cinematic.

Cheers everyone! Pleasure to share some thoughts here!

PS

Making a wedding film similar to feature film "Rachel getting married" (wedding part, not the whole film), is an ultimate approach to a wedding cinematic storytelling, IMO.
Possible to make something similar in a real wedding that we happen to shoot? I think so. In a documentary style. True to life. Getting a good sound can be an obstacle. But if the client wants it, possible.

I am very sorry if my thoughts are repetitive, they need to be edited :)

Ram Purad · May 24th, 2009, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oleg Kalyan

Ram, Michael, thank you for a nice feedback.

"""I was wondering whether or not this will sell well with high end clients. Most of the clients who are willing to pay big bucks for the weddings (at least in my market) looking for more of a "cinematic production" or something along that line. """

Ram, thank you for asking. Would like to share few thоughts.

First, obviously that on the internet we are limited to a short form of presenting our material,
a clip, a trailer, a highlights, excerpts, promo, so on. Short form exists to showcase the wedding with means of our personal approach of presenting a material. It's sort of a teaser, but never a "complete form" in a true sense. There is nothing wrong with a short form, but by no means it's a complete product, and sometime we forget about that.

(and in considering someone work, sometimes getting in the hype of who is the best videographer, film maker, we do not realize most of the time that, consideration comes from that we see only limited, short form presenting a wedding day, highly personalized version of reality, most of the time a clip, cutting footage to a music) Each of us use our own creativity to present it in a unique way.

In professional exchage we almost never see a complete wedding film that the client gets. (average time is 45 minutes here) Short form can show a "Cinematic" approach to present a video, but what does that mean?
A meaning cinematic means a "cinema", a film, a movie like, a feature, long form.
A dramatic premise, a three act structure. A narrative. A beginning, middle, end. A protagonist. Plot and middle points. Climax. Resolution. (there are more criteria).... Overall it's a "meaningful emotional experience". (of any kind)
Obviously most of wedding films are not cinematic in a true sense. Some bits in a short form can look, feel cinema like.

What do the clients want on the other hand?
IMO, the clients want ideally something that show their wedding in a unique way.
The degree of their presence and truthfulnes of emotions revealed to the camera determines how cinematic it is in a long form is a wedding film. Watching 30 minutes or more can provide a unique viewing experience not only for the B&G but the parents, guests, but possibly to a wider audience.

When we happen create a "meaningful emotional experience" in a long form, we can call our work as cinematic.

Cheers everyone! Pleasure to share some thoughts here!

PS

Making a wedding film similar to feature film "Rachel getting married" (wedding part, not the whole film), is an ultimate approach to a wedding cinematic storytelling, IMO.
Possible to make something similar in a real wedding that we happen to shoot? I think so. In a documentary style. True to life. Getting a good sound can be an obstacle. But if the client wants it, possible.

I am very sorry if my thoughts are repetitive, they need to be edited :)

Oleg,

Thanks for sharing your thought. It is always great to see the mind of a great story teller such as you. I'm sure along with me, alot of people will benefit from reading your thoughts.

It is true that we mostly share only our short form edit with our peers. But it is also true most of use the exact same short form edit as our "selling point" to get clients. By posting them on our websites/blogs we give the brides an opportunity to get a sense for our capability/style. About 70% of the couple come to see me for their first consultation, already have their mind made to book me for their wedding. This is based solely on watching my short form edits online. Therefore, even though it doesn't represent our complete work, it act as an essential ingredient to sell our product. That's why most of us put lot of time and effort in making them.

Like I mentioned earlier post, in my market, I believe the contemporary cinematic style will sell more as opposed to the "documentary cinematic style" you presented here. But I understand it's a territorial/cultural thing. We are out to serve what ever our market demands but should try new things with in it without loosing the appeal to our market. But this only goes true for an average videographer like myself. Guys like you are trend setters, who are out to get out of the box and invent new things.

One personal hurdle I have against trying a documentary form of edit like yours is, as you may know I mostly serve the South Asian market in Toronto. I find most of these weddings don't contain enough dialogues to carry out a documentary form of edit. But I jump to the opportunity to use plenty of voice overs when it is presented to me. Like the SDE I've put together a couple of weeks ago:

Cathy & Andy :: The SDE! on Vimeo

Oleg Kalyan · May 26th, 2009, 01:08 AM

Ram, thank you for bringing interesting points to discussion

""most of use the exact same short form edit as our "selling point" to get clients. ""

Actually I tell my clients lately that a clip is a limited form of presenting a complexity of wedding day video material, and if they can, invite them to my studio, to watch wedding films.

"""By posting them on our websites/blogs we give the brides an opportunity to get a sense for our capability/style."""

Yes, if the style is based solely on a short form!

