Maybe not  today or next year, but it’s coming. The problem with DVD is that most of us enjoy high definition on our TV. DVD is far from that quality. It’s less than half the resolution. Soon, we’ll think of DVD the way we remember VHS.

We live in an ever changing world. Technology is relentless. Mobile phones that seemed out of this world twenty years ago are archaic today. DVD is already over twenty years old and that’s a long time in the modern world.
4k is already here but like most new mediums, it will take time to catch on. So, what does it all mean?

Personally, I think DVD is a highly presentable package before you pop that shiny disc in the player. It has a nice case, great cover and the disc itself is a small work of art. You can even dazzle people in the room with the disc if the sun is shining at the right angle. What’s not to like?

Blu ray, the best compromise.

That’s the problem with DVD. It’s the resolution, the size of the picture on the TV screen. We have bigger TV screens than ever before and I feel DVD just doesn’t cut it. Blu ray is a different matter entirely. Still in disc format, Blu ray holds the high definition resolution without any noticeable loss from the original video footage. I tell all my clients that don’t have access to Blu ray to buy a player. They are so cheap these days. You can even buy them in Argos, Tesco, ASDA and the rest on the high street for less than £50 in some cases. They will even play your DVD discs.

It’s true that many people are perfectly happy with DVD and that’s fine. I give all clients DVD and Blu ray discs. I even give them .mp4 video files to play on their computers and portable devices. These files can be uploaded to social media and also play on phones and tablets. They’re getting the best of all worlds there.

Why am I having an issue with DVD, then? It’s purely because of quality. To make a DVD from the raw video footage, it has to be reduced in resolution. That’s the nature of DVD, it is designed to play video of a certain size, not larger. That lowers the quality. That’s why Blu ray is a better option. It looks better and is better.

VHS sir?

I will always provide DVD as long as people want it. No one asks for VHS anymore and I guess that will be the case for DVD in ten years time. Who knows. You can never really predict what will happen in the future. 3D was the next big thing a few years ago in our living rooms but it never really took off. I didn’t think it would so never offered that medium. 3D has been around since the early 20th century and it continues to come and go.

So, to cap it all. You, the client, can ask for any medium you wish. DVD, Blu ray or mp4 on a flash drive. I’m happy to oblige. The difference with the flash drive is you don’t get the DVD or Blu ray cover in a case or a playable menu. That’s just the limitations of mp4. You can still have all three so you’re really not missing out at all.

As always, you can view our wedding highlight videos here.

Stay happy,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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A Spanish wedding

Natalie and James had a Spanish wedding. It was a different kind of wedding as far as we we were concerned. It began in England and then it was down to Spain for the reception. We were asked to film it all.

Weddings like this occur once in a blue moon. We were free for that period so yes, we were all for it.

Wedding stone

The wedding ceremony took place at St Paul’s RC church in Haywards Heath, Sussex on a very warm and sunny Saturday. We’ve had a lot of those recently but this was just another bonus. When a wedding runs like clockwork, I’m happy and this one did.

Natalie is a primary school teacher and her students played an integral part. There was barely an hour after the ceremony before it was time to head for the airport. Natalie and James make a great couple and together with their friends and family, I knew I was going to get great video over the next week.

Spain

The Olive Tree Guest House near Pinoso, Spain

After landing in Murcia, we hired a car which took us to our home for the next eight days. Just after midnight, we arrived in convoy at The Olive Tree guest house, an hour’s drive east of Alicante. Run by Jenny, this magic place is in the middle of nowhere. It has a huge swimming pool, lots of guest rooms and is perfect.

James is a professional chef. He was in charge of the food so we’d head most days to the markets to source the fresh ingredients. Although this week was also his honeymoon, he was happy to show his skills. The food each day was delicious, needless to say. With Jenny’s (the owner) blessing, James made sensational paellas, Thai curries and fresh seafood.

I knew a place that everyone would love. A natural springs by the name of Fonts d’ Algar not far from Benidorm where you could swim and it even had a diving board. This was a place I had visited many times before. I even filmed underwater! That day became one of the highlights of the trip for everyone.

The Olive Tree

Fonts d’ Algar, Spain.

A word about Jenny who owns The Olive Tree guest house. She made everyone so very welcome for our short stay. So much so, Natalie and James are planning a reunion there in a year on their first anniversary. I really can’t recommend the venue highly enough. If it’s peace you want with just your family and friends, call Jenny. She will take care of it all.

