What do people really want to see from a red carpet party?

Not the party. Getting ready for it

A guest invited to an awards season party at a big Italian fashion house in Beverly Hills wanted the whole day on camera, in her own words, for her socials

I filmed it and shot the photos, and produced the day around her schedule

The garment bag from New York

It starts where the excitement starts, a garment bag flown in from New York, unzipped on camera

Then the moments followers love. Picking the jewelry, the gown coming out, hair in rollers, a feathered jacket, the final look at the front door

Then the ride to Beverly Hills, the arrival, the guests inside the store

No script, no voiceover from a stranger. She tells it herself, so it sounds like her and not like an ad, and her followers can tell the difference in about two words

Shot vertical, on purpose

Here is the deal, this was never going to play on a TV. It plays on a phone, held upright, with the sound off half the time

So it was shot vertical from the first frame, not cropped later, and the captions are burned right into the picture so it reads silent

Crop a horizontal video down to vertical and you lose two thirds of the picture, and usually the part you wanted

Shoot vertical and you compose for the phone, faces high in the frame, the gown running the full height, room at the bottom for the captions. Different camera, different thinking

More than a reel

The same day fed everything. 10-bit video files for editing, color graded 6000 pixel photos, and a 10-bit HDR set made for Instagram, so the colors of the gown hold up on a phone screen

Why shoot both? because a gown like that only gets worn to that party once, and nobody gets a second chance at the night

Producer and camera

When the person producing is the one shooting, there's no assistant asking permission to follow her into the next room. I see the moment, I'm already there, and she never has to stop and wait for a crew

That's how I work on my fashion shoots too, have a look at the Fashion Photographer gallery and the Behind The Scenes gallery

One night, one gown, shot for the phone in your hand

Length: 1 min 2 s · Producer & director: David Victory, VRSET video production, Los Angeles & Orange County

Key moments

  • 0:00 Opening at the party
  • 0:07 Getting ready, in her own words
  • 0:12 The garment bag from New York
  • 0:23 Choosing the jewelry
  • 0:33 Hair and styling
  • 0:38 Final look at the door
  • 0:43 The ride to the party
  • 0:53 Arrival and guests

See the matching photography in the Fashion Photographer gallery.

More videos

The full video library

Planning a video or a fashion shoot? Contact David Victory or call (310) 988-6575 in Los Angeles, (949) 873-4551 in Orange County. Free consultation and quote for first-time clients.