Check out the video to hear more about the unique film and photography style of documentary wedding videographers York Place Films and our partners York Place Studios:
DOCUMENTARY WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHERS // THE YORK PLACE APPROACH
At York Place Films we don’t believe in cheesy posing, we don’t want to break the moment and have you move into a different position or better light, we’re 100% documentary wedding videographers and for us that means capturing the electricity of a moment right there, just the way it happened, exactly the way it felt and absolutely without interference.
The documentary wedding video style may sound a little confusing; after all when we think of documentaries on TV we probably imagine David Attenborough narrating the action or talking direct to camera, but to us the fundamental principle of any documentary filmmaking is the search for truth and whilst there’s no presenter or narrator in our documentary wedding videos, truth is most certainly at the heart of what we do.
When we create a wedding film we don’t create it just for you, the bride and groom, we create it for your family, for your friends, for your children and your children’s children. That’s why we don’t just focus on those big traditional set beats – the first dance, the kiss, the cutting of the cake (though we’ll capture those too!), we focus on the little moments that remind you of who that person really is and how they make you feel.
When I look back at my wedding it’s not the big moments that I really think about… for starters the cutting of the cake felt like a really weird thing to do and our first dance was for me, an absolute introvert, just hugely embarrassing. But what I do think about is the moment just after we left the ceremony when Dom caught my eye in that way that always makes me laugh. I think about how unbelievable it was to have all my favourite people from different parts of my life all in the same place, hanging out together like old friends. I don’t think about THE official first dance, I think about OUR first dance – the one that took place later that evening when everyone else was doing their own thing and having fun and we shared that special moment between just the two of us without 100 eyes watching our every move.
Those are the moments that really matter: the raw, unscripted and completely unforgettable moments, the ones that when you look back on your day you don’t just see in your mind, you feel every pulsing beat. So when we make a documentary wedding video those are the moments we’re looking for – real, spontaneous, unplanned – the moments that your grandkids looking at this in 25, 50, 100 years time will reveal to them how it felt to be at your wedding and who you, your friends and family really were.
And that’s why, as documentary wedding videographers, we like to work without limits. We won’t disappear as soon as your first dance is over because as far as we’re concerned that probably wasn’t really your first dance. We don’t arrive on the day with a list of shots that we’re going to take because the best shots are the ones that we can’t even imagine until we sense the potential, move ourselves into position and capture it unfolding in front of us. We won’t choose just any old song to go with your wedding video, we’ll take the time to find that perfect piece of music that sums up the style, feel and atmosphere of the wedding.
Our films aren’t just about a wedding, they’re about the people that made it the best day of your lives. Over the years we’ve filmed a lot of weddings of every culture and in every type of venue you care to think of, but we know right now, before we’ve even met you that we’ve never filmed a wedding like yours before and never will again. That’s because you as a couple are completely unique and the dynamic you share with your friends and family is unlike anyone else’s. And to us there’s nothing that we could film that could ever be more important than that.
Matt Thompson
Find Out More About Documentary Wedding Videographers Matt Thompson & Alex Shaw
Matt & Alex have each had a love of films and filmmaking from a young age. In fact Matt still has a VHS tape tucked away of his first attempt at making his own version of the classic TV series Thunderbirds filmed on his homemade Blue Peter Tracey Island! Despite their love of the craft and the family connections with wedding photographers Dom & Liam Shaw (aka York Place Studios) both Matt & Alex had always felt that if they were ever to make a wedding film the technology was going to have to catch up with their ideas about what a wedding film should be!
Around 2011 Matt got his hands on the then revolutionary Canon 5D Mkii with its compact footprint, beautifully cinematic imagery and fantastic low-light performance and things were never quite the same again. Here was the camera that could perhaps facilitate a true, unobtrusive documentary style and create the beautiful style of imagery that previously only very high-end (and huge!) cinema cameras could achieve. After putting it through its paces Matt teamed up with brother-in-law and film aficionado Alex and in 2011 they filmed their first wedding together.
With Matt’s extensive sound expertise and Alex’s unique and creative approach to editing coupled with the filmmaking skills they had each honed over the years it was a match made in heaven, and whilst the cameras may have changed over the years that central idea and approach to filmmaking is still at the heart of every film York Place Films produces today. Teaming up with fellow family members and documentary wedding photographers Dom & Liam of York Place Studios we love working together to create seamless, unobtrusive documentary wedding coverage in both film & photos
To talk to us about your wedding or just chat about your own love of filmmaking you can get in touch via our contact form, we’d love to hear from you!
Documentary Wedding Videographers Matt & Alex of York Place Films travel across the world capturing natural, unscripted moments in their trademark fun, dynamic and heartfelt style. To find out more about the York Place Documentary Style click on the link: https://www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk/ethos/