So, filming a wedding that lasts for a week. How is that different from a normal weeding that lasts a day? Well, it gives me time to get to know everyone. That makes people relaxed while I have the camera rolling. That makes for good video. Natalie and James wedding gave me a highlight video of twenty minutes. It captured it all. They also received two full Blu ray discs detailing the whole week. Natalie and James were very happy with the finished video and so am I.

I went into this wedding knowing what I wanted to achieve.To make it different from my usual weddings where time is the limiting factor. I was able to forget about time constraints in Spain and the happy couple will have that video for ever more.

I thoroughly enjoyed filming Natalie and James’ wedding, we were all friends by the end of it all and if they want me to film the reunion…I’m there!

Off to Spain

As always, you can view our wedding highlight videos here.

Stay happy,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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Carly and Martin’s autumn wedding

Late last year, we traveled up to Essex to film Carly and Martin’s autumn wedding which had been a recommendation from a previous couple.
Although we are known as East Kent Wedding Video, we are happy to travel anywhere, not just the eastern region of Kent. You might wonder why I didn’t call the company Kent Wedding Video. That would be a fair question. Unfortunately, that domain name was taken and I wanted a name that had geographical value so I opted for ‘East’ at the front without realizing that many might think we stick to our turf, so to speak. Not so. After ten year, I feel it’s too late to change that now so I’ll stay with our good name.

We arrived early at the White Hart Inn in Great Yeldham near Halstead. What a great venue! Carly and Martin were getting married in the converted barn at the rear of the venue, a huge building with two floors and the whole day was taking place in there. The wedding itself was on the top floor, early October sunshine pouring through the windows which makes filming a pleasure as it’s all about light, you know.

Being a beautiful autumn day, blues skies and not a cloud above, everyone proceeded outside after the ceremony. My previous wedding had one of those days when the weather just doesn’t want to lend a helping hand. It rained from beginning to end but that can make for a great video too.

Amazing day

I have to mention Joe Gibson. I’m a guitar player, have been most of my life but every once in a while, I come across a virtuoso. Joe provided the musical entertainment throughout the day. Not only while the guests mixed outside but also the wedding ceremony itself. He stood right next to me as I filmed the vows. If I was getting married, I wouldn’t hesitate in booking this wonderful talent with a voice to match. It’s a conundrum that sometimes the real talent out there never makes it to national stardom. Joe is one of those enigmas. If you’re reading this and need a sure fire winner to play live music, Joe’s your man.

Tina Crossley from Beautiful Hair 4 Weddings was the special lady behind Carly’s amazing hair and makeup. She was more than happy for me to come up and film some shots of Carly’s preps with her mum and two beautiful daughters.

The wedding day ran smoothly, Carly and Martin making a wonderful couple. The day had many emotional moments and this was a couple destined to spend their lives together. As always, Mary and I were made to feel a part of the day which is always great for us. These are the weddings we thrive on because they always produce a wedding video with magic throughout. That’s what wedding video is supposed to be.

Carly later had this to say…“I have the best memories of my wedding thanks to Chris, he is amazing. We would definitely  recommend him. I love my wedding video!”

Thank you Carly, that is what makes it all worthwhile for me.

Read more about wedding highlight videos.

You can view our wedding highlight videos here.

Stay well,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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The wedding

We at East Kent Wedding Video recently had the pleasure of filming Rebecca and David’s wedding at Hayne House in Hythe, Kent.

I don’t usually comment on the weddings I film but this one was different. We were recommended to Rebecca and David by Charlotte and Tom, who’s wedding we filmed last summer. As always, it’s great to catch up with past couples, especially when they think so highly of us as to recommend us.

Aeroplanes and metal

David, the groom, had spent many years training to become a commercial airline pilot here in England for one of the big airlines. Despite many setbacks, he had achieved that goal and was now in the process of realising that dream. I thought it would be a nice idea to somehow incorporate that into the wedding highlight video. You can see that in the opening twenty seconds of the above video. My dad was an airline pilot flying all over the world. As a result, my family went wherever he worked.

My brother and I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, then England, Brunei and Australia. That gave us a unique outlook on life experiencing and embracing many diverse cultures along the way. Naturally, traveling became an important part of my life as an adult because of that and aviation became more than just a passing interest.

