Devil’s Advocate

Throughout this post, I will be posting a counter argument to a prior article on my blog dealing with Wedding Film Making. While you certainly don’t need to read the prior article, it will certainly help gleam some context. You can read it here: https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/andrewkosinteractivemedia.home.blog/28

The first main point of contention that I have with this article is when the author compares the job of a wedding filmmaker to that of an entire hollywood film crew. While yes, the job of a wedding filmmaker does involve using a variety of different skills (such as filming, editing ect.), it is a gross exaggeration to assume that they are putting in anywhere near as much work as the entirety of a hollywood film crew. One of the main advantages a wedding filmmaker has over a hollywood crew is the fact that they are almost always the sole creator involved in the project, meaning they have an intimate knowledge of their footage and how they would like to structure a video. This is an advantage of a standard hollywood production, where the director and editor are often different people. Another key difference between a wedding filmmaker and a hollywood film crew is the amount of time required from the two. A wedding filmmaker is only required to film their event for a single day, whereas a film crew can film for sometimes upwards of a year before their product is truly ready to be edited. The two professions also differ in is the deadline that the final product is expected to be delivered by. In wedding filmmaking, filmmakers are able to negotiate their deadlines with their clients and are quite flexible. Wedding films are also quite a bit easier to produce in the editing stage of production than hollywood films (mostly due to not needing complex special effects). In sharp contrast, Hollywood films are put on harsh deadlines by their studios in order to be released into theatres in a timely manner. Coupled with the fact that hollywood films are far more effects heavy and it creates a work environment that is almost uncomparable to wedding filmmaking.

While I do disagree fairly heavily with the author of this piece, I feel that our difference in opinion comes mainly from a lack of experience on their part. Having admitted that they had very much had not only a lack of experience in the field, but also a fundamental misunderstanding of what their internship truly entailed, it is not hard to see why the duties of a wedding filmmaker can come across as overwhelming to someone new to the field. When describing the duties of a wedding filmmaker, it does truly seem overwhelming and a herculean task for a single person to tackle. However, with everything in context, things become much more balanced and the advantages and struggles of each profession become easier to see.