Pre-wedding film

A pre-wedding film is shot more slowly than photographs: thirty minutes at one spot makes a 60-second film, because each scene is shot from several angles and with sound. A story across several places is filmed with extra hours. A lovely option is to record a short letter or vow to each other on small clip-on microphones, and that voice carries the edit over shots of Kyoto lanes or the Kawaguchiko shore.

The places that work for photographs work for film, with stricter limits. Gimbals and tripods are banned at many temples, and most shrines do not allow commercial filming without a prior application and a fee. In Gion we film only on public streets such as the Shirakawa canal, as the private lanes have banned photography since 2024.

Aerial shots are possible only where the law and the landowner allow. Japan requires MLIT approval to fly over densely inhabited districts, which covers most of central Tokyo and Kyoto, and many shrines, temples and parks ban drones. The $235 drone add-on applies to private land and open countryside, with paperwork about 10 business days ahead.

You receive the 60-second film within 4 weeks, ready for social media. Licensed music is included; venue fees and transport to Mt Fuji are not.