a thousand words - Velare Imaginarium

If you've been following the "a thousand words series", you will have enjoyed reading about photographers talking about one of their favourite images. Most have said how difficult it is to choose just one! For the month of December, I'm doing something a little bit different but still totally relevant to the theme.

Thank you Twitter for introducing me to the the work of Velare Imaginarium - Every time I watch one of their beautiful wedding films, I'm just carried away to special place. And I realised yesterday that the dreamy slow motion reminds me of one of my favourite experiences ever - a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia. Slowing things down, makes us see the emotions so much more clearly; a caress or a sweeping expression on a guest's face. There's much more to these films than the pace though; Steve and Tim are able to capture the essence of a day of immense love, movement and words in under five minutes. So for the month of December, please welcome Velarium to the 'A thousand Words' series.


sam // steve from Velare Imaginarium on Vimeo.

This beautiful film tells its own story but I'm so grateful to Tim for telling us a little bit about the creative and technical skills that go into creating a film like this. (This company combines the skills of two talented creatives - Steve Stanton is an International photographer and Tim Twinem is the principle cinematogrpaher.

"This beautiful, mountain wedding at Della Terra, in Estes Park, Colorado had SO many contributing elements making this such a unique and special day. First and foremost, the deep love that Sam and Steve have for each other melted into every detail of their day. Between the two of them and their tight-knit family and friends, every time my camera was rolling, a moment of great importance and great love was taking place. Another contributing element was the beautiful nature surround Della Terra, from the scenery to the wildlife, filled this Fall day with a surreal, fairy tale feel that infected every guest and magnified the love and ceremony taking place.

One of the thing I definitely struggle with the most when it comes to approaching a couple's highlight video, is music selection. For me, the inspiration starts with the music. A bad music choice will leave me banging my head against the wall through an entire edit, and inevitably leads me to scrap what I have so far, and start my process from the top again: finding the right music. Looking through my footage of Sam and Steve's day, I just felt the emotions contained in Josh Ritter's song "The Curse", matched the romance and love captured in the footage. I know, "The Curse" sounds like a funny song choice for a wedding video, but I couldn't walk away from how perfect the emotional match was.

Lastly, in my list of 'contributing elements', was Sam and Steve's willingness to quickly jump away from their guests at the reception, and let me shoot some shots of them with one light in the dark woods. As a cinematographer, I understand that video can sometimes take a back seat to photos throughout the course of a wedding day. I find so much value in getting a couple to do something specifically geared towards video, even if it's only for 10 minutes. Being able to put a couple in a beautiful place, with specific elements for video (movement, lighting, audio), dramatically adds to the story I can communicate with the footage I've captured, and, in my opinion, adds a lot of value to a wedding video!"

Thanks guys - you have a lifetime fan here, eagerly anticipating your next films!

Read my other post about another Velare Imaginarium film or see a portfolio of work on their website. This feature is part of a series called 'a thousand words'.