S3, EP27: Modern nostalgia with photo and film duo Caity and Duncan

Eddy: Welcome back to yet another episode of Project Engaged. That’s Aleks. I’m Eddy. How is everyone?

Aleks: Oh, good. I’m glad you guys are well? Great.

Eddy: So good. So good. We’re not gonna waste any time. We’re gonna sort of flip the way we do things for this episode and just like test it out. You know how I like to just test you do.

Aleks: You do. You’re very experimental with yourself.

Eddy: Very experimental. So we’re gonna do the interview first. This time we’re interviewing two exceptionally talented and just quite frankly, wonderful people.

Aleks: Amazing people.

Eddy: Caity and Duncan.

Aleks: Yep.

Eddy: And then we’re gonna do all of our little fun segments afterwards, which will mean if you don’t care about this, just stop listening. But if you’ve still got a bit of time on that treadmill, you can just keep going on the treadmill.

Aleks: No pressure at all. Alright, enjoy, guys.

Eddy: Enjoy. Welcome to Project Engaged, a podcast for fun loving couples planning their non traditional wedding.

Aleks: We’re wedding DJs Aleks and Eddy Mac from Melbourne. We run a business called One More Song, and our tagline is No More Nutbush.

Eddy: We’ll share our wedding experiences and chat to some of our past couples.

Aleks: We’ll also interview bold wedding suppliers who share our philosophy of your wedding being a celebration of you as a couple and one epic party.

Eddy: Let’s get into today’s episode. So today we are chatting to another wedding business duo. How cool is that? And we’re very excited as usual. It’s also the first time we’re talking about film, so we cannot wait to get stuck in.

Aleks: Yeah, I can’t believe that Caity and Duncan are a couple of wedding photographers and videographers based in Melbourne. I had the pleasure of working with them on a really fun north Fitzroy wedding earlier this year. Is it Fitzroy north or North Fitzroy? Whatever.

Eddy: One of the two.

Aleks: I was involved in the ceremony so we spent all day together and I was struck by how warm and friendly they both are. An absolute joy to be around.

Eddy: So here’s what our mutual client Elise had to say about Caity and Duncan on Google. Caity and Duncan are exceptional at their craft and also really fun people to be around. I’m so happy they were our wedding photographers. I generally, generally get uncomfortable and genuinely just add that in get uncomfortable in front of a camera, particularly posing with Caity and Duncan, I completely felt at ease and had a great time. They had me laughing while also looking my best. That is a skill.

Aleks: And she goes on. I just received the sneak peek pictures and they are gorgeous. They really reflect the emotion and feel of the day. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve had many people say how excellent they look, the colours, composition and beauty of the pics. I’m going to be recommending Caity and Duncan to all my mates.

Eddy: So, as Elise said in her review, not only are they great to be around, but their photos and films are just incredible. Definitely, yeah.

Aleks: 100%.

Eddy: All right, we’ve built it up enough. Let’s welcome Caity and Duncan.

Caity: Glowing.

Aleks: I’m not, I’m not joking. I printed that out. It’s almost a whole page.

Eddy: Yeah, it’s at least half a good slab of the page.

Caity: I love it. Receiving a good school report.

Aleks: Oh, my God, that’s so true. Isn’t it? And I bet you guys don’t. I mean, you saw when you receive the review, you read it, but then you don’t go back. I mean, unless you’re having a particularly, like, low day, go back and have.

Eddy: A look at your pick me ups.

Caity: I read them all the time. Is that weird? No.

Duncan: It’s funny you say that because I was going to say it’s actually so rare to get feedback sometimes. Like, could because we’re like the last point of call after a wedding day. Like, they’ve already thanked the DJ, the florist, the celebrant, and then they wait a while to get the photos and videos and it’s like, they, like, get them. They’re like, oh, yeah, thanks. But the excitement for the days died down a little bit.

Eddy: Well, I love the honesty.

Aleks: Yeah, I see. I wouldn’t have thought that. Because you guys, presumably you send the sneak peeks through, like, pretty quickly.

Caity: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. That’s when there’s a peak excitement. Yeah, there’s peak. So Duncan’s usually toiling away the night after a wedding, trying to upload everything. So, yeah, the excitement and the feedback is usually. Yeah, that immediate response. But we love. I love getting all the feedback. It’s always lovely to hear our clients have such a wonderful time with us and because we have such beautiful times with them. So, yeah, it’s great, all the feedback. We love it.

Aleks: Oh, lovely. Yeah, it is really good, isn’t it? And, you know, maybe we should. Maybe we should sit down and just like, have a glass of wine, a bit of a read over. Yeah, it’s not a bad idea.

Eddy: I find it difficult getting reviews on Google.

Aleks: That’s what you’re the hardest part, where.

Eddy: I think we’re at like 91 or something. We’re almost at 100. I’m like, get to triple feet but. But it’s just, like, been the hardest thing to try and get there. You kind of got to ask straight off the bat. And it’s interesting with you guys, particularly if you’re talking the film element of what you do, time has passed. So those endorphins, I mean, it’s amazing to get the film, but they’re not on cloud nine still, I would imagine.

Duncan: Yeah, I think they, the hype of the post wedding come down and is still there. But, um, hopefully, if we do our job well, by the time they get the photos and video, they’re reliving the day and it brings all the emotion.

Caity: Yeah, yeah.

Aleks: It’s a bit sad. It’s a bit sad once it’s all over. So let’s talk about how you got into this. And I have to be honest, I actually don’t know or can’t remember who does what or whether you do both things. You were just there. Big balls of energy. And the end result was amazing. So I was like, yep, it’s just, that’s it. It’s them. They’ve done it. So tell us how you got started and a bit about your business.

Caity: Yeah, sure.

Duncan: So the way that it all started was I grew up as, like, a massive movie nerd. And I thought my dream was one day I was going to be a movie director. So after school. Yeah, exactly. I was too young to know better. So after school, I went to film school, and that’s where I learned about video editing and cameras and the basics of that sort of thing. And I left that industry behind me for a while. And years later, I just picked up a camera just for fun. And it’s like taking photos at home and photos of your friends and family, and people seem to like what I was doing. So I thought, maybe I’ll just make this a job. And then the first job we ever got was an engagement party. And I’d never done any professional photography before, so I was absolutely shitting myself. It was like, Caitlin, you’ve got to come with me. You got to be my moral support.

