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A. We usually film with a crew of 3 cinematographers and 3 photographers (candid and event ) along with arial drone if required. The crew works as a team with different cameramen specialising on different lenses and styles including aerial and underwater filming. We don’t recommend a reduction in the size of the crew as this is likely to affect the quality of the film. This choreographed, multi-camera setup allows us to position ourselves strategically to capture ceremonies more naturally as they take place, without any hindrance.
Separate event and candid album.
During a wedding shoot, the stills and the video teams should have harmony and co-ordination for the benefit of client coverage and to avoid getting into each others frames. We usually cover both together to ensure perfect synchronicity of images and film coverage but in rare cases we have accommodated an odd request to allow a photo team to work alongside for wedding coverage.
All across India . We love travelling.
Although we technically do not get into printing and designing of photo-books, we would love to suggest the names and numbers of the best people for the job. As a thumb-rule, approximately 180 images per album can be incorporated into one album. All images are edited (skin blemishes are cleaned and colours are enhanced) and album is custom designed to suit your requirements. Each page of album is 12 inches by 12 inches in measurement. The cost of the album varies depending on the quality and brand of printing. Usually a top quality album is in the range of INR 30000-35000.
The expenses for the travel, food and accommodation for the crew members are borne by the client. In addition, the Thunderbolt drives and pen drives for the final delivery are paid for by the clients too. Any additional days / hours of shooting (not mentioned in contract) shall be charged extra. There are no other hidden costs.
Music and songs selection are hand picked collectively by the Director, the client and the Edit team. A client co-ordinator from the studio is assigned to co-ordinate with the client for this under the guidance of the creative visualiser of the project. The film names are usually suggested either by the client or the film director and approved by both.
We have always encouraged our couples to send in their choice of songs for the highlight films as per the respective functions but have realised with increasing frequency that with the tremendous variety and range of music, we have received inappropriately different kind of songs that dont suit the sensibility of the edit at all. Selecting film music is complicated. We need the right tracks with the perfect highs and lows so we can create a story line and seamlessly blend the audios into the music track. Very few tracks come close to that perfection here and its difficult to explain why a track works for the edit. Its in this respect we sometimes wish we had a free hand in selecting your songs. However, we do understand that you want to be involved in the selection and be sure that you like the tracks and their feel. Personally we love all music. And the effect it has on your mood, the film flow, the happy vibes some tracks create, the highs and lows etc. One of our most favourite things to do as part of structuring your film is to select the best possible song for each function of the wedding. We imagine exactly where we would place a certain audio byte and how the next part of the song would perfectly match with the mood. Please be assured we were there throughout at the wedding and will only suggest and select songs that match the pace and tempo of the edit. Once this selection is done, we ideally want you to listen to these tracks and should you dislike a certain track we want to be able to offer an alternate option for it. We urge you not to have a preconceived notion about the song or the edit. Let us surprise you because we have done this too long to make any errors anymore. You are very welcome to suggest your choice of songs but its painful to see a wrong edit just because we said yes to your song. We do understand that you may have an all time favourite song and will try our best to include the song but please understand that if we say no to the song its just because we dont want your film to be spoilt on account of a wrong song.
We are only into coverage.
Oh absolutely. And they will love their names on the big screen just like acknowledgements in a feature film.
No. Please. We absolutely do not recommend it. Apart from being uneconomical, it may obstruct and tamper with our work. The advantage of a single team is that we will get clean, unobstructed visual frames without badly dressed / behaved local photographers jumping into our frames and ruining the film moments.
A pre-wedding shoot is a photo/video shoot of the couple done before the wedding that portrays the bond they share with each other. Since the wedding is a hectic time to be together, the couple get this day off with each other to shoot some "Relaxed, Together & Fun" images and videos in casual outfits (different from the heavy wedding outfits) and this photo/video footage can be used in the highlight film or as a separate two-minute pre-wedding film that can be shown during the sangeet or the wedding. A typical pre-wedding shoot lasts between 4-6 hours. The clothes / styling / makeup for the pre-wedding shoot is to be arranged by you please.
We believe in start to end coverage and hence, stand-alone pre-wedding shoots are not our style. We film pre-wedding shoots for clients whose weddings we have been commissioned to film. This serves as a great start to the final highlight film.
The film-director or the Director of Photography is your singular point of contact with FOTO ME. Also, from your side, we would love to have a singular point of contact for all wedding shoot coordination. The brides / grooms siblings or the best friends are the best people for the job.
The primary charm of the wedding video is the footage and just so that the events are nicely interlinked, we film interviews with the close family bytes (Bride, Groom, Parents and Siblings / BestFriends - usually 6 frames) so that there is an underlying story that keeps the viewer connected to the film. As the story unfolds, the viewer gets a sense of how the couple met and decided to spend their lives together. For this, we film about 30-45 mins of audio / video bytes with each of the six frames’ people. This is because we can ask the same questions to different people and place the story in a coherent format in the edit room. Too many frames and bytes in this case will create an edit hotchpotch of sorts and we have faced these situations in the past. Also, it will make the film byte-heavy and we dont want that either. Not to mention that in the middle of the wedding celebrations, it would be impossible to film so many bytes without compromising the quality of the events coverage. The highlight film is usually 35-40 mins long and the ideal proportion of the bytes and footage is 30:70.
Anywhere with silence in the background. Any time during the wedding. We do not do any interviews / audio bytes after the wedding is over. A rare case exception is understood but usually we lock all interviews on the very first day of the wedding as it gets stressful during the later days.
