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ALICE & LEWIS

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Luxury Wedding Filmmaker based in London, covering destinations around the World.

info@akfilms.co.uk

LONDON - EST. 2017

Katie and James were style personified at their re

Katie and James were style personified at their relaxed London wedding back in February.

“We met after James messaged me on Facebook. It took 3 months for us to go on a first date as I kept letting him down and luckily on his last attempt we finally met up and had our first date at Madison roof top bar in London. I will always remember it being freezing (the day before NYE) and I had open toe shoes on, James offered me his socks which I found weirdly romantic! So I ended up sitting there with his socks on and the rest is history! I speak on behalf of James but I know he would agree when I say we really are best friends.”

On their wedding day, Katie and James (along with their son, Leo) celebrated with an elegant ceremony at the historic Farm Street Church, before guests walked back to the legendary Claridge’s for the party. Amongst the Art Deco glitz and glamour of the hotel, guests laughed, drank, ate and danced the night away to a soundtrack provided by funk, soul and disco outfit, The White Keys.
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Venue: @claridgeshotel
Photographer: @rebeccasearlephotography
Flowers: @grandirosa
Band: @thewhitekeysuk
Balloons: @bubblegumballoons
Hair & Makeup: @botiashairandmakeup
Dresses: @emma_beaumont_atelier

I use a lot of symmetry in my films. It’s just o

I use a lot of symmetry in my films. It’s just one example of how your wedding story can be enhanced through framing and composition.

A wedding is a very fast-paced, live event, which means it’s very easy as a videographer to just point your camera at the action and pat yourself on the back for nailing it. But it isn’t enough. Simply capturing the walk down the aisle isn’t enough. Getting the first kiss on camera isn’t enough. These moments have to be captured well. They need to be captured in a way that makes you FEEL, and the best way of doing that is by changing how I frame the shot.

Shot framing is important because it directs the viewer’s attention and tells you where to look. Symmetry is an example of this. Symmetrical shots automatically create a sense of harmony and aesthetic balance. For shots such as the first kiss shot, this is obviously preferable to an asymmetrical shot that may make you feel uneasy, despite viewing such a heart-warming scene.

I find this kind of thing fascinating - the ability to manipulate emotions through my own perspective and approach is one of the biggest reasons why I love being a filmmaker.
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This is a shot from Candice & Sam’s city wedding at the stunning @stpancrasren

Planner: @elegantebymichellej
Florist: @artistically_twisted_london
Venue: @stpancrasren
Bridal dress: @sassiholford
Hair/MUA: @sophiefleurbeauty_mua @hairbyslo
Photographer: @pippamackenzie

Let’s talk about ‘killing your darlings’…

Let’s talk about ‘killing your darlings’…

One of the reasons I love being a wedding filmmaker so much is that I get to scratch a creative itch and make what I deem to be ‘art’. However, wedding films are strange because they're not being made for the sake of art - they're being made for you: the couple. ⁣⁣
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As a filmmaker wanting to produce beautiful films, I may want to include shots that are nicely composed, or that look interesting or cool. But a stunning shot of somebody’s plus-one that you didn’t even invite may be less important to you than a shot of your grandma that I’ve decided is ‘worse’ just because it’s not as ‘artistic’.⁣⁣
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‘Killing your darlings’ is a term used mainly by writers to refer to deleting parts of a story that the writer loves but which don’t really advance the story. The same applies to filmmaking and, in particular, to wedding filmmaking. Sometimes it’s necessary for me to kill my darlings and choose one shot over another, regardless of how I feel it impacts the film from a creative perspective.⁣⁣
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Ultimately, this is all about balance. If I killed all of my darlings, then the film might be rubbish, so I’ve got to try and strike a good middle-ground where your film looks great and feels like a work of art, but still has all those moments and people in it that are important to you. And how do I figure this out? By getting to know you - I LOVE sitting down for a chat and getting to know you guys and what’s important to you. I usually follow my couples on insta so I can see what they get up to and who’s important to them. Plus I always send a questionnaire before the wedding that specifically asks what the most important aspects of your wedding are. This means that, when it comes down to editing, I feel like I know you so well that I know which darlings I need to kill to give you the wedding film of your dreams…⁣

@AKFILMSWEDDING