Caity: And then I came along, and I was like, well, I might as well, you know, hold a camera, like, look legit rather than just getting a bag and standing in a corner. And I could never do that anyway, so I was sort of like, or scrap a camera, and it kind of snowballed from there. So I really discovered, like, a passion for photography on my end. It’s not my background at all, but I think that means I approach it quite differently. I think dance is more kind of, sometimes from more of a technical kind of aspect or, you know, how to properly compose a photo. And I kind of throw the rules out, and I’m just like, I’m just going to take a photo of what I think looks good. It kind of works. I really focus a lot more on that emotional side, I guess. It’s good fun. It’s, yeah, been a ride from there, really.

Eddy: Yeah.

Duncan: So then we, we decided to play to our strengths and rebranded, and so now we’re Caity and Duncan. So everyone knows, like, it’s two of us. We work as a team, and the main, usually nine times out of ten, on the wedding day, I’m the main photographer and Caitlin’s the main videographer. So there’s like a split roll there, but we overlap, of course.

Caity: Yeah, we both kind of overlap here and there throughout the day. Cause we both can’t kind of help ourselves if we see something, we’re like, oh, I’m gonna take a photo or dung some jump in and do some video and pretty much how we run it. Yeah, we’re now a full time wedding photography business, and it’s just going strength by strength. So we’re really enjoying the ride.

Aleks: Oh, wow. That’s so similar to our story.

Eddy: It is very similar, actually. Yeah, yeah, there’s some parallels there. Yeah. So I’ve been a DJ for a long, long, long time, and I obviously met Aleks, and eventually she sort of said, hey, I might be interested in doing this, too. So, yeah, a lot of parallels to be drawn there, so that’s really cool.

Aleks: To be fair, I always, like, dreamed about deejaying, but when I was at uni, I had a lot of DJ friends, and they showed me the equipment.

Eddy: I was like, oh, and she’s still like that.

Caity: Now I’m the same babe. People come up and they’re like, oh, this, this tech and this tech. And I’m like, oh, I’m still, you know, I’m just gonna use what I know and.

Aleks: Oh, my God, even more, even more parallels drawn.

Eddy: I. How funny is that? Yeah, I’m a self confessed tech nerd, much like Duncan, I imagine so. Yeah.

Duncan: Oh, man, my domain.

Caity: I’m like, just let me be. Let me leave.

Aleks: I feel you, girl. I feel you. Yeah. So let’s talk about your, your style. And I suppose what, what sort of couples do you enjoy working with? And I suppose, what sort of couples are drawn to your style?

Duncan: I guess the one we worked with you, Aleks, was a perfect example for Sean and Elise. They didn’t want traditional. They didn’t want to do anything that didn’t feel authentic to them, and they were drawn to working with us. Originally, I think they didn’t even want to do video, but they just loved what we did. So I guess what’s unique about us is we have a tagline, which is modern nostalgia, which is, like, we want you to look at the photos and feel, like, the emotion of the moment and the memories, because we’re millennials, so we grew up, you know, taking photos on film and waiting to see if it would come and turn out and, like, how exciting that was and just.

Caity: That, like, look of, I guess, yeah. Classic, timeless, kind of vintage feel is very much what we. We go for right now.

Duncan: And we started shooting on film as well.

Caity: Yeah. And, yeah. Which lent us a nice segue into how much we love shooting on film. We’re just having so much fun with it. Just. Yeah, we. We shoot, you know, majority digital, because the nature of film, sometimes you gotta be a bit. You can’t be full trusting in it. But, yeah, we love to add it in and just give that extra little element to our couples of film. We just think it’s so beautiful. And we love working with couples who just trust in that level of creativity that we like to bring to each of our wedding days.

Aleks: Really, I have to say, as a. We’re probably in the same age bracket, but I just really like Elise and Sean’s footage and the film photos. Oh, my God, that is my childhood. Like, just dad with the massive camcorder.

Caity: I go full camcorder dad on the day with my, with our beast of a super eight camera, and I love it. And it’s just. I agree. I think, like, my dream is just capturing wedding days to look like a vintage home movie that’s just. And we got them.

Duncan: We gave them the cameras as well, so they were taking photos of each other on the film camera, and they used the super eight camera as well, and we incorporate that all together. So they loved it. They embraced it wholeheartedly.

Caity: Yeah. And they were actually our first. That was our first wedding on super eight, probably. I think it was. They were a little our experiment lab rats. And they loved it. And we’re like, oh, you know, because it was our first time using it. Dunks have bought this vintage restored and the light metre camera.

Duncan: The light metre doesn’t work on the super eight camera.

Caity: We didn’t know. We’ve learned a lot since then, but I hope this turns out. And it was the best footage yet.

Eddy: Wow.

Aleks: Yeah, yeah, it looked amazing. I loved when they grabbed the camera. Like, it just. Yeah, it just kind of filled out and made it look so different to other films that I’ve seen. So. Yeah. And by the way, when I said my dad at the camcorder, you’re. I mean, I can’t compare what dad did, what it was, you know, amateur.

Eddy: I think most dads did the same sort of thing back in the day.

Caity: Yes.

Eddy: Just. Oh, yeah.

Aleks: But just like so much footage. Like 3 hours of us walking around a shopping centre. Like, why?

Eddy: Which is of no interest to anyone but you guys.

Aleks: Although we do. But the funny thing is, actually just to go on about my own story, I did actually get all the old tapes digitised.

Eddy: Oh, yeah, you did, didn’t you?

Aleks: A few years ago and sat down with my family and we’re just all bawling like it was just. Yeah, true.

Caity: Nothing. The parallels continue because my family recently did that too, and we all sat down and just bawled our eyes out.

Aleks: I can’t look at it. I’ve got to be in a really good mood to look at those things.

Caity: It’s so sweet. I love that you did that. It’s. Yeah, it’s just so beautiful seeing it all come to life, really.

Eddy: I imagine there’s probably a balance between a, laughing, b, bawling your eyes out, and c, absolute cringe moments, the awkward.

Caity: Teen faces when they’re on.

Eddy: Absolutely, absolutely. So you mentioned on your website that you work together on every single wedding, which we’ve discussed. So talk us through how it works when you’re providing photography and or videography only versus sort of both services.

