Getting to know Burgess Video

 

While still imagery can take your breath away, there’s nothing quite like watching a wedding day unfold through the eyes of a videographer. Where once people viewed wedding videos as tacky, we are now seeing love stories unfold before our very eyes in the most beautiful and incredible fashion, and leading the way are Annette and Dani of Burgess Video.

Ivory Tribe have worked with Burgess Video on many projects and we trust them implicitly to, so listen up brides and grooms, this is the team you want behind you and so here’s a chance to get to know the fabulous ladies behind Burgess Video.

How did you both come to work in the wedding industry as videographers?

Annette:  I was a secondary school media teacher, mainly teaching students how to film and edit.  I had a couple of friends ask me to film their weddings and just fell in love with it.  Twelve months later I left teaching to start Burgess Video.  The bonus is now all my ex-students are getting married so it was a great client base!

Dani:  I studied photography at home in Israel, so when Annette started the business it was a natural progression to work alongside her.  When we moved from video cameras to DLSR cameras I was able to use my photography knowledge to ease the transition.

What is the Burgess Video signature style when it comes to shooting wedding films?

Our style has definitely evolved over the years, as has the industry.  And because Annette and Dani have two different styles it’s a bit of a collaboration between romantic (Annette) and fly-on-the-wall candid (Dani).

It seems that couples that invest in cinematography are always big advocates for videography and couples that choose to forgo it can sometimes have regret – why do you think that is?

For some couples it’s a cultural thing.  We shoot a lot of weddings with couples who have a European background or Asian background, and for them a video is an automatic must.  I think for many ‘Aussie’ couples they’re used to seeing the old fashioned style wedding videos and don’t want it, or don’t want the camera in their face.  It’s not until they see a friend’s wedding video that they realise what they’ve missed.  I get SO many people contacting me a few weeks before their wedding who’ve changed their mind and want to get a video (and by then of course we’re already booked).

When a couple book with you, what can they expect from the process?

They can expect to work with Annette and Dani from the beginning to the end.  We do everything in the business, from the initial meeting with clients, to filming, to editing to delivering (last week Dani hand delivered a wedding film to a client at work due to failure of Aust Post).  This enables us to really get to know the couples, and their wedding films are a true reflection of their stories, not just a formula of any wedding day.   Also AUDIO!!  We take so much pride in trying to get the best possible audio recording of the day’s formalities (ceremony and speeches), some videographers don’t rate audio as important at all.

Obviously you are there on the day to shoot as the wedding celebration unfolds, but post wedding, what elements go into pulling a wedding video together?

There’s so much involved in Post-Production!  The typical process is:

• check footage and make backup copies and do the same with the audio recordings (we use multiple audio recorders on the day for the ceremony and the reception)
• collaborate with the couple regarding music choices
• synchronise multiple audio sources and edit a rough cut of the formalities of the day
• using a combination of music and audio, edit a Feature Film (usually about 35minutes) of the day
• check audio and colour grade the Feature Film
• finally after viewing all the footage and selecting the most suitable music, edit a Highlights clip of the day.  Depending on our ‘creative flow’ the Highlights clip can take anywhere from 1-3 days to edit.  Colour grade the Highlights clip.
• render, export and upload Highlights clip to Vimeo channel
• render, export and copy Highlights, Feature Film and Speeches to USB
• package USB in custom wooden box and send to client – ta da!

What are some words of wisdom when it comes to choosing the perfect videographer?

All videographers are different, and so are their styles.  You should view a number of their sample videos, and make sure you fully understand what you’ll be receiving as a final product.  Videographers all use different terminology when describing their deliverables (ie Highlights, Short Form Video, Long Form Video, Feature Film, Documentary Edit, Raw Footage, Cleaned up Raw Footage etc etc) and they mean different things to each videographer.  Meeting your videographer in person before the day is great, but not essential for the ‘fly on the wall’ type shooters (you won’t notice them on the day!)

There are many couples out there they can be a little camera shy, so do you have some top tips for those couples, so they get the best results on the day?

We try to really engage personally with the couple and the bridal party, we chat a lot and joke around and they tend to forget we are there filming.  There’s no ‘hot tip’ really for camera-shy couples except to just ignore the camera and focus on enjoying the day.

Might be a silly question, but how do you choose the music for your videos? Does a couple help with this, or do you select it?

It’s 50/50 with the couple.  Most couples will send a few music requests through, and we’ll use a combination of their chosen music and other songs similar to the mood and tone of their day.  Some couples trust us completely with the music and we’ll choose songs we think suit the couple.  Many couples will have a ‘must’ song to use for the Highlights clip, and we’ll always respect their choice, unless we think it doesn’t suit their day.  My motto is that I’m making a Highlights video for the COUPLE and no-one else.  It’s about making the couple happy and not making a video I think will look good on my website.

What’s the best part of your job?

Annette: watching the bride and the groom see each other for the first time on the wedding day.  And when I receive an email from the couple who’ve loved watching their video.

Dani:  filming the crazy antics on the dancefloor

Finally, where would be the ultimate dream location for the Burgess ladies to shoot?

A private property in the middle of no-where on a perfect early April day (so perfect lighting), but by the beach as well as close to a forest.  Anywhere in the world, Tasmania would be nice!

 

 

Get Burgess Video on your wedding day Tribe by heading here.