Quick Movement Ideas To Improve Your Wedding Filmaking







Add to your filmmaking with these inexpensive bits of kit. Each piece of kit is designed to complement your main footage and fit straight into your camera bag , so you can bring these with you on every shoot.

Want to add a bit of wow into your wedding filming, music videos or impressive roll into your documentary shooting. Well this is all about adding that little bit of movement into your films with no bulky camera slider in sight!

I am going to take one pretty big assumption for this video and presume you already own a fairly modern mobile phone or action camera to use with all these accessories. As they are intended to be used for insert shots and not the main footage.

The first bit of kit you will just need the ability to capture time-lapse and my iPhone 12 works great for this. Now time-lapse by itself is often a great thing to introduce into your filming to add a transition of time passing or to quickly show an otherwise uninspiring outside atmosphere and space. But adding a bit of movement to this time-lapse turns it into a wow moment. There are several turning tripod heads which you can mount kick off you time-lapse and leave to do its magic. You don’t even need a tripod really, why not set it on a table when the guests are walking into the reception for a shot like this and go film so other shots and hope no-one has moved or stared straight into your time-lapse! The Newer version is about £50 and it has a couple of speed setting for you to play around with . The great thing is it really doesn’t talk up any space in your camera bag and can add these moments to you film and up the production value quickly. Well as long as it takes to film a time-lapse!


The next bit of kit I have used to quickly do a dolly shot, I actually use a mirrorless onto of this with no problems at all ( it has a 5kg payload limit) but again you could use an action camera or smartphone mount onto of it. It has 3 variable speed , but I often set my camera to a high frame rate for an even smoother look in post. It comes with a remote control to start and stop the motion of the dolly. It has adjustable wheels so you can pan around any object in a circle or use it straight like a camera slider shot.

Charge it up chuck in into your bag and quickly get some product and detail shots that are quite impressive.


With the quality of images now on something like the iPhone 12 pro max it really has opened up the possibility to use it for some brill footage and quick setting shots when being a solo shooter.
3 axis gimbals have been around for an age and they really have come down in price and have become better and better

This gimbal is £71 ! I actually use it to grab some vertical videos to promote my work through channels such as TikTok. The ability to stabilise vertical video has meant I can quickly and easily leave this setup for grabbing pieces of vertical video throughout a shoot. As my main cameras will be capturing horizontally as all video should be!

It come with its own app so you can capture some motion time-lapse with it as well , vertical motion time-lapse if you want to. It has a handy 3 ¼ Screw hole at the bottom for you to mount it to a tripod for this or you can use the mounting point to add a light to the gimbal whilst filing .


Mentioning lights, if you don’t already use some form of on camera or off camera lighting for your filming. Portable blogging style ring lights have really dropped in price and are always worth carrying in your bag for evening shots, interviews or anytime when lighting could quickly make a difference to a shot.

This newer one has a variable lighting from 3200 to 5600 , 10 different lighting levels and various mounting options and includes a table top stand. All for £20. Power in via a usb power bank or laptop easily.

Help Your Wedding Videographer


5 Easy Ways to Help Your Wedding Videographer and Also Help Them Remain Unobtrusive



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1). Send them a wedding schedule with timings and with as much details as you know ( for example Kelly and Simon will be doing the readings - There will be 4 speeches from Dad, Best Man , Groom and Bride)

This will help the videographer plan and be in the right place at the right time, not rushing about trying to make sure they capture everything. It will also help them plan on who to put a microphone on and when.

If you are not having a ton of formal group shots, letting your creative team know the important people to you is a great idea. It might even be useful to have pictures of them next to their names and give this to your photographer before the day, for them to easily recognise the ket people.

Help your video team

2) In the day of arches and fantastic floral arrangements its important there is a small space for your creative team to stand to film and photograph your ceremony. Often the flowers are placed either side of where the couple are getting married and the person conducting the ceremony will stand directly in front of you. Although a good videographer will make the best of any situation, planning for a good position for your videographer will enable them to stay in one place and remain unobtrusive.

Inform Guests Filming

3) Inform the important people and guests that the day is being filmed. You will often notice the videographer more when your guests get in their way. The biggest moments of the day when this can happen are.


When the best man comes up to hand over the rings and proceeds to then stand in front of the camera. Often the registrar will inform him not to do this, but pre-warning the best-man will mean the videographer won’t have to move to capture the ring shot.

When you walk back down the aisle. One of the best shots of the day the new bride and groom walking down the aisle, however all your guests want a piece of the action as well. Guests will often step into the middle of the aisle to get a shot with their phone of the happy couple, unfortunately this will mean them appearing in your photographs and film instead of you!! Let the register tell your guests that they may take photos of you signing the register but otherwise to please wait until after the ceremony. This will enable them to enjoy your day and get the shots they want, but to also stay out of the professionals way.

Pre-warn the people making a reading or speech that they will be being filmed and wearing a recording device. We are used to finding the important people and mining them up however If they know to come and ask for one, it will enable us to concentrate on getting on with recording the day, instead of tracking people down.

Book two videographers

4) Book a second videographer. Having a second videographer can often help in larger weddings. Not only will you get extra angles of the big moments, you can also have two simultaneous moments captured (such a groom preparations, or guest shots whilst the photographic session is happening)

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5) Stay in contact with before the day. Let your videographer know if there is anything you need advice on for your big day or any changes that occur in terms of timings. Letting them know a point of contact for the wedding reception and even sending pictures of all the important people before your day will help them when they first arrive.

