Glossary
Wedding film terms
The words that come up when you book a wedding filmmaker, in plain English.
- Archive
- The copy of your film the filmmaker keeps after delivery. Ellie keeps yours for ten years.
- Booking fee
- The payment that secures your date. With Ellie it is 25% of the total, and the balance is due four weeks before the wedding.
- Ceremony edit
- The full ceremony, edited from start to finish with clean audio, so every word of the vows is kept.
- Colour grade
- The finishing work on a film's colour and tone, so every clip looks consistent. A film can also be graded in black and white.
- Coverage hours
- How long the filmmaker is with you on the day, counted continuously from arrival.
- Documentary style
- Filming what happens without staging or directing it. The filmmaker works out of the way and records the day as it ran.
- Golden hour
- The hour or so before sunset, when the light is low and warm. A good time for portraits if the day allows.
- Highlight film
- The main wedding film: a five to eight minute edit of the day, built around the vows, the speeches and the moments in between. The one most couples share and rewatch.
- Lapel microphone
- A small microphone clipped to clothing, used to record vows and speeches clearly.
- Preparations
- The morning before the ceremony: getting ready, the dress, the suits, the people around you.
- Private online gallery
- A password-protected page where your films and photographs are delivered, with unlimited downloads.
- Second shooter
- A second photographer or filmmaker working alongside the main one. With Ellie's Film & Photography package, the second shooter takes the photographs while she films.
- Speeches edit
- Every speech in full, edited with its own recorded audio.
- A short preview, around 60 seconds long, delivered within a week of the wedding while the full film is edited.
- Unplugged ceremony
- A ceremony where guests are asked to put their phones away. It keeps the aisle clear for the filmmaker and photographer, and the guests in the moment.
Is your date free?
Send me your date and venue. If I am free, I will come back to you within one working day.