Duncan: Yeah. So sometimes the couple may have already booked their photographer or their videographer, which is fine. Like, we still come as a team and the way that works for us is like we sort of splitting one discipline instead of doing both ourselves. So then we’re like, how are we going to do that? So say it’s a video only day, then I’ll do the technical stuff. So I’ll be the drone pilot. I’ll be setting up the cameras, the audio.

Caity: I know. We fight over who’s the captain.

Eddy: Oh, we got you on a technicality there.

Caity: I’ll go get it. I’ll go get it on the weekend.

Duncan: Yeah. So you do all the creative stuff, don’t you?

Caity: Yeah. And then, yeah, just take it that way. So, yeah, if we’re doing. Yeah, only video, I’ll do all that creative side and vice versa. But we do love working with other, other teams and other vendors. Like.

Duncan: Yeah, because it can be lonely sometimes, running your own business, working by yourself.

Caity: Always just us. We have a blast together, but, you know, there’s some times where it’s just really nice to have someone else and get to, you know, talk with other vendors, other people, and, you know, nine times out of ten, it’s usually great. Like we’re, you know, on the same page creatively. That’s when it works the best. Making sure, I guess, you’re getting vendors. Yeah. That work, I guess, creatively together and kind of have similar visions. That always works the best. But majority of our weddings we work photo video.

Duncan: Yeah. Usually it’s a time together.

Caity: Yeah.

Aleks: Oh, that’s nice. And look, I think in terms of, you know, you mentioned the vision and kind of fitting, I feel like the wedding we worked on together, the. I mean, it was. It was like the most north side wedding ever. I think I said to you, Eddy.

Eddy: Like, yeah, it was very north side.

Aleks: Every element of it, but it was so cohesive in that way. I think everyone knew what the couple were about and what vibe they were after and it just came together so well. But credit to the couple too, they had so many quirky little personalised touches that they had throughout their day that were just. Just made it so unique. So that helped us all as well, I think.

Caity: Yeah, it just matched the vibe and I think we all just fit into that and slot it all. We just all worked perfectly, I thought, on that day, that was a good day.

Aleks: That was a really, really good day. Long day, but good day. It was long for me. So, speaking of couples who kind of fit your vibe, what, what sort of tips would you have for couples? Because obviously there’s so many photographers and videographers, well, vendors in general, around. So what are some tips for couples who want to find someone that really matches their vibe?

Duncan: I think, yeah, make sure you know who you’re working with and make sure you, you know, it sounds strange, but, like, cheque their personalities to someone that you actually want to spend the day with and they actually seem like someone you could be friends with because it’s really important. Especially, you know, for us, photography and videography, we’re there with you from when you’re getting ready till you’re on the dance floor. So make sure we all get along is a really good starting point. And then if you, hopefully you love our work and it resonates with you as well. Like, it actually says on our website that we’re non traditional. And that doesn’t mean that you can’t have traditions but I think, like, traditions for you should be. Does it mean something to you?

Caity: Yeah. What’s authentic to you? Yeah.

Duncan: Rather than just doing what you think you should do?

Caity: Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah. They’re the best tips, really making sure that you get on because we are there for all your intimate moments. So you want to make sure that’s key. And then. Yeah, we, I guess, yeah. Fitting your vibe in terms of what you want your look to be and that it all slots into how you kind of imagined it, really.

Eddy: Yeah. I couldn’t agree more of that. We have a very similar take. I sort of think, well, can I have a beer with this person or this couple? And if that’s a yes, then it’s usually we’re off to a good start. And just following on from that. Do you have any tips for couples that might feel a little awkward in front of the camera, just like everyone, some might not. I don’t know.

Caity: It’s very rare that someone is full, confident and comfortable. We have a bag of tricks and tips that are you, I guess, yeah.

Duncan: The biggest tip is like, trust that your vendors, trust your photographers and videographers. And I think the way we do it is they don’t even have a chance to think about feeling awkward because we’re just chatting to them the whole time. We have music playing. We encourage you to bring your drinks with you and we just give simple instructions and just chat to you and encourage you to just chat to each other so you’re not just ever standing there awkwardly like.

Caity: Yeah, like, where do I put my hands? Heal as humanly possible. And a big one is we give a lot of feedback as we take the photos and video, too, because we notice when you kind of aren’t saying, yes, I love that. Or just reaffirming people that, you know, I think that really helps and get people more relaxed. But I mean, having a drink is more than encouraged. So I think a couple bubbles and then people are sweet to go. But the encouragement also helps from our end.

Aleks: Yeah, I think, yeah, definitely. Having a drink helps in all circumstances.

Eddy:
It helps get people on dance floor, too, imagine.

Aleks: Or it can go too far the other way.

Eddy: Sometimes people have, can help people get.

Aleks: Off the dance floor. And I think, you know what you said about kind of having music and just chatting and keeping it relaxed and not doing the kind of pose stuff. I mean, we very Ed, we very rarely work with, like, photographers and videographers that do the kind of like, portrait, you know?

Eddy: Yeah, very rarely. It’s usually like some of the older crew, like the aunts, are saying, hey, can you take a portrait of this person and that person? You see the photographers go, oh, all right.

Caity: Yeah, for sure. I mean, we always tell our couples the most formal kind of part of the day is the family photos. I mean, yeah. So we just need, I mean, Gran wants it for the wall and we get it. And it’s also like, you know, people don’t come together often, so it is nice to just have everyone in focus and no one, everyone just looking at and then. Yeah. But most of it, you know, the rest of it is kind of very candid. We try and get gorgeous portraits of people, I guess, more in that candid style. But, yeah, the most formal part for us would definitely be the family photos.

Aleks: And how do you guys go with or what do you kind of recommend for couples in terms of first looks? Is it common that you will do that?

Duncan: More common than not, it’s definitely not the majority, but it’s becoming more and more popular and we actually love it because it changes the whole flow of the date. So if people are comfortable seeing each other before the ceremony, it means usually you finish your ceremony, do your family photos, bridal party, you know, the couple you run off to do all your photos and you don’t even speak to your guests. But if you’ve done your formal photos before the ceremony, then you can just relax and enjoy the cocktail hour and speak to your guests and just be in the moment more.

