Interviews with New England Wedding Vendors: Videographers Part 1
This is the next interview in my COVID-19 pandemic miniseries exploring its effect on the wedding industry in Massachusetts. I had the opportunity to interview several expert videographers.
Featured videographers Matt Forcier at LMV Productions, Sheila Drakeley at Sheila Drakeley Photography, and Jeff Brouillet at Ready Set Film. Keep reading to see what they had to say, their insights about regulations and precautions. In addition, more on the topic that has massively affected us all across the world.
A little about the interviewees…
Matt is a videographer with LMV Productions, where they capture and film moments for you to cherish forever. LMV Productions knows how much work goes into the planning and preparation of an incredible wedding. They want to give you the opportunity to relive it for years to come.
Sheila is the owner of Sheila Drakeley Photography. A photography and videographer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. They work with couples throughout the New England region, the East Coast, and Victoria, Australia. Their work is tailored for authentic and personalized memories. They believe in the beauty of capturing wedding and elopement moments where clients’ true personalities shine through. This is done via photography, videography, and even live streaming.
Jeff is one-half of a husband and wife duo videographers at Ready Set Film; a filming company founded with his wife, Amanda. That is to say, they’ve been working together for over 10 years, subsequently have been married for 3 years. Ready Set Film does weddings, as well as video work for businesses, universities, and nonprofits. One of the things they are best known for is their ability to capture incredible stories through film. Whether it’s a beautiful wedding story or a heartwarming film for a charity gala.
Without further ado, let’s get into the interview!
Jeff
When queried about the pandemic’s effect on their business, as well as any potential upsides to this, Jeff answered. “We have had most of our 2020 weddings moved to 2021. Several corporate events canceled, postponed or gone virtual instead. We are seeing a trend where video is becoming more valuable than ever.
We find ourselves just as busy in June creating content for virtual events [and] are excited about the growth we see in other areas in our business. Positively, we’ve had the unique opportunity to create some videos documenting different aspects COVID-19 for a couple of local hospitals. Most certainly, great video production is more in need than ever before. Especially as live streaming and high-quality video become so important for everyone going forward.”
Sheila
Sheila said, “COVID has put a real damper on our 2020 season [and] we just recently had the pleasure of working with our first client in five months.
While we have been impacted greatly by COVID-19, we have also been able to adapt and provide new services to our clients as well. More robust elopements, micro wedding packages for both photography and videography, live streaming for our clients, expanded our printing and heirlooms services, as well as offering gift cards [and] vouchers for later dates!
In addition, we added the ability for prospective clients to purchase prints of some of our landscape and environmental work. While we deeply miss spending time with our couples, exploring new places and capturing love stories this time has been a time of growth for us. We have spent countless hours revamping our process, experience, and elevating our business experience as well. Also found this time rewarding and rejuvenating in addition to having been able to be more active on social platforms. We really get to know our audience while highlighting and meeting new vendors in the area and around the world!”
Matt
Matt responded, “COVID-19 has postponed all of my weddings to 2021. Fortunately, I have been able to do a ton of real estate and editing work to keep my business busy during this tough time. I have been able to learn new skill sets with my editing that I never had time to explore before [so] once everything goes back to ‘normal’ I’ll have a new skill for my toolkit!” Love the personal expansion, Matt!
Predictions on the Industry
In this paragraph, I asked about their predictions of this pandemic in the wedding industry. Sheila answered optimistically, “It is clear the wedding industry has been impacted by the pandemic, but it is clear the industry will do all it can to ensure at the end of the day love is celebrated and love is not canceled. My hope is that couples and vendors will continue to adapt [so] we can still celebrate love stories this year with smaller intimate ceremonies and continue for years to come with larger celebrations and receptions down the line.”
Matt foresaw, “2021 will be a huge year for the industry. Every vendor I have spoken with has been so accommodating to their couples, and they are still booking new clients for next year as well!”
Jeff added, “Events will be smaller and we will be more aware of social distancing. In time it will [hopefully] bounce back because we all like to party!”
Regulations for Future
Regarding suggested regulations to be put into place, Jeff answered, “Safety is paramount and you want everyone to be comfortable. For Example, Face masks, temperature scanners and lots of available hand sanitizer will be normal for larger events when they are allowed once again.”
Matt reflected, “I’ve had to adjust my wedding contract to include a ‘Force Majeure’ clause. I never thought I would have to have anything subject to a pandemic in my contract, but it definitely made me rethink how I approached that. It’s good to have everyone on the same page!”
Sheila stated, “As someone who worked full time in healthcare and has a master in Public Health – safety and precautions has always been our main focus from day one. Moreover, we have had the pleasure of working with so many couples from all over the world and we want nothing more than for everyone to enjoy the celebration of love, while staying healthy and safe.”
I agree, Sheila, and what a beautiful way to put it! Thank you so much to Matt, Sheila, and Jeff for their thoughtful and insightful answers, and to you, for reading.
In conclusion, please stay tuned for the second part of these videographers interviews that will be published soon, and feel free to check out these awesome vendors’ social media that will be linked below, too.
As always, stay safe!
XOXO,
~ Nancy
VIDEOGRAPHERS WEBSITES & SOCIAL MEDIA
Matt at LMV Productions
IG: @MattForcier
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LMVProduction
Website: www.LMV-Productions.com
Sheila at Sheila Drakeley Photography
IG: @SheilaDrakeleyPhotography
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sheiladrakeleyphotography
Website: https://www.sheiladrakeleyphotography.com/
Jeff at Ready Set Photography
IG: @ReadySetFilm_Official
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cometravelwithRSF
YouTube: Ready Set Film
Tik Tok: @readysetfilm_official
Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/readyset