When you edit a video, you don’t really think about whether it’s a feature film, a short film, or a highlights reel. A video is a video right? Not exactly. There are many different types of videos out there, from highlights to adverts and commercials, and even short films and feature films. It depends on what it is you want, which kind of film you get. This is especially so for wedding videos. There are a number of differences between a feature film and a highlights reel. Here are some of them.
1. Feature Length Vs Highlights Length
The length of the video determines whether it’s a highlights video or a feature video. Think about it this way, TV shows are usually half an hour to an hour long and blockbuster movies range from 1 ½ hour, 2 hours or even 3 hours long. These shows and movies are called full-length features, because they take at least half an hour to tell a story. Highlight videos are like the trailers of those films. They can last anywhere between 1 minute and 10 minutes.
So, if you’re editing a video, you need to make sure the narrative of your video fits within these times. Making a highlights video is a different process to making a feature video, especially for wedding videos. The highlights video should fit the narrative of the wedding day, in 10 minutes or less, while the feature film can include more details of the narrative, because you’ll have more time to play with.
2. Highlights Vs Storytelling
While you can tell a story with a highlights video, it’s not as detailed as a feature length film. It’s like the summary of a novel. You’ll only get the main points of the story, but any nuanced detail that might have made the video more interesting would be lost. With a feature film, you’ll be able to tell the whole story, with as much detail as you can possibly fit in an hour. That’s why feature films are longer, and why TV shows last longer than half an hour. There’s enough time to tell a story. Of course, highlights videos can be more interesting, because it makes its audience want to know more details, of what they’re watching.
So, when you’re making a highlights reel for a wedding, only include the main points of the day (that’s why it’s called a “highlights” video). You’ll want to include short clips of the ceremony, the cutting of the cake, the first dance, and other highlights that are important to the bride and groom. With a feature film, you can be a little more creative with the storytelling, maybe adding pre-wedding videos, like the bride and groom getting ready, or even earlier videos, like their engagement videos, or even videos of their relationship in its early stages. There are a lot of things you can do for a feature length film that you can’t do for a highlights video, because of the extra time you have. Be creative!
3. Creative Editing – Style Vs Story
One of the more interesting parts of an edit is the transitions between clips. Many short videos utilise a combination of camera movement, match cuts and even creative transitions and special effects. That’s why many highlights videos will have these creative transitions and special effects. In fact, editors will spend more of their focus on the type of highlights video they make, rather than the storytelling aspect of the edit, because there is more room to play with the theme of a highlights video. With a feature length video, they will spend more time on telling the story. After all, it doesn’t need to be linear, like a highlights video might be. Feature lengths can blend past and present storylines, to make one overarching story.
So, when creating a wedding video, you’ll need to think about what you would prefer to focus on, whether the style of the video is more important than the storytelling, or the story is more important that the way the video looks. It depends on the choices that the bride and groom make, which type of video you make. Sometimes, they’ll prefer to see their love story played out on the big screen, rather than a reel of the biggest moments in their lives. Other couples will want to have a stylistic video that appeals to their aesthetics. Whatever they choose, you’ll know whether you need to focus on the style or the story of the video.
Pick A Video
Before you start editing your video, make sure you know what you want to focus on more. If the bride and groom are more about the style of video they want to have, then create a highlights video for them. If they would like to see the story of their love evolve, then create a feature film. Of course, if they want both, then create both. The highlights video can act like a trailer for the feature film. Remember, it’s not always about one or the other. Sometimes it can be both, so let yourself be creative. You can always edit a highlights video, with a focus on its style, and still tell a story with the feature length film. It’s all about creativity, so allow yourself to explore the different aspects of the videos you make.
Of course, sometimes, editing can be a tedious process. So, instead of labouring over the minute details, let a professional do it for you. We Cut Media video editors are experts in their fields. So, whether you want a highlights reel or a feature length film, we can create them all. Not only that but our services are reasonably priced! Check out our price packages, if you don’t believe us. And, if you’re still not satisfied, you can get your first video edit for free! No strings attached! Plus, our 24-hour customer services can help you with any query you might have. So, don’t be afraid to tell us what you think. We guarantee the best services in video editing. Check out our website for more information.
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