Music

Rebecca and David’s wedding was also different because of the music played throughout the day. Normally, the music for a typical wedding is as you’d expect, songs that tend to be Top 40. This wedding had none of that. Indeed, the DJ, Harry Klib, one of the best DJs I’ve come across for weddings was presented with a list of songs that were banned for the day. Rebecca and David’s choice was shared by all of their guests and friends and ranged from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin, Bryan Adams to the Beastie Boys. Because everyone was so into the music, the dance floor was heaving by the evening. That is always good for a wedding videographer, lots of action rather than guests sitting around a deserted dance area.

Every wedding is different. I truly love filming them all. It’s such a great feeling when you meet a couple like Rebecca and David and even more so, a privilege to film their wedding. It was a fabulous day that everyone enjoyed and luckily, we were there to film it for posterity for them. A new wedding photographer on the rise is India Bonnett who took the stills on the day and a pleasure to work alongside.

Read more about wedding highlight videos.

You can view our wedding highlight videos here.

Stay well,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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I’d like to say a few words about why your wedding video is so important, not just now but for always.

I came across this quote the other day on a wedding video forum that I am a member of. The question regarded the frequency that a married couple may watch their wedding video. When all the dust has settled down, maybe raising children and having bought their first house, all things being good, it’s natural that you might not watch the DVD as often as you did.

This particular answer was provided by one of my peers in the wedding videography business:

“Every time I meet an old wedding client I always ask them if they ever still look at their photos or video. It’s always the video that they tell me they watch, usually on their wedding anniversary, but those with children say that the kids often watch ‘Mummy and Daddy on the TV’. We also find that a few years further down the road, older family members may have died, but their images, voices and laughter still live on in the video, so it gets watched again. The real value of a wedding video that captures everybody, is seen in years, not necessarily months after the event. It’s a visual and audio record of a very big day in a couple’s life, surrounded by those family and friends that were important to them at the time.”

Future generations

I’ve always held that belief. Your wedding video doesn’t need to be watched that often but it is there for as long as you live and is an heirloom. Your wedding video can be passed on down to future generations who I’m sure will absolutely love the fact that they can watch their grandparents (or even great grandparents) tie the knot. If your grandparents suddenly dropped a wedding film of their big day in your lap, wouldn’t you be thrilled to watch it?

You get to see how their wedding day unfurled.You also get to hear all the sounds that go with that. That is the magic of wedding video. It allows those who weren’t there or even those who are yet to be born, to relive your wedding day. The way it happened, as if they were there themselves.

It’s a true living legacy and that’s what makes wedding video so very special.

I always tell clients that I have their wedding DVD and Blu Ray backed up in three separate locations. If you should ever lose your wedding video copies, I have it all sorted.

You can read more about the importance of your wedding video here.

Stay well,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video.

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Why your wedding matters to me

Your wedding is probably the most important day in your life and that goes for me too when I’m filming you on that very special day. No two weddings are ever the same and that has to be rule number one in my book.

You might think that a wedding videographer works to a routine like a conveyor belt passing by. The ceremony here, the speeches there and later on, the first dance. But you’d be wrong in my case. I always meet up with the couple, long before their wedding day. And yes, there is an element where I’m finding out from them what happens when and where on the day but for me, there’s so much more than that.

For instance, if I know a little about their history and how and why they got together, it begins to paint a picture in my mind. It tells a story which is a canvas for me to work on when the cameras start recording. That might sound a little cliched but it’s true. Everyone’s wedding day deserves that, especially when they have chosen to put their trust in me.

You don’t get second chances when filming a wedding. The action happens and then it’s gone so I’m on my toes every minute of that day. I’m checking and double checking the schedule so the next event will see me ready and there.

Saving the day

Melissa and Charlie’s wedding during August was a case in point. The ceremony was at a church in Saltwood and the reception was to be about thirty miles away near Canterbury. The couple had the loan of an impressive green sports car. It had been driven down from Wales especially for the drive between the two venues. I wanted to get every minute of that journey on film so I could choose the best parts for the final edit. I had to film them leaving the church and also arriving for the reception a half hour later while always staying a few yards behind them. It was a potential problem but one we solved by mounting a camera on our car. The video footage turned out smooth as silk, not a bump on the way.

That road trip is now a permanent reminder on Mel and Charlie’s wedding video.

