Being a wedding videographer was never a life goal for Justin Grimaldo. Yet, in the last several years, wedding videos have become the bread-and-butter for his Sightseer Productions. And he couldn’t be happier about it.
Before entering the wedding world, Grimaldo worked on music videos and other productions, eventually landing a job with a church where he dealt with all facets of video production — including music videos, livestreaming events and more. His filmmaking trajectory changed, however, when a close friend asked him to film his wedding some seven years ago. At first, Grimaldo refused the gig. After all, he knew absolutely nothing about wedding videography. But his friend persisted and eventually he relented. To his chagrin and the temporary detriment of that friendship, Grimaldo sucked at wedding videography.
“To be fair,” chuckled Grimaldo, “It wasn’t that bad. I missed the audio of the vows because I didn’t know how to capture it at the time. Even though I had tons of filming experience, I had no idea how to craft a wedding video.”
Despite striking out, there was something about filming a wedding that hooked Grimaldo. As a person who loves a good challenge and takes pride in bettering himself, he took it as an opportunity to learn more about this genre of filmmaking. He turned to others with more experience in the wedding videography world for guidance and kept at it, becoming more obsessed with honing his skills at every turn.
Initially, Grimaldo approached wedding films like music videos, something he says he sees a lot in the wedding world. The videos are full of slow-motion shots, short snippets and close-ups of dresses and cakes and whatnot, all accompanied by cinematic music. About two years ago, though, something snapped in him. He was bored with the format and felt it was not capturing the essence he truly wanted on film.
“I realized that there is nothing in these videos to pass down to future generations. There is nothing about legacy or real memories of the day,” said Grimaldo. “I’m huge on legacy. My parents never passed anything down from their wedding or their story … there are no family photos or videos or anything about how my parents met and fell in love. I think that inspired this idea of really getting to the story for people.”
Pondering how to create more of a family legacy, Grimaldo thought about his other cinematic work. Much of it was with narrative, story-driven documentaries. He thought to himself, why am I not doing this in wedding films? Why am I not capturing the actual story? And that was when everything changed. From there, Grimaldo and his Sightseer Productions started playing with more documentary-style filming, growing ever more interested in creating story-driven wedding videos.
Prior to the big event, Grimaldo likes to deep dive into the story of a marrying couple. He peppers them with questions, not just about how they met or what their wedding vision is, but also about which family members and friends will be at the wedding, who means a lot to them and why, or what love stories in their families have influenced them the most and whether these influencers will be at the wedding.
“If I get short answers from a client, I’m like ‘No. I really need to know how you met. I really need to know your vision and how I can serve it,'” says Grimaldo. “Most people don’t need quick cuts of cake or dresses. They want to remember. When you watch your wedding video five, 10 years from now, you want to relive the day. That’s what I want to give my clients.”
During any given wedding, Grimaldo will microphone about 15-20 guests to get as many contributions to the wedding film as possible. He isn’t looking to create a perfect looking film with touching background music; in fact, he says some of his shots are decidedly imperfect. But that doesn’t bother him. Grimaldo’s goal is a well-crafted, authentic story that stands the test of time.
“I’m huge on the story end of things and trying to push this evolution of wedding filmmaking with more of a story,” says Grimaldo. “I’ve gotten things from interviewing grandparents and couples and friends, things I take into my own relationship, and I feel like that’s more meaningful than just having a highlight video of three-and-a-half minutes of beautiful slow-motion shots.”
The main thing Grimaldo prioritizes with potential clients before they work together is to make sure their vibe feels right. The wedding day is most likely going to be chaotic, and couples need someone who makes them feel comfortable on that day. “It’s not normal for people to feel comfortable with a big camera in their face. But that’s what needs to happen. So, make sure you are comfortable with your videographer,” he says. “If I am with you for this lengthy amount of time, and if I am going to be able to drag a story out of you and your entire family and friends, I’ve got to be likable to you.”
At the end of the day, Grimaldo sees wedding videos as catering to the future versions of the bride and groom rather than their present selves. When they sit down to relive their special memories, what will they want to watch? Will they want to see the cake? Or hear from their grandmother who maybe has since passed away? To Grimaldo, it is surely the latter. “That’s what I am all about,” he said. “Capturing the day, the moment and mostly the people.”
This article appears in Weddings.