"receive a considerable level of control from your client"

That I think is a very important part of the whole process if you want to produce films like you do, most of my clients want me "behind the scene's" and then the only option left is to observe and record, even yesterday I was talking to a client who was doubting to include video for her wedding because she taught a photog and a videographer together would be too "busy" and ruin her day.
That's what I like about your video's so much, it's the level of client involvement, they become part of the movie, not just as observers but as participators. I also think the storytelling part outweighs the visual aspect, if you would have a good story and good sound, you can make a masterpiece with just a small handheld handycam. It's finding the clients that want to get into this level of involvement that can be the tricky part.