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Why This is the Best Wedding Video Promo on the Planet

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A couple of days ago my good buddy Matt Davis of Life Stage Films sent me a private link to his new wedding video promo. It was a few hours before it went live and I was honored to be one of the early viewers. After watching it I had two thoughts. 1) I’m so glad I’m not in Matt’s market and 2) I wish he was just a little bit farther away. 🙂

Luckily, Matt’s focus is wedding filmmaking (although, he does do quite a bit of non-profit work too, so maybe I should be scared). All kidding aside, Matt’s new promo is hands down the best one I’ve every seen for a wedding filmmaker/videographer. (Truth be told, many wedding videographers don’t even have promo videos. I’m not talking about a reel that’s just a pretty montage of their best shots. I’m talking about a full blown promotional video that specifically sells you and your brand).

Let’s break down this video and see why it’s the best on the planet:

  1. It’s unique. Matt had an original song written and recorded for this. That’s huge. That means no other wedding videographer promo will sound like his. His competitors will most likely turn to sites like With Etiquette or Triple Scoop Music to make their promos (assuming they make one). Or maybe they’ll just say forget about copyright law and use that cool Adele song. Regardless, Matt’s promo will always stand out as unique.
  2. It has personality. Even though we don’t hear a lot from Matt (he does have a few cameos), we definitely get a sense from this video what it’s like to work with him and his crew. That’s one thing missing from a lot of photographer promos I see. You have no idea what it’s like to work with them. That should be one of the key objectives of a promo for a videographer or photographer.
  3. It’ll scare away the wrong client. I have no doubt that some brides will look at this and cringe. They would not be caught dead hiring a videographer who’d make a video like this. That’s great! Both Matt and his clients will be much happier in life if they are truly made for each other.
  4. It’ll attract the right client like flies to honey. The bride who wants a videographer like this will be willing to pay MORE to get someone like Matt and his crew.
  5. The production values are off the hook. The video has amazing production quality, due in no small part to it’s producer/creative director, another friend (and DD Mag guest-blogger) Evan Vetter. A bride will see this and know that their video will be of the utmost quality.
  6. You want to watch it repeatedly. Lastly, it’s one of those videos you want to watch over and over. I have no doubt the 3400+ views it got on Vimeo over the past day is from a lot of the same people hitting replay. 🙂

I think one of the smartest things Matt did was have someone outside his company shoot this promo. (What’s that saying about a lawyer should never represent himself). Having an outside and objective third party shoot his promo allows there to be aspects of the video that someone too close to Matt’s company (i.e. Matt or one of his main shooters) would never see. I’ve been working on the script for my own promo and I’m seriously considering doing the same (hmmm, are you busy Evan?) You may have a whole new business model to fund that documentary you’re working on.) 😉

Well done Matt for creating such an excellent example for your fellow videographers and filmmakers to live up to.

What do you guys think of the video? Want to learn more about the making of this video? Stay tuned to my podcast because I’ll have him on to talk about it. Until then, enjoy…

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Comments

  3. Thanks for the shout out Ron in the post (especially for Congocast) – much appreciated! I’d love to talk with you about your promo at some point – maybe I can offer some help on the brainstorm!

  4. Great production, but…why not just tap into the commercial/corporate market and make scads more? I’m not big on wedding promos really; I’d rather cut to the chase and let clients see my work right away. THAT’S always been the sell; not a promo that is a bit over the top. In my experience, clients want to see your work right away, especially if there are other vendors to consider. Just my two cents.

    • I can see your point Roger. But here’s why a promo is important. It give the prospect an opportunity to 1) know YOU and 2) know what it’s like to worth with you. Clients (especially brides) want to enjoy the experience of working with a vendor. No one wants to work with a diva artists that is a pain and pissess off all the guests, regardless of how good their work it. Also, to be frank, a lot of work nowadays looks alike. Perhaps the only thing that may set you off from your competition is YOU (i.e. your personality, working style, etc.) Also, as I mentioned in the post, if, like Matt’s team, you’re kinda crazy and maybe even goofy, there are some clients who won’t like that at all. Again, they may like your work, but the experience of working with you will be bad. A promo communicates all of that. IMHO, it’s not good enough JUST to show your work. ESPECIALLY because there are other vendors to consider.

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