"""it act as an essential ingredient to sell our product. That's why most of us put lot of time and effort in making them""".

"""I believe the contemporary cinematic style will sell more as opposed to the "documentary cinematic style" you presented here""".

What is: "contemporary cinematic style" ? Sorry, I really do not know what is it.
What is the definition? Could you describe it? I do not quite know what is "documentary cinematic style".
The idea is to present some essential part of life during a wedding day, possibly in complexity.
The mood, "the genre" are based on particular content, how it's expressed.

"""I find most of these weddings don't contain enough dialogues to carry out a documentary form of edit."""

I see what you mean, getting dialogues, interesting narrative form, can be a bit challenging. I found that if offered that kind of "reflection" of a wedding day can be totally embraced by the clients!

""But I jump to the opportunity to use plenty of voice overs when it is presented to me. Like the SDE I've put together a couple of weeks ago""

Nice piece, I wrote about it in your thread!

May 22nd, 2009, 08:05 AM	#3
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	Amazing. I can't imagine how long that takes. It's all your own, I've not seen anyone else do it that way. I've seen people try edgy before and they almost always went too far, made it cheesy but you kept it classy while being edgy at the same time. You're good man, not just for weddings either, you're just a good production guy all the way around. I still think you're in with the Russian mafia though, I mean who's got a house like that? __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

May 22nd, 2009, 12:54 PM	#7
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	Oleg - it's just fun to make Russian mafia jokes, I mean no offense. That was the bride's father? He looked really young, I thought he was the best man or something. Maybe you Russians age well, could it be that all the vodka preserves you? __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

May 22nd, 2009, 05:47 PM	#9
Matt Barwick Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Kingscliff, Australia Posts: 196	Outstanding Oleg. 100% out of the box and truly unique. The time & effort you've put into this piece really shows. Obviously I didn't understand a word of it, but still 'got it' :) Well done! P.S. I loved the shot of the groom walking away with the blue soles of his shoes showing - simple, yet great stuff __________________ www.mattbarwickfilms.com / wedding videos gold coast / my stuff on Vimeo Last edited by Matt Barwick; May 22nd, 2009 at 05:51 PM. Reason: blue shoes

May 22nd, 2009, 07:55 PM	#10
Susanto Widjaja Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 622	Its like watching guy ritchie's wedding video work. and I'm a big fan of mr guy. so well done! Santo __________________ If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about motion picture? website: www.papercranes.com.au \| blog: www.weddingvideosydney.net

May 22nd, 2009, 08:21 PM	#11
Ram Purad Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 171	Oleg, That was unique and refreshing. Like many others, I'm a big fan of your work and your approach to wedding cinema. As much as I like this clip, I was wondering whether or not this will sell well with high end clients. Most of the clients who are willing to pay big bucks for the weddings (at least in my market) looking for more of a "cinematic production" or something along that line. Not sure how well this style will fair with them since its missing the "WOW" factor in terms of visuals and music. don't get me wrong, I love what you have done here but I wish our wedding clients are much more open minded to style such as this. Great work Oleg. Look forward to watching more clips from you. __________________ Ram Purad :: Aspiring Event Filmmaker http://www.butterflysquad.com

May 22nd, 2009, 07:53 AM	#2
Monday Isa Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: College Park, Maryland Posts: 913	Oleg that was quite a clip. Very edgy and definitely not your typical wedding video style. Excellent! Enjoyed every minute though I didn't understand a lick of it. Wow nice style you have going for yourself here. I'm going to go watch it again ^_^ Thanks for sharing Monday

May 22nd, 2009, 08:45 AM	#4
Anthony Vu Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 41	Oleg, I think you do wonderful work and you are a great inspiration to many. I like your edgy style. It's very different from what I'm used to seeing. I did enjoy your use of slow motion, fast motion, stop and starts, and shakes. It all adds to a great edit. I think there were times when there was a bit too much going on as far as effects and shakes, but that is just my opinion and you probably did them on purpose. At that point it's a matter of style preference. Overall, great work. I look forward to seeing more. Thanks! antz

May 22nd, 2009, 12:23 PM	#5
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	Тhanks, everyone, you are too kind to me :) (no mafia here), it's a big apartment building in Moscow, kind of prestigious though, if you talk about tall building at the beginning. the wedding took place at a 18th century estate outside of Moscow. http://www.serednikovo.ru/serednikov...o_gallery.html it was rented for the wedding, kind of common place to have a reception. the wedding itself was anything but the glam, and show off, kind of pushing the envelope with lots of fun, spontanaety, improvisations during the dinner party was part of the scenario. Sincerity and the bride's father's tears was also present there. Cheers! PS will add subtitles soon, so you understand what they say, some comments go beyond limitations of what is common in "wedding language" though. Wanted it that way !