That is just one example of getting things right before the big day.

We also had the pleasure of working alongside David Fenwick, a fantastic Kent based wedding photographer that we don’t get to see enough.

I really love my work, it is what I make it and I always make sure I do my very best. Read more here

Stay well,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video.

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I recently bumped into a couple at a wedding I was filming. They were guests and I knew them from a few years back because I had filmed their wedding. I greeted them by name and they were shocked that I remembered them so well, where they were married and the music I had used for their highlight video.

It wasn’t a surprise for me because, truth be told, there isn’t a single couple I could meet again having filmed their wedding that I would even need to think of their names. That’s because I like watching all the wedding video highlights I’ve put together over the years. Not only does it keep their wedding fresh in my mind but it also allows me to be my own critic. How would I have filmed their wedding differently with those extra years of experience?

It amazes me that generally, there is nothing I would have done differently. The target on any wedding shoot is to capture the day as it happens and to find the emotion on their faces and that of their family and guests. It’s always there! Any good wedding videographer or photographer is looking for the icing on the cake.

So, that’s what a wedding video highlights is for me. Condensing the whole wedding day down to about five minutes and along with a great song, it can bring a couple to tears of joy and that’s where I feel I excel. Couples tell me so and really, that’s what it’s all about.

Wedding video can be a very powerful medium in the right hands. If I was to just film the day and nothing else, I might as well put up a couple of CCTV cameras and leave it at that. A wedding between two people in love is a huge declaration of intent when you stop to think about it. It’s a commitment to spend the rest of their lives together, maybe raise children, a dog whose name may or may not be Fido, perhaps even Rover…. and create a family where none existed before.

Yes, there’s nerves playing a part on the day but nonetheless, a wedding is a day of joy for all concerned and what a great job I have in capturing all of that. It’s something that comes with experience, though and as a result, I never stop learning my trade

I’m always trying to make each wedding video better than the one before so when I sit down late at night to watch my work over the years, I really can see that progress. If you’re thinking about having a professional wedding videographer at your wedding, just do it!

Don’t regret it by saving money because that wedding video will be with you for life, something not just for you but also your children and grandchildren to watch. Even if you should lose it, I won’t and all you have to do is call me and I will make another copy for you.

You can read more about me here.

Take care,

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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Why do companies charge what they do for wedding video? You may have noticed that the cost of wedding video ranges from the very cheap to the ridiculously expensive and there is obviously a reason for that.

Drones

You may want to have a drone incorporated into the wedding filming. It looks great and most people would agree but it has to come at a cost. The price of a professional drone itself starts from around a thousand pounds, with camera and gimbal. The gimbal is vital for a steady shot; without that, the video footage is going to be shaky and no one wants that.

Then there is the public licensing cost for the drone pilot that covers insurance. Again, as far as I know, that begins at a grand. It doesn’t end there…anyone shooting a wedding just doesn’t have the time to plan and fly a drone, there needs to be an extra set of hands to fly the drone while I’m getting the valuable video shots on the ground. He or she is going to want to be paid for their skills and that doesn’t come cheap. So it all adds up. Looking around, wedding video with added drone footage starts around £1,500.  I’ve seen some companies charging £3,000 plus and they’re getting the work, too. Good luck to them.

I’ve considered using a drone and hiring a pilot but I can’t really justify passing that cost on to my clients. It’s there if they want it, it’s easy enough to get someone in to do the job but until the majority are asking for that service, it’s something I may just let lie for the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have drone footage, it really does take the day’s video footage to another level. It’s early days and maybe it’s something to consider.

Wedding video cost

There are companies offering wedding video as low as £450. I’ve seen them and they come and go rather quickly, once they discover the sheer amount of work in filming and editing a typical wedding day from start to end at a high standard, the editing and final product. Yes, one or two do stay for a while but what exactly are they offering you? In my experience, the editing has to be very minimal, no colour grading or sound processing, all the things I go to great pains to get right just so you have the very best I can do for you. You can read more here from another wedding video company.

I’ve been shooting video professionally since I left school and to deliver a DVD or Blu ray to a client that wasn’t perfect is something I wouldn’t begin to consider. It’s a cliche, I know, but I’m only as good as my last client says I am as far as the outside world is concerned and that is vitally important to me because my name, that I’ve taken years to build, depends on it.

