EventDV this month did an excellent article on what is called the “New Documentary” style. In the beginning wedding videographers would just record the day as it happened. Then after Non-Linear computer editing systems became popular, videographers had the opportunity to be more creative. So the “Cinematic” video was born. Instead of just covering the day, now a small movie with lots of music and effect (slow motion, black & white etc) could be done. The problem here was that after awhile it was all music and not enough story.
That is what the New Documentary style is all about. Use the music and effects only as needed to move the video forward, and to establish a style. Use lots of actual dialog and voice overs to tell that story. The EventDV article explains it much better than I can.
As for myself, I am starting to move in that direction. I looked at some of my early wedding videos and realized that I was already employing the elements of the New Documentary style. They didn’t have the sophistication of my more recent work, but they told the story in a natural and interesting way. So look for some modest changes in the way I edit wedding videos over the months.