May 22nd, 2009, 12:42 PM	#6
Jason Magbanua Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Manila Posts: 317	Why is it that most of the stuff you post are barely understandable (from a linguistics point of view), and yet completely involving and arresting? Why is it that all Russian brides are beautiful? Why is it that just when people have you pegged as the "documentary storyteller" guy, you come up with something like this? Astounding work Oleg!

May 22nd, 2009, 02:44 PM	#8
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	Jason, appreciate, getting such a comment from you means something! Ethan, ""could it be that all the vodka preserves you?"" it could be, possible, maybe too much "from Russia with love" too :) Cheers!

May 22nd, 2009, 09:23 PM	#12
Michael Ojjeh Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 338	Oleg, That was beautiful, a unique and different approach to a documentary style of storytelling. I think if we understood the words that would have been more enjoyable with the "WOW" factor in terms of emotional effect. Great work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! __________________ Dragonfly Production http://www.dragonflyproduction.net/ http://www.vimeo.com/user432181

May 23rd, 2009, 08:54 PM	#13
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	Ram, Michael, thank you for a nice feedback. """I was wondering whether or not this will sell well with high end clients. Most of the clients who are willing to pay big bucks for the weddings (at least in my market) looking for more of a "cinematic production" or something along that line. """ Ram, thank you for asking. Would like to share few thоughts. First, obviously that on the internet we are limited to a short form of presenting our material, a clip, a trailer, a highlights, excerpts, promo, so on. Short form exists to showcase the wedding with means of our personal approach of presenting a material. It's sort of a teaser, but never a "complete form" in a true sense. There is nothing wrong with a short form, but by no means it's a complete product, and sometime we forget about that. (and in considering someone work, sometimes getting in the hype of who is the best videographer, film maker, we do not realize most of the time that, consideration comes from that we see only limited, short form presenting a wedding day, highly personalized version of reality, most of the time a clip, cutting footage to a music) Each of us use our own creativity to present it in a unique way. In professional exchage we almost never see a complete wedding film that the client gets. (average time is 45 minutes here) Short form can show a "Cinematic" approach to present a video, but what does that mean? A meaning cinematic means a "cinema", a film, a movie like, a feature, long form. A dramatic premise, a three act structure. A narrative. A beginning, middle, end. A protagonist. Plot and middle points. Climax. Resolution. (there are more criteria).... Overall it's a "meaningful emotional experience". (of any kind) Obviously most of wedding films are not cinematic in a true sense. Some bits in a short form can look, feel cinema like. What do the clients want on the other hand? IMO, the clients want ideally something that show their wedding in a unique way. The degree of their presence and truthfulnes of emotions revealed to the camera determines how cinematic it is in a long form is a wedding film. Watching 30 minutes or more can provide a unique viewing experience not only for the B&G but the parents, guests, but possibly to a wider audience. When we happen create a "meaningful emotional experience" in a long form, we can call our work as cinematic. Cheers everyone! Pleasure to share some thoughts here! PS Making a wedding film similar to feature film "Rachel getting married" (wedding part, not the whole film), is an ultimate approach to a wedding cinematic storytelling, IMO. Possible to make something similar in a real wedding that we happen to shoot? I think so. In a documentary style. True to life. Getting a good sound can be an obstacle. But if the client wants it, possible. I am very sorry if my thoughts are repetitive, they need to be edited :) Last edited by Oleg Kalyan; May 24th, 2009 at 03:10 AM. Reason: more thoughts

May 26th, 2009, 01:08 AM	#15
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	Ram, thank you for bringing interesting points to discussion ""most of use the exact same short form edit as our "selling point" to get clients. "" Actually I tell my clients lately that a clip is a limited form of presenting a complexity of wedding day video material, and if they can, invite them to my studio, to watch wedding films. """By posting them on our websites/blogs we give the brides an opportunity to get a sense for our capability/style.""" Yes, if the style is based solely on a short form! """it act as an essential ingredient to sell our product. That's why most of us put lot of time and effort in making them""". """I believe the contemporary cinematic style will sell more as opposed to the "documentary cinematic style" you presented here""". What is: "contemporary cinematic style" ? Sorry, I really do not know what is it. What is the definition? Could you describe it? I do not quite know what is "documentary cinematic style". The idea is to present some essential part of life during a wedding day, possibly in complexity. The mood, "the genre" are based on particular content, how it's expressed. """I find most of these weddings don't contain enough dialogues to carry out a documentary form of edit.""" I see what you mean, getting dialogues, interesting narrative form, can be a bit challenging. I found that if offered that kind of "reflection" of a wedding day can be totally embraced by the clients! ""But I jump to the opportunity to use plenty of voice overs when it is presented to me. Like the SDE I've put together a couple of weeks ago"" Nice piece, I wrote about it in your thread!