What is a Cinematic Wedding Video?


Another one of our frequently asked questions answered with a short animation. We are often asked “What makes a wedding film cinematic?” or “ What is wedding cinematography and why does it cost more?”



What is a cinematic wedding film?


Weddings are a traditional event. From traditions of something old, something new... then to the cutting of the wedding cake and through to the first dance. The way these things are done change to reflect the current age. Just have a look at a wedding in the nineties, the cake design, dress fashion or the choice of first dance music and you will note how things have developed with time.

The age of a cinematic wedding film


Now browse the web for wedding video companies and you will see plenty of them who still film and edit the same as they did in the 1990's! You will also see plenty of part time videographer and then you will see some companies offering a new style of wedding videos emerging 'cinematic wedding films!'.

The standard video: Their are many people who still prefer the more traditional approach to filming a wedding, people who require just a record of the day filmed professionally, recording things as they happen. Then edited into a highly watchable video.

The cinematic film: Modern young couples tend to gravitate towards something special for their wedding film, something that turns their video into a personalised film, that reflects their characters and day. This bespoke service is now being offered by a variety of wedding video companies and is undertaken with varies degrees of competency!

The professional cinematic approach

Let it be bespoke and unique. This means that your wedding is not filmed and edited to a set format, where the videographer and editor go through the motions of creating similar looking videos. Yes everyone has a different wedding day and this will be reflected in your wedding film to a certain degree. Yet with careful planning, creative thinking and correct choices in shots, editing techniques and audio choice, a film can be created that is like a tailor made suit that fits to your characters, venue and day just perfectly.

A creative cinematographer

Naming yourself a 'creative cinematographer' may suggest you definitely have to be creative in ways a mere wedding cameraman wouldn't. This will usually mean the use of a second cameraman and/or a creative director helping to create/capture different styles of shots and moments that are overlooked by a traditional cameraman. Extra people may help be creative and this will free up the main cameraman to capture the day professionally, whilst the creativity can be handled by the second wedding cameraman using different angles, detailed shots and capture these using a variety of equipment.

A major aspect to this process is the post edit. This is a creative process of selecting, timing and colour grading shots to fit into the style and storyboard of the wedding day. The audio tracks (music and recorded soundtrack of the day) style needs to be in sync with the style of the footage and effects used.



Is a Wedding Video Worth it?


We have created a short animated video to answer the commonly searched fro question “ Is a wedding video worth it? “ or “Is a wedding videography necessary”.

With many brides not noticing the importance of having their wedding filmed until its too late.



Why You Need A Wedding Video !



Why many wedding suppliers and previous married couples agree a wedding video is a must!

Many peoples pre-wedding mindset


So who wants a stranger hanging about on their big day shoving a camera in your face and turning your day into one big movie shoot! For many couples this is how they see a wedding cameramen, as intrusive, unprofessional and an extra thing to be worried about, as a lot of people don't like being filmed! Most people have only ever been filmed by a family member, or at a school play, or by a bad cameraman at someone else's wedding! Many couples are concerned about relaxing and enjoying their big day and see a wedding video as a detriment to this, however in truth its quite the opposite!

The truth about Wedding Videos


Ask all married couples about their day and the one thing they will say is how quickly it past them by! How they did not get to appreciate the church and its detail, the flowers and lace, the guests, the magician, the quartet, the grounds of the wedding venue/reception etc. Many couples would have spent many months if not years deciding on what suppliers to have at their big day, what cake to choose, what dress to wear and the day has flashed past, leaving only memories! (unfortunately memories are restricted to what you actually saw in the first place!)

Some of the suppliers may not even be seen or noticed by the bride and groom as they are so busy with the photographer or greeting guests they have not seen for many years. Its only afterwards when they speak with their friends that they discover that they were even there!

This is why when you ask married couples after the event their biggest regret is often not having a wedding video, especially if they have seen there friends wedding video, so that they can re-live their big day! Why do you think that brides who do have their wedding filmed are watching it endlessly for years to come!

Won't the video get in the way?

A good wedding videographer will in the most part, blend into the background. They will be fully briefed as to the running order of the day and be in place for the important moments before they happen rather than reacting to the moment. This way they will remain unobtrusive and discreet as a good, experienced videographer plans their position before each shot Very often the videographer will add to the running of the day as they know what should be happening and when and work with the photographer to keep to the timetable. More recently, there has been an upsurge of amateur photographers who, having bought a high quality digital camera have branched out into the world of wedding photography with little or no experience. The experienced videographer will notice how stills cameramen will often be missing for those important moments and look to guide and assist them in such instances.

What about the cost - its not cheap!

Many brides will prioritise their wedding budget on the things that seem important to her pre-wedding, such as the venue and dress. A recent survey has shown 54% of brides place their wedding film as one of the most important things (top 10) before the wedding, yet this rises when the bride looks back and assess each individual value to 79%!

80% of all past brides surveyed believed that a wedding video should be considered, this number rises to 95% when you only take into account brides who had their wedding day filmed.

Visit and read these real life answers to the question “ Is a Wedding Video Worth it?


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