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WHY STORYTELLING WITH INTENT

For the first 5 years of my career I knew how to operate a camera, but I had no idea what I should be filming, or how to film it. In short, I got really good at videoing all the wrong things.  My videos looked flashing and sharp, but they were empty inside. They were filled with lots of cool camera moves and other effects, but they didn’t affect the people who watched them. They were a sugar hit without any lasting substance.

This workshop changes that. It recognises the hard-wired human desire for story and connection and teaches you how to find, film and then edit that human experience into a wedding film.

It will teach the fundamental elements that drive good story and then equip you with a whole bunch of filming techniques that will help you to capture that story through your lens and craft together an edit that will grab your audience from the get go.

And because the content in this workshop is built from first principles up, you will not only know how to film, but why you’re filming that way. This deeper understanding of story then gives you all the tools you need to take what you’ve learnt and apply it to other genres of videography, photography and it might even change the way you take photos with your family at Christmas time!

If someone was to ask me, what ‘above all else’ should I learn about videography, this workshop would be my answer. It’s a 2-day download of my brain that captures the heart of what drives my films and then teaches you how to capture these moments in your own style, for yourself.

 


DATE: 1st and 2nd of July 2023.  9am to 5pm each day.
LOCATION: Auckland. Venue TBC

WHAT WILL BE COVERED?
This in-depth workshop targets the key areas that make for strong, interesting and meaningful films. I’ll be teaching many of the following topics (and probably many more).
Setting yourself up for storytelling success:
  • How to identify and target the key strengths of videography (compared to photography) and how to emphasise them in your film.
  • How to build pricing packages that are conducive to capturing unique imagery.
  • How to educate your couple on what really matters
  • Tips on how to be a proactive filmmaker, not a reactive filmmaker.
How filmmaking techniques can enhance your ability to tell strong story. This includes:
  • The different energy lenses have and how/when to use them to capture personality.
  • How composition affects story and how to sequence shots together that revel information over time.
  • A deep dive into camera movement. How different movement affects how your film will feel.
  • Understanding the forth wall and 180deg rules. And when you can break it.
  • How to capture clean audio at a ceremony and speeches every time, even when the sound system fails.
  • How to control audio to get clean sound in tricky (un-mic’d) environments.
  • How to cheat a multi camera look with only one camera.
  • Identifying what cheese is, and how to avoid it!
  • A complete breakdown of why and how I light relevant sections of the wedding day.
  • How subtle changes to how you conduct yourself on a wedding day will make your couple feel so much more comfortable in front of the lens.
Storytelling on the wedding day.
  • Identifying the key ingredients of strong story.
  • Highlighting where these stories are often found on a wedding day.
  • How to use the filmmaking techniques above to capture and build a strong story.
Storytelling in the editing timeline.
  • Deconstruction of an edit to study how it’s built and arranged.
  • Editing techniques that include why and when you should make a cut. And when not to.
  • When to build a chronological edit, and when/how to mix it up without losing your audience.
  • Tips for finding the right song for your edit and how to manage a brides expectations on music choice.
  • Tips and guidance on quickly finding building strong edits on the timeline without hours of stumbling around in the dark.

 


 

WHO THE WORKSHOP IS FOR.
The content I’ll be covering will be easily understandable to pretty much anyone who has an interest in storytelling. So whether you’re an absolute newbie who doesn’t now how to operate a camera to photographers and videographers who are well established. This workshop should help you understand how to tell stories in a new (exciting) light.

WHAT’S NOT IN THE WORKSHOP.
Although more technical things might be mentioned in the workshop, that’s not its purpose or focus.
I won’t be talking much about gear. So what camera/audio/gimbals to use. Or the best settings for filming.
Although I will teach a few editing techniques, I won’t be teaching any workflow around handling data or how to edit in specific editing suites. I won’t be talking about colour grading.

IS THERE A PRACTICAL COMPONENT TO THE WORKSHOP?
No. The content is best taught in a classroom. However there will be plenty of examples as to how to implement this theory on a wedding day.

WHY I AM DOING THIS.
Because I genuinely would feel quite sad when I one day (soon?) stop doing this and just let my knowledge die with me. So I really want to see other videographers get excited about story and keep pushing this craft.
So given this. There’s nothing I’ll be holding back. It’s just me wanting to share what I know with as many people as I can.

COST
$1200 inc GST for the 2 day course.
Spaces may be limited and it’s first in, first served.
To confirm your butt on a seat for the two days, it’s a $200 deposit.
Full payment needs to be made 2 weeks before the event.

HOW TO BOOK
Send me an email via our contact us page and we’ll get the ball rolling!