First Twin Films

You know what’s ironic? For years, I was surrounded by people who thought storytelling was ‘stupid’ and ‘pointless’. At the mere mention of the word, you would receive the biggest eye roll and disgusted face.

Now, it’s the core of my business and honestly, my favorite part of what I do.

So I figured I’d give you all an inside look at the ~only slightly 😅~ chaotic process of how I craft a wedding film:

1. Pay Attention
2. Log Footage
3. Log Footage AGAIN
4. HIGHLIGHTERS
5. Put It All Together

Swipe through to get an in-depth look at each step of the process 👩🏻‍💻✍️🎞️

1. Pay Attention - Way before you even turn your camera on, you should be paying attention and taking notes on who your couple is: their personalities, their interests, likes, dislikes, what are they most excited for, etc.

This is ESPECIALLY true on wedding days. What pulled at their heartstrings? Who do they have a strong relationship with? Did a funny moment happen that broke some tension or nerves? Remember it! I sometimes even take out my phone and write it down in my notes as reference for later.

2. Log the Footage - I go through every second of footage shot, sync all the ceremony angles, reception speeches, first looks, you name it. Then I go in and put a mark on the clips with standout audio that can be used to tell their story.

Oh, they mentioned their first meeting multiple times? Log it. At prep, the bride said her groom would bawl his eyes out when he first sees her? Log it. All these in-between moments are vital to telling the entire story of their day - not just the structured sections.

3. Log the Footage AGAIN - This is where my chaotic brain starts to show…After logging the footage in FCPX, I take out one of my many trusted notebooks and I write down all of what I favorited, breaking each part of the day into different sections.

For me, seeing it written out on paper helps visualize everything together, rather than some parts getting lost in the rabbit hole that is my editing project. And there’s that whole thing about ‘if you write it down it sticks in your head better’ or whatever, you get the point.

4. HIGHLIGHTERS - Ah the secret sauce has been revealed! Once e