Thom Anthony, co-founder of Carrot Wedding Films, shares his personal insight and experience with wedding videography.
How did you get into wedding videography?
Back when I was in high school, I got into stage acting. That quickly led me into the directing and writing side of the process. I was fascinated by the camera and how light works with it. I continued acting in college and took some film making classes, but it wasn’t until my last year of college when I discovered the wedding film world. Up to that point, I had mostly made my own films and documentaries, but I had a friend getting married and she asked me to tape her wedding so I did. Fast forward a couple years, I moved to Chicago with my film production company and decided to grow that side of the business.
When did you start Carrot Wedding Films?
My parent company, Basement Filmworks, was originally in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2013, we moved to Chicago and that’s when I officially created the Carrot brand to do wedding-related films. I wanted to have a clean separation between wedding films and commercial/narrative films.
What is Carrot Wedding Films’ specialty?
The defining characteristic with the way we approach making wedding films is we capture candid, intimate moments. We love capturing those quiet moments because that’s where the real story is. We make people feel comfortable so those moments can happen.
What area(s) does Carrot Wedding Films cover?
We work mostly in the Chicagoland area as well as Milwaukee and Madison in Wisconsin.
Why the name ‘Carrot’?
I was making lunch for my business partner, girlfriend and me, and we were throwing out ideas for names of the company. I was cooking these honey roasted carrots that ended up being the biggest hit of the lunch. I was thinking about the word carrot, like the carrot of a diamond, and it just sort of stuck. It was all over a lunch of root vegetables.
What’s your favorite part of the wedding day to film?
The vows. When you’re putting together the finished film, to me the vows are the emotional heart of the movie. When you’re standing there and hearing those two people express their love and commitment to each other, it’s never the same. Some couples do traditional vows and some write their own, but it’s never the same and I still get choked up when I hear them. You get a good sense of what matters to each couple when you hear their vows.
Some people think wedding videos are outdated. What would you say to a couple who is on the fence?
I’m not into the hard sell, but I would say give it some serious consideration because you may wish down the road you had done it. I’ve heard many couples say they regret not having a wedding video after the fact. There are so many different styles out there, so do your research to see which style is closest to what you like and just think about it.
What piece of advice can you offer to brides and grooms looking to hire a wedding videographer?
Watch a lot of wedding videos by videographers in your area. Don’t shop around on just price—you can always find someone who’s cheaper. But if you can find someone’s work who touches you or you can relate to, you’ll be much happier.
What piece of advice can you offer to wedding videographers who are just starting out?
Always be practicing. Even if you don’t have a wedding to shoot, go out and shoot things. It’s the only way you’ll get better. Also, look at still photography. Still photography will teach you so much about composition and lighting and will be so helpful with shooting videos. And last, don’t worry about your gear. You don’t need the best or nicest or newest gear. Shoot with what you have. If all you have is an iPhone, shoot with that. The gear will come, but the skills you learn are applicable no matter what equipment you’re using.
If you’d like to see some of their work, check out my wedding video by Carrot Wedding Films below!
*Photo Credit: Keren Sarai Photography
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