Yes we offer this service - These are referred to as "Same Day Edits" and they are a great way to showcase some of the best moments of the wedding instantly to everyone present. However, this is an expensive process (extra equipment and setups are required for an extra editor to produce this) and adds to the final cost of the package.
It's difficult to determine the total number of images we will be shooting over a typical three day wedding. Approximately 3000-4500 images are expected to be shot during a typical three-day wedding. All images are given to the client in high resolution JPEG format on a 1 / 2 TB Thunderbolt drive (digital delivery) and ALL the images are colour and exposure edited. The images are shot both in candid and traditional style.
Once the Highlight film is ready, we invite the couple over for a screening at our studio in Mumbai. Since they are the stars of the film, we want them to see and approve of it first. Should they disapprove of any clip / footage during the first screening, we can make the edit changes and corrections (in the one round of permissible edit changes) and present the final HL film for the friends and family to see and enjoy. Nothing is delivered / released without the approval of the couple. In case of overseas clients, we deliver a low resolution version of the HL film online through data sharing sites like wetransfer.com. The couple can download the film and send us the changes ATMOST within 72 hours. If we do not receive any changes within three days, we will assume that you approve of the film and no changes are required. We will then close your project and deliver the high resolution final rendered version of the film. Any changes after the stipulated three day period shall be charged extra.
As per the contract, we allot 72 hours for any revisions in the highlight film. This is because around ten machines in the studios contain your project files and are linked to each other for the binding of the whole film. Only when we export all project files from these machines, we can move on to the next projects. Its a complex process. Hence the limited time frame of 72 hours per film for any client revisions.
Film editing is a tedious and creative process and we work with some of the best editors in the industry who are perfectionists and believe in the highest quality of film editing. After seeing hours and hours of footage they select the best of the best shots for the HL film and naturally all this takes time. As a thumb-rule, each minute of final edit takes about one day to finalise once the final edit begins. Rest assured, once you see your final HL film, the wait will be well worth the time.
One round of changes in the Highlight film means that once the couple sees the film for the first time, they can add / delete some clips as per their liking. Some close relatives whose footage is unintentionally missed by the editors can be added in this round. Any other minor changes can also be corrected. But please note that major changes may not be possible / charged extra. Examples of major changes are - 1. Addition of an event / events 2. Changes in music track 3. Replacement of more than ten clips of friends / relatives 4. Changes in the film titles / credits etc.
Blu-rays and DVDs are fast going out of fashion. So much so that the latest computer systems dont even have DVD readers anymore! With everything moving online, DVD’s are obsolete and so in keeping up with the latest trend, our deliveries are done on USB drives with customised cases. Such pen drives allow you to easily share your film with your family and friends, upload it online, and make as many copies as you like. Also, the quality of film delivered on the USB is much higher than that of DVD or Blu-Ray.
Everything that has been shot by us is your property. We dont hold back anything. You get all the RAW videos as well as the final videos on a 1 or 2 Terabyte Thunderbolt drive provided by you. The RAW videos are clips of the videos shot by all our cameras (They may be useful for edits later like first anniversary / 25th anniversary etc.)
Highlight films are usually uploaded on our Vimeo channel at a nominal cost. We do not release / upload the highlight films on our YouTube / Facebook page. Trailers are shorter, truncated versions and more exciting videos and hence we release them worldwide on our YouTube / Facebook page. However, the release depends on a few factors. Firstly, we do not release trailers of couples who dont want them to be shown publicly. We respect your privacy but this clause has to be specified at the time of signing the contract. Secondly, according to our agreement with social networking sites, there is a budget allocated for the release and promotion of each trailer that we put up. Details provided on request.
It is rare that the delivery of the film is delayed beyond 100 days. But it is possible that the director of film is unhappy with some portions of the film and requests for a revision / re-edit - in which case a delay might happen. All we can say is that it is for the benefit of the film and the client. Most great cinema blockbusters have been delayed but have turned out better due to the re-edit. So its all in good spirit. We apologise for the inconvenience (should a delay happen) but assure you that we will not release anything that we dont absolutely adore. So please be patient and give us time to work our magic.
We shoot thousands and thousands of film clips from multiple cameras and occasionally the total duration of these RAW clips exceeds 50-60 hours of footage for a typical three-day wedding. At the studio, these clips undergo careful conversion and screening and a battery of editors work night and day to create a first cut of the best clips for the chief editor. This process is almost factory-like with editor stations brimming with activity through odd hours. Client interference at this stage not only delays the final edit by double but also disrupts the zen-like concentration of the editors going through the footage in their own space and time. Therefore, we strictly do not permit clients to sit through RAW footage selection. This is the reason we have one round of edit changes. In case the couple is unhappy with some footage he / she can communicate this after the first screening of their film and the changes will be incorporated.
As per the contract we deliver everything within 45 to 90 days after the wedding. This means the simpler deliverables like images are delivered within 35-45 days after the wedding depending on the seasonal work load specially during the peak wedding season when we could run into a backlog of 15-20 days. The highlight film and trailer usually take upto 75-95 days for the delivery. We need two basic documents from the couple for the completion of the Highlight film in time - First is their music selection (various sound tracks you want for various sections / events of the film) and second is the credits title (family names) for the opening and closing sections of the film. A delay in the submission of these documents will exponentially delay the delivery dates of the highlight film. As a thumb-rule, we expect to receive these two documents from the couple within 40-45 days after the wedding.