An engaging wedding video is a must-have for you and your spouse.
Most couples dream of marrying only once, making it essential to capture this unique and beautiful moment.
There are many ways to preserve these memories, such as photos or paintings, but one of the most popular is through a stunning wedding video.
Your wedding video is timeless.
You might grow old, but in your video, you’ll always look your best. The bride is flawless, and the groom is handsome, capturing both of you at your peak.
Exploring Modern Wedding Video Types
In the early days, wedding videos were simple and candid, often shaky and lacking cinematic quality. As wedding videos grew in popularity, they evolved to become more engaging, beautiful, cinematic, and unique. The creativity of videographers has expanded, leading to a variety of video styles in the industry.
Today, there are numerous wedding video types, from short form to long form, and in portrait, square, or landscape formats. They range from cinematic to heavily visual styles.
If you’re a new videographer looking to break into the wedding industry, this article will guide you in choosing the right wedding video style to offer your clients.
Understanding Wedding Video Types
Here are the most popular wedding video types you can focus on for your service:
Trailer Film: Captivating Teasers
Couples often share their trailer wedding film on social media to show off their special day to friends. They love highlighting how beautiful their wedding was, from the stunning decorations to the flattering photo shoot scenes.
Wedding videographers have catered to this trend with the creation of wedding trailer films.
So, if you want to entice potential clients with a short, engaging story, a trailer film is perfect for that goal.
This trailer film is typically short, lasting 60 to 90 seconds. While creating it can be challenging, it’s also a lot of fun!
Check out this wedding trailer film for some inspiration:
Here are some key aspects to consider when producing a wedding trailer film for your clients:
- Create a Tease: The trailer should leave viewers wanting more.
- Tell the Couple’s Story: Use clips and voice-overs to convey the couple’s story.
- Select the Best Clips: With a short duration, every second counts. Use only the best clips and voice-overs.
- Engage with Creativity: Use creative clip arrangements, video effects, sound effects, and other techniques to keep viewers interested.
Otherwise, the trailer film might end up looking random and lack feeling.
If a trailer film feels too short to tell the couple’s story, check out the next type!
Highlight Film: The Storyteller’s Choice of Wedding Video Types
A wedding highlight film is a longer form of storytelling, typically lasting from 2 to 20 minutes.
Couples often watch these films to relive the beautiful and flawless moments of their wedding day. They might want to see the emotional exchange of vows at the altar, the stunning photo location scenes, or the wild reception party.
To create a compelling highlight film, focus on telling the couple’s unique story. This can be divided into two main sections:
- Voice-over Structure: Use audio bites from the wedding, such as the couple’s vows, letter readings, and speeches.
- Visual Structure: Arrange clips to tell a cohesive story. The sequence can be linear or non-linear.
Every couple is unique, and there’s always a story to tell.
For example, one couple might have overcome COVID-19 challenges to get married, while another might have healed from past heartbreaks to find love again.
As a wedding video person, it’s important to capture these unique stories by being attentive to their characteristics. Here’s how you can find their story:
- Questionnaire: Have the couple fill out a questionnaire about themselves.
- Wedding Theme: A calm couple might choose a simple theme, while a passionate couple might opt for something more complex.
- Decoration: Romantic couples might have lots of flowers and beautiful signage, while cheerful couples might choose vibrant colors.
- Photoshoot Scene: A shy couple might be more reserved during their photoshoot, while an adventurous couple might be more expressive and playful.
- Speeches: Listen to what the officiant, parents, and friends say about the couple during the ceremony and reception.
- Reception Party: The type of music played at the reception can reflect the couple’s personality, from EDM for party lovers to easy-listening pop for more casual celebrations.
For inspiration, check out this wedding highlight film:
Next, we’ll focus on the documentation side of wedding videography. Stay tuned!
Documentary Film: Preserving Authentic Moments
When a couple wants to see everything from their wedding day, a documentary film is the perfect choice.
In the industry, it goes by many names: Documentary Edit, Full Length Documentary, Long Form Edit, and more. Despite the different names, the concept is the same: documenting all the events that happened on the wedding day.
A documentary edit captures candid and real-time activities during the events.
Viewers want to see everything that happened on that day, such as who walked down the aisle during the ceremony and how crazy the wedding party got in real-time.
As a wedding video editor, your job is to keep everything but trim out the unnecessary parts of the clips and events to make it look clean, neat, and tidy.
Remove shaky footage, out-of-focus shots, and people crossing the camera angle. Also, trim out unnecessary event parts like silent moments before the ceremony starts or when the videographer is adjusting their camera.
Check out the YouTube video below for more insights about Documentary Films:
Got some insight into documentary films? If so, let’s jump to the next film type.
Short Film for Social Media: Sharing Joy in Minutes
When short videos became popular on social media platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, the wedding video industry followed suit.
Many couples want to showcase their wedding on social media, but their highlight films are often too long for these platforms. For instance, Instagram Reels only allow videos up to one minute and 30 seconds, while a typical wedding highlight film is about five minutes long.
That’s too long for an Instagram Reel.
Enter the Social Media Film, which is under one minute in duration. This short format allows couples to share their wedding moments on social media easily.
As a wedding video editor, you can capitalize on this trend by creating 60-second videos that highlight the best moments from the wedding day, from the preparation to the reception. Since you only have 60 seconds, you’ll need to select the best clips and focus on one event or aspect.
You can also use this short video format to make gifts.
For example, if the band at the wedding is your friend, you could create a 60-second video featuring candid clips of their performance. It increases your relationship with your friend!
The wedding social media video format not only makes the couple happy but also helps promote your business. Posting these short videos on your social media can attract a wider audience, including potential clients.
If you have a small following, don’t worry. You can use social media ads to reach a broader audience on a budget.
However, check out some samples below for more insight into social media wedding videos:
When creating social media wedding videos for clients, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Use the best clips since every second counts.
- Focus on one area. For example, if you want to highlight the couple’s beauty and engagement, choose scenes from the photo session.
- Select music that suits the short format. You may need to edit the music to fit the video’s duration.
- Have fun with it! Get creative with GFX or SFX, but make sure it aligns with the client’s requirements.
Enjoy creating and sharing these special moments!
New to the wedding video industry and unsure how to edit a wedding video? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
I’ve created a comprehensive guide that covers everything from selecting the right clips to adding the perfect music. This guide will walk you through the entire process, helping you create stunning wedding films.
Final Thoughts
Editing wedding videos is a blend of creativity and technical know-how. Each step, from capturing the key events to fine-tuning the details like multicam editing and color correction, helps craft a memorable film for the couple. Whether you’re piecing together a full-length documentary or a quick social media clip, understanding different wedding video types and paying attention to the little things makes all the difference.
Keep sharpening your skills and stay in the loop with the latest trends in wedding video types to keep your work exciting. Ready for more tips and tricks on wedding video editing? Subscribe to our email list for regular updates and exclusive content!
Last modified: August 19, 2024
