The Office-Inspired Wedding Film – “The Wedding”

In the fall of 2022, one of our client videographers sent us a pretty unusual request. A couple who booked them to shoot their wedding wanted to receive a film in a style similar to the TV series The Office, the famous American sitcom that depicts the everyday work lives of office employees.

It was something new for both us and our client, but we accepted the challenge with no hesitation.

The Office-Themed Project

To start the project, we decided to find the biggest fan of The Office on our team. How lucky we are to have fifty editors working for us!  Our chief editor, Anastasiia, has watched all nine seasons and supposedly some episodes more than once. So, we assigned her to that task.

Anastasiia explained to us three key things that made The Office so authentic:

1. The show has the effect of making the viewer a bystander as if what is happening is not a pre-rehearsed scenario but the real life of the characters.
2. The show includes interviews with jokes about current events and relevant people.
3. The show features sincere, unplanned emotions.

Because the couple initially wanted The Office-themed wedding film, and it wasn’t a spontaneous decision, our task was greatly simplified. The footage we received contained enough interviews with the guests. But the rule “the more, the better” applies to this exact type of edit, so if more were available, we would have been happier.

For a variety of locations, some of the interviews were filmed outdoors in windy weather. That added certain difficulties, but no one is immune from weather conditions, so we were ready to deal with that, as we always are.

As for jokes, we also tried to squeeze in the maximum to make the film as cheerful as possible.

Given the files we had, and after adding some editing magic from Bride&Groom.video, we got such a lively and interesting film. So, let’s watch the highlight that we’ve delivered in the end:

It’s hard to express the anticipation we felt while waiting for the videographer’s, and more importantly, the couple’s feedback on the video we edited. And what a relief it was to see their joyful messages.

All you need to know about shooting sitcom-themed wedding films:

After the client approved our work, we asked Anastasiia to share her feedback and give some recommendations on shooting and editing sitcom-themed wedding films.

– In general, as an editor, I am very interested in working with such cases. This is a great opportunity to test creativity and sense of humor on par with editing skills in terms of both direction and technique. For newlyweds, this is a very creative way to save the memories of their big day.

Such custom projects are different from the wedding highlights that we are all so used to, which include storytelling, working with sound, color correction, etc. They can only become real if prepared from the very beginning.

1. The scenario should be discussed with the couple and with the guests beforehand. It’s very helpful and becomes an amazing experience when the videographer knows some of the family’s inside jokes to include them whenever possible.
2. It’s great to have the right number of B-roll videos and interviews following the same script, not separate from each other. If in one of the interviews, the bride mentions a bottle of tequila in the cupboard, the videographer should shoot that bottle as a B-roll video. If the groom’s mother mentions that the bride has a very contagious laugh, the videographer should have footage of the bride laughing in that cheerful manner. So, the idea is as follows: B-roll videos should be filmed for every spoken word. Whether they will be useful or not will be determined in post-production.
3. Sound and video quality are extremely important. Of course, it is very nice to have a beach with a sunset in the background during interviews, but we have to understand that instead of words, the sound of seagulls, waves, and wind will be on the recording, and the person will not be visible due to the lack of light. It’s good to think in advance of quiet places for interviews during the day and at night (at night, it should be away from the music). And it is always necessary to record with ambient sound. For example, include footage of passing cars – with sound, people conversing, etc. And of course, everything should be done with high-quality sound.
4. You cannot worry about stabilization; it is not needed here. Except for the details and the walk, everything happens in real-time and is filmed on a handheld camera. But this does not mean that the camera and the focus should get lost. For example, a scenario might be where friends of the groom are standing and laughing while an interview is heard in the background about one of them, saying he is always suspicious and collects incriminating material on everyone in order to blackmail them after the parties. At that moment, the man makes Fry’s face from the famous meme (suspicious), and the videographer zooms the camera in on him. The main characters of the story should be charismatic and ready for minimal acting, and several takes will definitely have to be filmed. Some of them can go to bloopers after the film is over.

Challenges videographers may face

You, as a videographer, should also be aware of the difficulties that can appear when shooting such a wedding.

1. Lack of time

You may not physically have time to record the desired number of interviews.

2. The human factor

Interviewed people may behave awkwardly, and the viewer will be able to feel their stiffness and extreme embarrassment.

3. Technical side

It is preferable to record interviews in the absence of noise, and the video sequence should be day-day and night-night. For the first part of the video, the interviews should be during the day; for the part after the reception, they should be done in the dark.

4. Lack of creativity

It is difficult to invent a bicycle; therefore, it is extremely difficult to choose interesting and unique plots for a wedding film. Usually, it is: Who will get drunk first? Who was the groom’s first girlfriend? Who loves the bride and groom more? So, it’s some kind of challenge (Who is/was the first…?), which is revealed in the form of humorous lines throughout the video thanks to interviews and B-roll videos.

Final thoughts

And most important, before shooting, we advise you to discuss all your creative ideas with the editors, so you all have the same vibe and understand what is needed to get the perfect result. If you have any exciting ideas, please contact us at [email protected]. We will be happy to create such custom projects together with you.