Australian
Screen

Clip description

This clip begins with the arrival of guests at a wedding. The camera films from a static position at the entrance of the church as they get out of their cars and walk towards the church. The guests are followed by the bridesmaids and then the bride, who is accompanied up the path by an older man (presumably her father). The wedding procession follows behind as they enter the church. The next shot is a reverse angle filmed from inside the bridal vehicle showing the bride and groom exiting the church and getting into the car. The crowd can be seen at the edges of the frame. This is followed by a shot from the exterior of the car of the bride inside before the wedding car drives away. The crowd farewells the groom and leaves the church. A wider shot from over the road shows the vehicles departing. The clip ends with a tilt and pan capturing the exterior of the church.

Curator’s notes

This clip is extraordinary for its careful composition within each shot, and the awareness of a sequence of shots working together to capture events from the beginning and end of the church service. Each shot is formally framed – the opening is composed so that two brick pillars on either side of the path leading into the church frame the guests. This symmetry is repeated in the shot filmed from inside the car with its door forming a dark frame-within-the-frame as the married couple walk towards the camera and step into the car. The home movie was filmed on 35mm film – an expensive format usually reserved for professional filmmakers at the time – and could be an indication that the person with the camera was somehow connected to the film industry. That would also explain the relatively sophisticated filming technique.