Caity: Yeah. And it doesn’t take away from, you know, still walking down the aisle or doing whatever you want. Like, it’s still so exciting. So it really doesn’t, like, ruin that sort of moment for a lot of people. But, yeah, as Duncan just. I love it. I really love it. I think it’s such a special moment, you know, between a couple and us witnessing it, but, you know, such a special, nice moment for them to have together. A quiet moment and then. Yeah, I firmly believe as well, weddings aren’t about a photo shoot as well, photographer saying that, but, you know, it’s not about going off for hours and hours on end to have photos. So to maximise, to use a first look, to maximise time that you can have immediately after your ceremony, like spending it with your loved ones. We love, so we’re all for them.

Aleks: So are we. But I think some people disagree with that.

Eddy: I couldn’t agree more. Why do you want to leave your own party?

Aleks: I know. I feel like cocktail hour is such a fun part of the day. You’ve literally just gotten married and you’re such a hire. Yeah, you’re. And, you know, it’s when you’re at the most relaxed. Like, whenever I chat to couples, if I like, for some reason, haven’t been there for cocktail hour, and I come in and I’m, you know, always ask them, how you feeling? Oh, so relaxed. Like they’ve got a drink, they chill, and they’ve done their, you know, photos and might duck out for some sunset shots. But apart from that, the kind of formal bits are done if you’ve, if you’ve gotten it. So anyway, I don’t. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t do it. I suppose maybe if they’re more traditional, they don’t want to see each other or whatever.

Duncan: Yeah, I think that’s another good point. You just said then, Aleks is like, one thing we strongly recommend for people is to get your formalities done as soon as possible, even when you get to the reception, because if people get really nervous about having to give a speech and it can really take them out of the wanna be the centre of attention. So if you want to get the formalities done, you can do them straight away. You don’t have to wait till after dinner or whatever and just make it more of a party, like, okay, the formalities are done. Now we can relax.

Caity: Yeah, yeah.

Eddy: Another parallel. We have these exact same conversations with our clients. Yeah.

Aleks: All the time. I have to say, though, I thought, you know, Elise and Sean are like, oh, we know.

Caity: We’re shy.

Aleks: Whatever. Hello. Their speeches, they were unique.

Caity: One, that was the best speech I’ve ever seen.

Duncan: They were both background.

Caity: Yeah, sorry.

Duncan: I think they both have a theatre background, so there was a lot of writing that went into all that.

Caity: It was good.

Aleks: There was a lot of theatre in general. I mean, Sean surprised Elise with his singing.

Caity: Yeah. He, like, emailed us before, obviously. It was, like, super secret. And he was like, I can’t sing, but I’m gonna do it anyway. Like, more fatigue, babe. I don’t know. I don’t know. I think. I wasn’t sure how this is gonna come out, but I thought it was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. Yeah. I was just in awe, capturing it, and it was so fun capturing Elisa’s reaction and. Yeah. And everyone’s reaction, really, because it was so wonderful, so good.

Aleks: I don’t know how you guys go, but, like, we’ve had a few, quite a few weddings where we’ve had to, like, the one of the couple wanted to surprise the other and it can be quite tricky because we have. We have a questionnaire that they both have to fill out. So we have to, like, find a secret spot and remember and have, like, a secret version of the run sheet.

Eddy: Where I’m, like a mission impossible type scenario sometimes spoil it.

Caity: Yeah. I’m like, I usually, if there’s a secret, like, yeah. On our run sheet for the day, like, I’ll pop it in there and, like, just for us to see. But I’m always terrified someone’s gonna say it. Yeah. Just real life. It’s a lot of stress on the vendor. We’re just like, please don’t ruin it. Please don’t ruin it. I know I would be that person.

Aleks: Can you imagine if you ruined it? That would be the worst. But they know. They. They absolutely pulled it off. I think that we had to set up a whole band, separate band, and hide them behind a curtain. That was the scary bit.

Caity: Yeah, it was a whole thing. Yeah, I remember that. We’re, like, setting up cameras and it was taking angels and then. Yeah, there was a band. Sexy saxman. Yeah.

Aleks: Yeah, that was our sexy sex man. He’s pretty good. I also want to. Which I want to ask you guys. Oh, yes. About, like, sort of. Do you have, like, a short list or actually taking a step back. How long are you guys normally there for? Because you were there most of the day, pretty much till the end of the night, from what I remember. Yeah.

Caity: Yeah.

Duncan: I think our most common day, we’re there for 9 hours because we’ve done a lot of trial and error.

Caity: Yeah.

Duncan: We tried 8 hours, 10 hours, 9 hours. And for us, that’s probably the sweet spot most for most weddings because it gives us enough time to set up our cameras as well as capturing everything that happens.

Caity: Yeah, we find, yeah, that’s the perfect sweet spot to be able to capture a date in its entirety of, you know, that. Some of that getting ready, obviously, then all throughout the day and then making sure you’re getting, like, most of the dance floor before it gets a little bit too messy. We find that that sweet spot is. Is the best. So, yeah, usually around the nine hour mark for a day.

Duncan: And as far as shot list goes, we, the only shot list we really have with us is what we, in our questionnaires, we ask the couple, like, what’s, who’s important to you? Is there anything that’s super important that you want us to capture? And apart from that, we sort of feel our way through the day. Like, we just sort of know what works and what doesn’t work.

Caity: Yeah, we try to really, like, we really try and be creative for each wedding and do our own thing. So a big key for us is even at wedding venues, if, particularly if we’ve not been there before, we don’t like to even look at their instagram or look at other photographers that have been there because we want to, like, choose our own thing. We want to choose our own spots. And, yeah, we really, we lean into it. We basically just look at what the light’s doing on the day and what we think is going to look gorgeous. And we just run with that on the day and just, yeah, use our creativity in the moment to do lots of different things, but we love to mix it up. You know, obviously, we’re using film and prisms and cool techniques as well. Just whatever we think is going to work well for the couple and for their wedding days, we kind of run with it that way.

Eddy: And just, just for my edification and maybe some of the other listeners. What is a prism?

Duncan: We have one, it’s like a little handheld piece of glass with a handle and it makes like a kaleidoscope effect.

Eddy: Oh, oh.

Duncan: You tilt it, you can just get like light refractions and you can get different effects and it’s just adds.

Caity: I love it. I love whipping the prism out.

