For many years, wedding videos have documented virtually all of the wedding day. Often from ninety minutes to two hours in length, so-called "long form" wedding videos faithfully record every moment of the wedding service, from the first bridesmaid as she starts down the aisle to the last guest leaving the church. At the reception, in addition to such traditional events as the first dances, the toasts, garter and bouquet toss and cake cutting ceremonies, a great deal of the dancing is recorded and made a part of the finished recording.
Recently, brides have become enthusiastic about shorter finished wedding videos, recordings that are perhaps 30 to 45 minutes in length. The focus of these "short form" video recordings is the emotional content of the wedding day. Instead of showing each bridesmaid walking the full length of the church aisle, for example, the short form video might have a single reference to the bridesmaids by showing them clustered around the bride in the dressing room, the camera lingering for a moment on each as she admires the bride in her gown and reflects on her own wedding. The exchange of vows and rings and lighting of the unity candle is shown in its entirety, but choral interludes, responsive readings and lenghty pastoral commentary is reduced to its essence. At the reception, the focus of the short form video is more narrowly on the bride and groom than on the food, the guests and perhaps the antics of the DJ.
The same amount of video is shot for the short form as for the long form, but the shooting and editing approach is quite different. Videographers working in the short form emphasize those special moments which are the signature of the wedding day. The short form might be said to be poetic, while the long form is epic.
