We have been asked a few times recently by some upcoming clients about what exactly goes into editing a movie. Some believe it's a case of show up on the big day, film some footage and then whack it on to DVD or blu-ray. This would be a simple process and very easy, but it's not what we do. Here's a break down of what we do for every wedding and civil partnership film we undertake.
1. The footage is all shot on Mini-DV tape, which may sound old fashioned, but with the broadcast quality video equipment we use it means that the footage quality is unbeatable. The tapes are carefully stored and when it's time to upload them each tape is uploaded in real time - this means if the tape is 56 minutes long, it'll take 56 minutes to upload. The footage isn't ever compressed or compromised at all. Marcus has the lovely job of maintaining and uploading all footage to our editing suite and network of computers!
2. Once all of the footage has been uploaded to our system, it is saved on an external drive to make sure it is all safe and sound. It is then added to a brand new "Final Cut" (the software we use) project and each individual tape is catergorised into its own folder, so we can easily manage who shot what and keep everything neat and tidy!
3. The footage is then scanned through by Adam and Marcus together, we check out every single shot that was filmed and make notes. We are checking for anything that may not be useable (such as "dog doing his business in the background" and so on!) Once this process is completed we begin editing the movie.
4. Each movie has it's own customised editing process. To begin with this includes selecting an approproiate font and colour scheme for the films opening credits. The next step is to place everything where it should be, but this is far from the end result. All footage is then colour corrected (meaning we make sure all the colours look "just so" and aren't dulled or over exposed) and has it's audio balanced so that everything sounds right and there aren't any audio or visual discrepancies. The final footage is then edited together to produce the final cut of the movie.
5. Once a final cut is ready to be produced, it is fully rendered and finalised. It's now ready to export on to DVD for a preview film. The film is exported in full high definition and we watch a preview of the film in full HD on our editing suite. When it's all been checked it is created on DVD. This includes selecting and creating an appropriate DVD menu and adding images and text specific to our couples day. We then post this DVD to our clients, for them to watch.
6. Once we hear back from the clients regarding the film we make any requested changes to the movie (most of the time our clients like everything as it is, but sometimes there may be a few slight tweaks!). Once these changes have been made the film is once again re-rendered (in case of any changes) and is checked one final time by a very meticulous Adam and Marcus. Once everything has been approved, it's ready to be finally produced on either DVD or Blu-ray.
So there you go, in a nutshell that is our process. There are, of course, other parts to the process but those are strictly classified and highly top secret!
If you have any questions or comments about the videographer process or film production for your big day you can e-mail us at info@adamhuckle.com. Our professional wedding and civil partnership videography services are based in Bristol but we cover all of the UK - including Oxfordshire, Devon, Middlesex and London.
- Adam