Duncan: It’s a lot of trial and error. Like, it can look really bad or something.

Caity: Yeah, and it looks kind of dweeby holding it, though, because it looks like a bit of like a protect protractor. Just trust me.

Eddy: Just doing some measurements or something.

Caity: Going to protract a measurement.

Eddy: There you go. I’ve learned something.

Aleks: I feel like. I feel like Ed might buy one now. I just.

Eddy: What?

Aleks: I don’t know, I just feel like. Hear about a new gadget or gizmo, you know?

Eddy: I’m on Amazon right now looking prime day. Hashtag Prime Day, not sponsored.

Caity: Hashtag sponsored.

Eddy: Oh, Amazon. Could you please sponsor us? Amazing. I want to go to space. Oh, dear. Anyway, tangents aside, so we’ve had a chat about shot lists, etc. And we’ve had a chat about prisms. It kind of preempts this next question, I suppose. But what are the other kinds of ways that you come up with some of the creative shots that you take?

Duncan: We do, yeah. Just a lot of different things. Like with our cameras, we shoot in different camera modes. So it can be like, you’ve really got a sense how keen the couple is and how into the photography they are. Because some people are like, more like, can we just get the photos done so we can get back to the party. But some couples are really vibing with the. With what you’re doing, and so they’ll be more open to trying things. So one thing we can do is, like, there’s an effect you can do where the couple sort of runs and you shoot with a slow shutter, so you get, like, that blur, which we absolutely love, or.

Eddy: Yeah.

Duncan: As we said before, getting them involved in the photography themselves. Like, take photos of each other and film each other with the super eight camera.

Caity: Yep. We love doing that. I think it gets some of the most gorgeous footage that we palm off as our own.

Eddy: Now we can see outsourcing.

Caity: I think no one looks more relaxed.

Duncan: It looks more intimate, though.

Caity: It does, though, because it’s a level of intimacy that we could never capture, to be honest, because it’s between a couple and the way that they look at each other. So we’re huge. We love them. And it gives some fun for couples as well to have, you know, shoot each other on the day.

Duncan: And sometimes the creativity just comes from problem solving, to be honest. Say it’s absolutely bucketing down rain. We can’t do any photos outside, so we’ll find a tiny slipper of light inside and put the couple in that and just do something really dramatic.

Caity: Yeah.

Duncan: And they’ll just remember that was. That’s what their day looked like, and that was unique to their wedding. So that’s why we embrace each day as it comes, I guess.

Caity: Yeah. And just work with what we’re given, really?

Duncan: Yeah.

Aleks: I want to come back as a photographer and videographer, I have said this.

Eddy: It’s never too late.

Caity: Come join us today. Join us.

Eddy: And then there were three.

Caity: Three?

Duncan: Why not four?

Eddy: Why not? Let’s do it. I’ll get real technical with you, Darby.

Aleks: I just became a celebrate. I’ve got enough going on. Can you imagine? I can’t do. I can’t. If I could add it on, I would not. No, no. I think all you guys is awesome. And it’s funny, like, when you were talking about, you know, my shot list and stuff, and I knew what the answer would be. But it’s sort of like if you were drawing parallels. It’s like if we got a client who was like, okay, can you play? We have had this inquiry, actually. Do you remember that one, Ed? This is. This is the run sheet. It was like a four page PDF.

Eddy: Yes.

Aleks: Our wedding’s gonna be featured in Vogue.

Eddy: Before the wedding, of course.

Aleks: Yeah. Vogue bride or whatever. And at 04:05, the bride will come out and the sun will, the clouds will part. And we want you to play this song at this certain time. And it’s got to be an ambient. Anyway, it went on and on and on. It was like, totally.

Eddy: It was a legit, like, three page brief in inquiry stage. Like, yeah, I think they. What they attached to a word document.

Aleks: Yeah, it was like, yeah, four page, four page PDF or something. Yeah. Talking about every single moment. And they’re gonna provide the exact song list in Spotify. And we’re like, yeah, now we’re good.

Eddy: We’re good.

Caity: Yeah. Red flag. I think that’s a bit tricky because the expectation is so high for that.

Duncan: Those people compete with someone’s expectations.

Eddy: It was about 3 hours away, and they’re like, and you do a site visit as well next week, right now.

Aleks: And we want to fill out. And it’s outdoors in two different areas. We want to fill out the whole space. Anyway. It was ridiculous. And, yeah, we were like, no, thanks. But, you know, as you said, you’ve got to trust your vendors, and you’re booking these people for their creativity and their talent. So you’ll get the best out of your vendors if you just trust and let them do their thing.

Caity: Yeah. And a big thing for us that we always talk with our couples is, you know, we don’t want to cut paste each wedding. We don’t want to replicate weddings like we’ve done before or that other people have done, because it’s just not unique to you. So that’s. We’re big believers in it. Even the way we do our videos and our films, it’s not the same for each couple because we’re not a copy. We’re not a copy paste job of a business. We really lean into uniqueness and creativity.

Duncan: But even coming on from that, like, your expectations for your wedding, if you expect. You know, I feel bad sometimes people book these amazing summer weddings, and it’s Melbourne, so it rains 50% of the time. Like, just be prepared that it may not go exactly how you imagine, but that’s okay. And that’s how we capture the day for them is like, oh, rain on your wedding day. So what, we did these cool photos here and these photos here, and you guys huddled up under this tree here. And that’s how you’ll always remember it, like, because that was your day.

Caity: Yeah, good point.

Aleks: Exactly. That’s how it was. You currently change it. Also, speaking of Melbourne, we always say this, like, just don’t book a wedding outside.

Duncan: Have a backup plan. Another backup backup plan.

Caity: I think we’ve got umbrellas in the car at all times. We just can’t trust it, this.

Aleks: I know. Although, to be fair. Yeah. Elise and Shaw did have their ceremony at Edinburgh Gardens outside, but it was fine. I think they had, like a. They’ve got an undercover area. Yeah. Like a pergola or something. Anyway.

Caity: Yeah. But he was the rain rain, not gods. And the not rain gods, the sunshine gods, like the other, the opposite of not rain gods, were on our side that day.

Eddy: Someone did an anti rain dance.

Aleks: Yeah, anti rain dance. And I loved their. Their pre so ready photos were around the corner at Sparta Place. You know, Ed.

