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Yep ??“ I??™m giving my age now ??“ those of you with some very long memories
(or perhaps caught watching those re-runs of Ealing comedies on Bank
Holidays weekends) will vaguely remember this as part of a Tommy Steele
musical??¦
It??™s often said that pictures can tell a story in a way that words can??™t.
True ??“ up to a point. A picture can never tell you what exactly went on
behind the scenes (if only, but then it might become libellous), it can
never tell you who had a last-minute row/argument with whom (unless the
photographer was there, right in the thick of it), of who??™s hiding
disappointment/grief/sorrow behind a painted smile or a brave face, or
even more brazenly, couples practising Dangerous Liaisons, and then
acting like strangers during someone else??™s wedding ceremony.
That was back in the not so old days - all you need then was a
half-decent Kodak (or if you were really flash, a decent SLR camera with
flash, batteries and ASA400 film for all those indoor shots),a passing
interest in amateur photography, and steady hands. Not now: digital
photography and computer software have changed all that??¦
An example ??“ when I was a little girl, I love taking pictures, catching
all smiling faces among the confetti, all those different outfits that
people wore, catching up with long-lost friends and family, getting the
film/s developed, and showing off my photography skills to anyone who
would pay me any attention. Most of these have been lost in various house
moves over the years and those remaining are at my parents??™, serving their
purpose as a trip down memory lane to a time when I was skinnier and much
less worldly wise.
When my friend Juney got married late last century, I made a weekend of
it. I dressed her and did her make-up. I also took three rolls of films
that day, starting first thing in the morning when she got up to get ready
for her big day right through to the end of the day ??“ these days, they??™d
call photo-reportage, I guess ??“ and it was a good idea at the time. While
I was busy doing that, she had someone come in with a camcorder to do the
same thing. That was a weird experience (with a media background, I??™m
more conscious of how I??™m looking in front of the camera and make sure I
put my best face forward??¦) but the camcorder was there so that a video
could be taken to Jamaica on honeymoon where she, her now husband and
their extended families could watch the proceedings.
Fine, nothing wrong with that and it??™s a very good idea for those of us
with extended family member overseas.
The trouble I had was not so much with the photo-reportage collection I
took ??“ Juney and her husband loved it ??“ but with the edited video when I
finally watched with them on their return to real life from the
honeymoon. I didn??™t like it: not because it captured the joy of the happy
couple, but because it pinpointed all too accurately that yours truly had
played up to the camera while hiding the fact that me and my then
ex-boyfriend (with whom I was on very good terms and had managed to
sustain a friendship) had done nothing but argue. Needless to say, he
left the proceedings early because he didn??™t feel well and I didn??™t want
to stop having a good time ??“ besides, I was spending the weekend with one
of my best friends and my suitcase was at her place.
I
could barely watch my performance during my friend??™s wedding video ??“
feeling uncomfortable didn??™t come close to telling my story, knowing it
dragged me back to exactly how I was feeling that day (jealousy with my
friend, anger with my ex and my own self-pity). The cameraman had
captured it all ??“ and that??™s when I realised the difference between still
photography and this??¦ Videos, by their nature, are like movies ??“ the only
real difference is that we don??™t get to rehearse our dialogue.
Neither do we get much chance to rehearse our body language ??“ in a
photograph, we pose and pose until we feel we??™ve got absolutely right. In
a video, especially one that??™s as intimate as a wedding, only the wedding
couple have some sort of rehearsal ??“ the rest of us arrive on the day to
celebrate.
Weddings are times to be celebrated and rightly so. After all the money
and preparation that goes into that one spectacular event, people want it
to turn out all right and have the pictures to prove what a wonderful day
it was. To be truthful, most pictures and videos do tell that story.
Unfortunately for some of us single guests, they hold the script for the
personal dramas behind painted smiles and brave faces ??“ and more so if
it??™s on video where we don??™t even get close to the editing suite to say
???Cut!??? God help us all when they come out on DVDs??¦.
?© May 2004 Caroline Lashley, The Editor??™s
Office, London. All rights reserved. |
