April 16, 2016
Old Daley on Crooked Lake
Averill Park, NY
Dahil sa iyo, ako’y lumigaya
Pagmamahal, ay alayan ka
Because of you, I found happiness
That to you I offer this love that is so blessed
Upon arriving at Old Daley on Crooked Lake, one is immediately struck by its serene and secluded location at the foothill of the Berkshire Mountains. The interior of the house displayed quaint decor and an expansive view of the lake. I immediately understood why the bride and groom chose this space to host their wedding. Aside from it being so close to home for the two of them, this was the perfect location for two people who always seek to be artistically and musically inspired.
I knew very early on that music was going to play a key role in shaping my creative approach to capturing the day’s celebration. Both the bride and the groom stressed that music had been a vital part of their lives together. Caryn, the bride, whose family is comprised of a long line of musicians, currently works for Manhattan School of Music and is a flutist for a woodwind quintet in the city. Francis, now an online marketer, is a student of art and design and former trombone player. To my advantage, my assistant for the day and longtime friend and collaborator, Jesse Kerns, is a musician himself and worked with me in finding ways to capture shots that were not only visually beautiful but also musically inspired.
Crooked Lake reflection as audio wavelength
We knew that Crooked Lake would be a crucial part of the landscape to capture and while shooting early morning exteriors, we discovered that in composing a traditional wide shot of land and water reflection we could allow the visual landscape to reference sound, the mirror image resembling an audio wavelength. In setting up a macro shot of trees being reflected in the water, Jesse pointed out, “See that’s musical to me. In that reflection. The tips of the trees just dancing.”
Finding musical inspiration in movement and shape
In speaking with Caryn and Francis about the look of their wedding, I also realized that I would want to emphasize all of the yellow that would be incorporated in their decor, flowers and clothing. Being that it was a beautiful Spring day, aside from capturing all things yellow, I wanted to photograph as much blue sky and green grass as possible. The flower of choice for the couple were daffodils and were incorporated throughout both the indoor and outdoor spaces. In a pre-production meeting with the bride and groom, Francis recalled a story of when the couple first started dating and him surprising her with flowers. There was however slight confusion at the florist, when Francis requested dandelions, not daffodils for his girlfriend. Lucky for me, I was able to find a line of dandelions growing outside of the venue and quickly grabbed a close-up slider shot of the flowers, a subtle nod to one of the bride and groom's sweet early memories together.
All things yellow! Capturing the personal details
One thing I constantly try to keep in mind whenever I film anything is that my goal is not to just point the camera at something and record. Even if an object or subject is perfectly lit, its colors rendered crisp and strong and is overall composed pleasantly, if I don’t incorporate my conceptual thinking into the aesthetic, it will never be anything more than that object or subject.
For example, when taking a tour of the venue, my eye gravitated toward a grand piano in the lobby. Keeping in mind that music and musical instruments would play a key role in my visuals, I knew that I would want to capture this piece in some way. Nowhere in my footage do I have a wide shot of the piano. I didn’t need it. What I was really looking for was something more graphic and abstract, something that would capture the essence of the instrument. When we think about music, we never think of static imagery, we think of energy and movement! I opted to just photograph the strings with a macro lens on a slider. This gave me the design and movement I was looking for. I knew that it would only be used as a transition shot, possibly in a sequence, and felt that it was in line with my creative approach of the day.
Later on, when we spotted one of the groomsman playing the piano during prep, I decided to compose the shot, slightly obstructed and in silhouette. I always like to keep the bride and groom the center of attention and when filming other members of the party or family and friends, I try not to focus or linger on them longer than necessary. Sensing that this image would appear early on in the video and could potentially offset the primary focus on Francis, I tried to keep the image a bit “mysterious” and emphasize the space and action rather than the subject.
Macro imagery allowing for abstraction and movement
Groomsman playing piano in silhouette
Obviously in crafting a film visually inspired by music, the choice of song was crucial in setting the tone and feel for the piece. José Gonzales’ “Stay Alive”, while not a traditional-sounding wedding song, was particularly intriguing to me because of it’s lyrical references to rhythm and time. The rhythmic “tick” throughout the song reminded me of a metronome, establishing a pace and continually reinforcing the way we measure time. If a song is accompanied by lyrics, I’m typically drawn to soft voices that will not over power any voice-over being incorporated. The song’s composition also allowed for a dramatic arc that I knew could eventually swell and take over, something I especially wanted when we arrived at the grand entrance and musical performance.
By the time we reach the last third of the video, golds and yellows begin to dominate the film’s color palette. As the sun went down and less daylight filled the reception hall, I let the indoor tungsten sources stay warm, once again emphasizing the yellows and warmth of the space. I don’t worry so much about perfectly balancing my whites, especially in an instance such as this where I’m building on a conscious aesthetic decision made by the bride and groom. I also find that this transition from a more blue daylight to a warmer indoor light captures the passage of time as the day progresses and keeps the visuals more dynamic and true to life.
The grand entrance
One of the loveliest and most unique aspects of this wedding was Caryn and Francis’ musical performance. The couple, rehearsed two numbers for the big day and they wanted it to be a surprise to all of their friends and family. They took the stage, joining their wedding band Grand Central Station, in a ska performance of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia”. They followed the instrumental with a performance of Chicago’s “Just You ’n’ Me”, this time accompanied by a new drummer, the father of the bride.
Bride and Groom musical performance as rock concert
Aside from this being a critical moment to capture in full (we set up a stationary camera with a 14mm lens close to the stage that rolled during the entire performance), I also recognized that this would give me opportunity to shoot creatively, capturing material that would be unique among any of the weddings I had shot previously. I constantly “floated” during these performances, picking up as wide a range of perspectives and as many angles as I could. With such a large amount of footage, I was able to build up the speed of the edit, cutting much more quickly to silhouettes of the the audience clapping, close-up imagery of the different instruments and various portraits of Caryn, Francis and the father of the bride performing. The imagery and music crescendos and, providing a feeling of “exhale”, cuts to a rotating and slowly zooming out macro image of a daffodil.
Caryn and Francis’ wedding day was filled with warmth and energy and we were able to plan out different ways to capture this as effectively as possible. But it was also a day full of surprises, not the least of which was revealed to the bride and groom during their ceremony. Upon exchanging their vows they realized that they both decided to reference the same Filipino love song, “Dahil Sa Iyo” (“Because of You”). In the final moments of the video, Caryn and Francis’ vows come together. Their voice over is cut in a way that goes back and forth, allowing the two of them to finish each others' sentences. Caryn has the final words. She states, “Mahal kita. I love you”, and at once begins to laugh tearfully, overwhelmingly excited for what’s to come.