Eddy: Yes.

Aleks: Very beautiful. Very beautiful. I haven’t seen those before. I haven’t seen any shoots there before.

Duncan: They wanted to incorporate their neighbourhood and even the florist was on Sparta Place, just one of their local, and they went and had a drink at their local bar and they wanted to incorporate just their life. It was amazing walking distance from their house.

Caity: Yeah, we just walked down and. Yeah, it was really great. And just more. Yeah. Again, meaningful to the couple, so it just makes for them even being more relaxed. You familiar with this space?

Eddy: No. I think a spider place is one of Brunswick’s best kept secrets.

Duncan: Yeah, it’s amazing, isn’t it?

Caity: It is, yeah. It’s like a little Italian. Like, it feels very great. Yes, I agree. Yeah. Beautiful. Like archways that we used and there was, like, Olivey looking trees there. It was just awesome. Really nice european village, but, yeah. Shaun had proposed there as well.

Duncan: Yes.

Caity: So we took photos on the bench that he proposed at as well, so, yeah, it was, yeah. Awful circle.

Eddy: Really smooth operator.

Aleks: Yeah, he definitely is. Are there any other hot tips that you guys have for non traditional couples who want to nail. Well, let’s say not just their photos and videos, but their whole day, because you guys have, you know, so many interesting, I suppose, ideas about how to make things more relaxed and unique. Is there anything else that you’ve seen that you could recommend to people or any other tips that you’ve got?

Caity: I would really say you do you in the best way.

Duncan: The same answer as everyone.

Caity: Yeah. Yeah. Just, you know, I know it can be tricky. It’s a wedding day and I think sometimes, and I understand that people with, you know, families and, you know, people’s expectations usually can sometimes really infiltrate you on the day. And I think I see. We see it, you know, sometimes people doing things that will kind of please their family more than themselves. So we really encourage people. I guess to find out really what’s meaningful to them and do that, you know? And if you want to do some elements of traditions, go for it. But if you don’t, then that’s also fine. So I think it’s just finding that balance of what you really want to do and sticking with it on the day. And that may mean a bit more of a traditional wedding, or it might mean that you do none of it. So we just encourage people to back themselves and support themselves with what they want to achieve on their day. Really?

Eddy: Yeah.

Duncan: I think anything that you’re doing is like asking, why am I doing this? Is it for me? Or to please someone else? Or because I’m expected to do it. So it’s like, what’s the point of a wedding, really, at the end of the day, a celebration of your love story and with the people that matter to you. So if it’s deviating too much from that into things that you think you should do or too much Pinterest, then maybe have a look at why.

Caity: Yeah. Yeah.

Eddy: What a great way to sum that up.

Aleks: I know. Too much Pinterest. I love that.

Eddy: Tmp.

Duncan: That could be a rabbit hole, I reckon.

Eddy: Oh, definitely, definitely. And we do have one more question for you, actually, and this is one of my favourite questions to ask. So, finally, and you’ve got to answer this separately, what song will get each of you onto the d floor?

Duncan: I have an answer for this one, just to annoy Caitlin. My answer is going to be one dance by Drake.

Eddy: Nice.

Caity: The backstory of this is when we went to America, we were in a bar, because I keep saying, we need a song. We need a song. And then it played. I’m not even joking.

Duncan: Jukebox. And they kept flying.

Caity: Doug is like. I was like, it’s not our song. And he’s like, it’s our song.

Aleks: Oh, that’s so funny.

Caity: That’s cute. That’s your answer.

Duncan: It’s our song.

Aleks: Aw.

Caity: What’s my song?

Duncan: Maybe something eighties for Caitlin.

Caity: Yeah, anything like, like an eighties, like new order or something. Like a blue Monday would absolutely get me running dance floor.

Aleks: I love that tune. But tell you what, it’s gonna be a bloody cool crowd to pull it off.

Caity: It’s not played often at a wedding.

Aleks: We’ve got the different edits, depending on the mood. Well, next. Next wedding that we do together, we’ll make sure we play one dance and.

Eddy: Blue Monday, we’ll mix them together somehow.

Caity: A mashup that no one asked for, but we’re gonna. We asked for. Really?

Aleks: I love that. Can you imagine the couple be like, we don’t like hip hop and we hate new order.

Caity: I would be so offended.

Aleks: It’s for Caity and Duncan. You guys have been amazing. Thank you so much. We love your energy. We hope that we get to work on a wedding together soon. Anyone listening to this? Do it.

Eddy: Please book them and us.

Duncan: Yes. Dream team.

Caity: The dream team. We would love to work with you guys again. It was just so. We loved working with you last time, Aleks. And, yeah, we would love to get you all together and, yeah, someone please hire us all. Please.

Eddy: Putting it out there into the universe. We’ll see what comes back.

Aleks: I wouldn’t want to see one of these prism prison photos.

Eddy: Yeah, get the. Get your prism on.

Caity: Yeah. Everyone go by prism and have fun.

Aleks: I’m going to look up Amazon prime.

Eddy: After these because I’m really sure they’re on there somewhere.

Aleks: Not that I can take a photo, but whatever. And where can. Guys, where can. Guys, where can our listeners find you and what’s the best way to contact you?

Duncan: Instagram is usually the easiest way. Just our names. Caity and Duncan. And that links to our website if you want to find out more.

Caity: Yeah. Easy. Done.

Eddy: Perfect. It’s kind of. Yeah.

Duncan: Okay. We have a TikTok. We are not on the new one.

Caity: I need Gen Z to teach me how to TikTok.

Aleks: Yeah.

Caity: I don’t understand. There’s too many ads. I’m so overwhelmed. Are we showing millennial less free right now? To be honest, yeah.

Aleks: Look, I can. I. As a millennial, I can tell you right now, don’t bother with threads. I think it’s.

Eddy: Oh, you know, I heard about threads the other day. If you delete. If you create your threads account and then delete your threads account, it takes your Instagram with it. Yeah.

Duncan: People should know that.

Caity: Oh, my God. That’s, like, hectic.

Aleks: I feel like they should have been in the beginning of the podcast, like, yeah. PSA.

Eddy: PSA. Yeah. So now that we’ve got threads, we’ve got it forever. I’ve deleted the app. I got it, had a look. I’m like, this is boring, and I deleted it.