As wedding videographers, we obviously don’t tend to get repeat clients, that’s the nature of our work so we want to go that extra mile so that you wouldn’t hesitate to recommend us to friends and family when they decide to get married.

Why me?

So, why do I charge £695 to film your wedding? That price is maybe on the low side, you may think. Look around on Google and you’ll see that for a full package, you will probably be looking around the £1,000 mark minimum on average for those who deliver what I do. There are two reasons why I don’t match that price. The first is quantity. I aim for about fifteen weddings a year, that figure allows me to deliver my best work, I don’t really want more than that and it also gives me time to film other areas that interest me. The second is I think that price is my niche area, I don’t want to be competing in the higher price bracket. So, for £695, what exactly do you get?

For £695, you get the whole wedding day filmed on DVD, Blu ray and whatever format you want, using professional video and audio equipment. I don’t have packages because most couples are burnt out by the time they consider looking at wedding video websites, they just want to have their whole day filmed from start to end and that’s me.

The main reason I limit myself to around fifteen weddings a year is the sheer fact I love what I do. I do love my job!

All you have to do is contact me and I’ll do the rest.

Chris
Wedding Videographer
East Kent Wedding Video

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One of the most enjoyable aspects of filming weddings is the artwork. By the time I’ve reached this point in the production, the editing is complete which means that I’m happy with everything so far. On the wedding day, I’ve taken a couple of minutes to take a few photographs with the DVD cover in mind, I know how I want it all to look and shoot accordingly. I don’t like to take stills from the video as a DSLR camera does what it is designed to do…take great photos. When you know the mechanics of a camera, you can get the shot you want rather than what the camera thinks is best.

This DVD cover of Kathleen and Rob’s wedding filmed at Knowle Country House in Higham a while back is typical of what my current style is. It’s important to me that everything is professional from the very beginning to the end and the DVD cover is the very first thing that my wedding couple are going to see when the discs are delivered so it has to be good. I studied graphic design at university after leaving school, before I decided to follow film-making as a career and it has been invaluable.
The balance of text and pictures is crucial, not something to be slapped together as an afterthought. I still, to this day, take time out to watch the awards for best advertisements and graphic design each year, it’s an ever changing world and one that just seems to get better and better, in my opinion.

The disc’s design itself has to be special and a white background provides the blank canvas. I don’t like full images covering the disc, especially if that picture is dark. After years of shooting weddings, I find that I’ve come to what I would describe as my ‘style’, and it’s a mix of subtlety and harmony.
Quite often, a wedding will have so much video footage that two discs are required for the finished production and that’s to keep the quality of the video as you can only fit so much on a DVD or Bluray and then the quality starts to suffer so that’s a no-no for me. All artwork is printed to the disc itself, I would never use sticky labels.
I use the very best raw materials to make your wedding DVD and Blurays a true memento of your precious wedding that really will last forever. You don’t even have to have a DVD or Bluray if you don’t wish to, we can provide you with the whole production on a flash drive. It’s all about what you want!

When all is said and done, I’m providing a professional service and although wedding video production tends to be a one-off service per couple, it is vital that my work is seen as such. I do receive a lot of recommendations from past clients and that is a huge reward in itself. It tells me that I’m doing a good job but I’m always striving to improve. You can read more about why I love creating wedding videos.

Here’s another couple of DVD covers…

Chris
East Kent Wedding Video

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Recently, we had the pleasure to film Sophea and Dane’s wonderful wedding video on the other side of the world in Perth, Western Australia.

It’s amazing how incredible the power of the internet can be and we jumped at the chance to fly over to Perth, film the wedding after meeting up with the happy couple to go through what they wanted from having their wedding filmed and as a bonus, a chance to have a few days holiday while we were there.

Fortunately, the sun shone, the day was warm and the wedding was perfect for everyone.

I have to say that filming their wedding was easy, all the guests were full of character and very friendly indeed. Now, you’re probably wondering why on earth an Australian couple would fly me all that way when surely Perth has wedding video companies of their own.

Well, Sophea had a recommendation from a friend over here in Kent, England. It was a long shot, but when she had watched the videos on this website for East Kent Wedding Video, she told Dane that she wanted us and that’s all there was to it. Being winter here in England, things were quiet on the wedding video scene so really, there was nothing to think about.

Thanks guys, you made us both very happy indeed!

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