Caity: Yeah, it just looks like twitter.

Aleks: And, like, honestly, it’s just, like, status updates from 2007 on Facebook.

Caity: No one cares. Okay, well, yeah, we won’t get. We probably won’t get threads. We’re trying TikTok. We’ve got.

Duncan: Post more on TikTok.

Caity: Please, everyone, like and subscribe.

Aleks: All right, we shall put a link to your TikTok account so that everyone can follow you.

Eddy: Get TikToking.

Aleks: Get TikToking. You guys have plenty of good content. You’ve got no excuses.

Duncan: I know.

Caity: We’ll get on that.

Aleks: Definitely. Well, thank you so much for joining us this morning. It’s been super fun, and, yeah, hopefully we’ll catch you at a wedding soon.

Eddy: Absolutely.

Caity: Thanks for having us. It’s been awesome.

Aleks: Yay. Thank you so much, guys. See you soon.

Caity: Bye.

Eddy: What a couple.

Aleks: I know. Aren’t they great?

Eddy: A couple of legends.

Aleks: They are a couple of legends. How can people be so talented and so warm and so lovely? I just really want to work.

Eddy: It’s possible to be really talented, but super nice.

Aleks: Yeah. They’ve proven like you, right?

Eddy: We’re not talking about me.

Aleks: No.

Eddy: Um, the thing I loved about what they said, well, one of the many things is that they don’t go and investigate the venues beforehand, so they’re not on Instagram and what have you, TikTok. And they’re just going in with a fresh pair of eyes and sky’s the limit.

Aleks: Yeah. No preconceived ideas because they want it to be unique and reflect what is actually happening on the day, how the light looks, you know, what the. What the atmosphere is like and that sort of thing. So you’re getting something super unique every time.

Eddy: Yes.

Aleks: Legends. Yeah.

Eddy: So good. Absolutely loved it. And I’m sure the listeners got a lot out of it.

Aleks: Yeah. Please book them. And us. Oh, I think we’ve made that. Made that quite clear.

Eddy: Yeah. Well, we were having a chat after the. The interview on the podcast, and we want to actually hire them for a little video about us, so we’re going to try and make that happen.

Aleks: Stay tuned, stay tuned, stay tuned.

Eddy: All right, so, yeah, we’ve sort of turned this show on its head. So we’re going to do the weekly wrap up now. Damn it.

Aleks: No, it’s good. I like it.

Eddy: So we are going to do the weekly roundup right now.

Aleks: I love that. It’s called something different every single time.

Eddy: I think I’ve settled on wrap up.

Aleks: Weekly or weekend 20 weekend.

Eddy: Well, it’s our week. Well, our week’s a little bit different.

Aleks: Today’s Tuesday.

Eddy: Today, everybody. We’re recording this on a Tuesday weekend wrap up. Yeah, one of the. Yeah, everyone’s going. You’re in.

Aleks: I know. Anyway, let’s get on to it so we can wrap up. Did you work last weekend? Well, no, but you set up for me.

Eddy: I did. So I was Aleks’ roadie. Yeah. Which is cool. Setting up at the post office hotel.

Aleks: So where we now leave everyone we live in.

Eddy: So you had a couple in a row. So I poodle off at about ten or 11:00 a.m. Set Aleks up and then she just strolls on in like a rock star.

Aleks: Very funny.

Eddy: Presses all the buttons and just turn some notes. The party.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: And then the next day I’m back there packing her down.

Aleks: I was there with you.

Eddy: You were? You do help the pack down.

Aleks: Yeah. It’s great to be able to do that, though, because it means I’m, you know, I finished quite late. I finished at midnight, so could just poodle on out of there, as you like to say, four minute drive down the road. Love it, love it.

Eddy: So good.

Aleks: So my wedding was for Pat and Phoebe. Met them about a year ago. It feels like one of those ones that like, has, you know, was booked quite a while ago. It was loads of fun. Had mister and misses social do their thing, which was really cool. So I waltzed in a little bit early and kind of hung around during cocktail hour. So they were going around interviewing people and chatting and it was as people were having more drinks, they got more warmed up and had more hilarious things to say. So looking forward to seeing that lots of new, new stuff was played. Was played. I played, which I really loved as well. Had some new Lizzo and lots of doja cat and some cool Selena Gomez and other tunes. And then obviously all the oldies thrown in as well. Speaking of oldies that were loads of fun and really hit the dance floor, I’m actually gonna put a reel up of all the oldies dancing to give me everything tonight. If you sort of have the volume off, you would think it was some old disco tune. But no, it’s a 2010s banger, so, yeah, really, really, really fun. Long dance floor. What can I say? I love the post office. Shout out to Meg, Aja and the team too. They’re just the best.

Eddy: Yeah, they’re really nice. Really, really, really good people.

Aleks: Really good people. I’m back there on Sunday but for a celebrants lunch.

Eddy: Oh, okay. Let’s talk about that.

Aleks: So this year marks 50 years of the profession.

Eddy: So the first big 50.

Aleks: It’s pretty. Yeah, pretty big reason to celebrate. So the first civil celebrant had their first wedding 50 years ago this year, which is very cool. So it’s a relatively new profession. Newer than DJ, in fact.

Eddy: Who was this civil celebrant? Do you know their name?

Aleks: I can’t remember.

Eddy: We should find out.

Aleks: I think it was in Brisbane though. Oh yeah. So it’s organised by the lovely Dee who I think. I don’t know if she runs wedding society, celebrate society. Anyway, clearly I know what’s going on. I think there’s about 20 of us gathering for lunch which will be lots of fun. So I’m doing that on Sunday. So back at post office again. But we’ve got the weekend off.

Eddy: We do have the weekend off. Yeah we do but we sort of don’t. Oh we don’t. So Tuesday. Okay. So we have our wedding livestream this Friday. If you are a keen listener to this podcast. We mentioned it last week.

Aleks: We did. Sorry. And I’ve forgotten about it. Clearly.

Eddy: You have to be fair, you. I’ve been doing most of the work in the lead up for this but that’s okay. It is a team effort and I know you’re getting onto it, some of the stuff today. So just, you know, for everybody’s edification.

Aleks: Your favourite word is because it’s got the.

Eddy: So it’s at 730. It is virtually. So it can be anywhere that you are. You know, it can be in your living room, it can be at the gym with you. It can be. Where else could it be really pushing.

Aleks: Everyone to go to the gym? Aren’t you on your phone outside in the park?

Eddy: I mean it’s gonna be cold.

Aleks: At the pub.

Eddy: At the pub. That’s a good one.

Aleks: Really good one.

Eddy: Yeah. Cast it to, you know, the tvs there. I actually. I think there’d be some legality issues.

Caity: Yeah.

Aleks: Don’t do that.

Eddy: Don’t do that. Yeah. So 730.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: Aleks and I will be deejaying. It’s going to be tunes that we love to play at weddings. It’s going to be tunes that have been very popular in the last few months. That we have played at weddings.

Aleks: Yes. That we love to play that I think you.

Eddy: We also love to play.

Aleks: Yeah. So it’s not an actual wedding. It’s in our house. But it is.

Eddy: It’s a wedding live show. We do it every year. So it’s an annual thing for us. It’s a great little marketing exercise for us too because we kind of split all the clips up. You’ve got a full audio mix after that that will post up to our mixcloud account which is where all our other live wedding mixes.

Aleks: Sit. Sit. Live. Yeah. And you also. We also put in all the songs that we play into a Spotify playlist. We do listen to those as well. Yes. And put the video up and everything. So. Yeah, we’re really looking forward to it. I have remembered about that now. So that’s good.

Eddy: So that’s Friday night for us. And I don’t know what we’re doing for the rest of the weekend.

Aleks: I’ve got my. I’ve got my celebance lunch. So you can play Zelda.

Eddy: Oh, yes.

Aleks: Go to the movies or do something fun that.

Eddy: Yep. Okay. I’ll do all of this. Impossible is out. So maybe I’ll sneak in and watch Tom Cruise ride a motorcycle and then parachute.

Aleks: He’s crazy. What is that thing you sent me, that TikTok or a video of him? He did that set six times. Wasn’t.

Eddy: Yeah. In one day.

Aleks: In one day, literally jump cliff on him. Yeah. Not. Not for me. That’s crazy.

Eddy: It is crazy.

Aleks: I want to have his breakfast, whatever he’s eating.

Eddy: Um, placenta.

Aleks: Oh, yeah. Yum.

Eddy: Placenta smells, I believe.

Aleks: Yeah.

Eddy: I don’t know. That’s hearsay. Who knows? Who knows with him? I do respect him, though.

Aleks: I know.

Eddy: You know, my mum loves him.

Aleks: Oh, Jackie loves a bit of Tom Cruise.

Eddy: Loves a bit of Tom Cruise and Leo DiCaprio favourites. You know, I’m more of a Brad Pitt kind of guy. Just. Just quietly. Anyway, let’s talk about what we’ve been listening to. You go first.

Aleks: All right. I’ve been listening to you play tunes.

Eddy: Okay.

Aleks: And it’s been so much fun. Yesterday afternoon, I was working and Ed was just having a muck around on his decks and it sounded amazing. What were you playing? You play everything like RnB, hip hop trap, just really mucking around. It was a lot of fun.

Eddy: I was playing around with the new stems feature, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned on this podcast before. So in a nutshell, using AI, you know AI.

Aleks: Oh, yeah, that thing. Yeah.

Eddy: You can actually split parts of the track up. So you can take out the vocals, you can take out the drums, you can take out the melody and the bass. So the creativity from a DJ’s perspective is just huge.

Aleks: So good. You can do really smooth transitions between songs.

Eddy: You can mash things up. Most of it sounds terrible, but some things, and this is why we practise at home, because we figure all the crappy things out and not play them at weddings.

Aleks: You got to do it sparingly. The other thing I listened to yesterday, one of my favourite albums of all time, is daft punks alive.

Eddy: Oh, very nice.

Aleks: And if you, like, want to feel amped up, listen to that.

Caity: Sorry.

Aleks: 2007, wasn’t it?

Eddy: Do you know what else you can listen to if you want to feel amped up, which I have been listening to randomly, is corn.

Aleks: Oh, yes. Yes.

Eddy: They follow the leader album. I had that on the other day at the gym and. Yeah.

Aleks: Does it really make you, like, do those extras?

Eddy: Yeah, it’s great.

Aleks: Awesome, awesome.

Eddy: Love a bit of corn.

Aleks: I think that’s it.

Eddy: That is it. So what a podcast again? We just. We just pick some good interviewees, don’t we?

Aleks: Are those birds in the background?

Eddy: Yeah.

Aleks: Oh, lovely. We do. We do. And we only. We only chat to people that we love working with that we think our, you know, couple would also love to work with because why would we interview anyone else? So that’s why. They’re all awesome.

Eddy: They are awesome. They are so good. Oh, yeah.

Aleks: Final break, I think we’re done. Hey, I think this, baby.

Eddy: Let’s wrap this up. Thank you so much for listening, as always. And as I usually say, if you do want to jump on, give us that lovely five star rating, put a little comment in, you know, let us know.

Aleks: Let us know you listen.

Eddy: Let us know who are you. Let us know who you are and why you’re listening. And if you like it and if you don’t, let us know, because then we can change it.

Aleks: Yeah, absolutely. 07:30 p.m.. A estimated the link to our livestream will be on our Instagram momo song DJ, so make sure you’re following.

Eddy: We’ll probably be smashing the Gramme the next few days, making sure that people know. If you’re not doing anything on Friday night, you’re at home, you’re bored. You might have a beer in your hand or a cocktail or whatever your poison. Cup of tea or a cup of tea. Yes. Nice. Ginger and lemon tea.

Aleks: Oh, my God.

Eddy: Kind of feel like one of those right now.

Aleks: All right, we’ll get you one.

Eddy: Um, yeah, so we’d love to. It’s kind of, you know, collaborative as well. If you do get a mixed cloud account, which is free, you can chat in the section. My mum will be on there. For sure. So if you want to chat to my mum, feel free.

Aleks: If you want to chat to Ed’s mom, join us on the live stream. Thanks, guys. Thanks. Until next time, thanks for tuning in. If you’re enjoying Project Engaged, please hit the subscribe button on your fav podcast app.

Eddy: You can also follow us on Instagram, @projectengaged and @onemoresongdjs.

Aleks: We’ll see you next time. And until then, have fun out there.