Rising Stars: Meet Gavyn Gates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gavyn Gates.

Gavyn Gates Cinematography started out as a dream of mine. At the origin, I was working under Laura K Moore Photography as an intern learning all things business and composition. Although I loved photo, I had always had a love for video that outpaced photo. One day, I used my camera to film a vacation I had went on; nothing big, just a small highlight real of what I did during that trip. Fast forward, a month and that small clip got me my first two weddings as a cinematographer. I started working hard to throw myself into the business, but more importantly I threw myself into storytelling. I researched and studied for countless hours about storytelling not just in wedding films, but feature films. I believe that a wedding film should be more than just a documentation of a day, it should feel like a feature film that draw out the richest emotions from its viewers. So I went to work. I did music theory research, I found out what music draws out what emotions, I studied color theory and dwelled on what I wanted my films to bring out emotionally within the color. I’m still learning every day, but that is what makes this life so phenomenal and so impactful. I get to tell the story of the best day of people’s lives. I’ve now been a cinematographer for five years, and what a great five years it’s been.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Overall the journey has been smooth, but like any business there have been bumpy roads along the journey. Some of those are figuring out the best way to communicate with couples, knowing how and when to invest more resources into the business, and most recently how to navigate the struggle that has been the COVID-19 pandemic. This year has tested not only myself, but GGC as well. We’ve been working with couples this year that are struggling to make sure their wedding is still feasible, and that has really taken a toll on not only them, but GGC as well. Our biggest priority is to make sure our couples are taken care of, so we’ve been blessed to be able to work with couples on date changes, venue changes and more. Our biggest hope though, and our biggest goal, is to make sure that no matter the circumstances, we’re still delivering the same standard of excellency even in a climate of the pandemic.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Like I said earlier, our main priority in our films is the story. Wedding cinematography is so different than other mediums of film because it’s so spontaneous. On sets, you’re able to have a set schedule, a set shot list, a set call sheet, and set actors. In weddings, you’re in the wild. You’re planning not only the shots as they’re happening, but you’re also keeping a mental log of how you want to edit the final highlight. But that’s why I love it so much. It’s a rush, and it makes every wedding I film different and exciting. I’d say one thing the business is really proud of is our turnaround time. Editing is one of, if not the most important piece of videography. You can film amazing things and nail every shot, but if it doesn’t come together in a cohesive story in the final edit, it’s no good. At GGC we strive to have final highlights to the couple on their one month anniversary. This is a huge achievement for us because often edits are delivered four to six months post wedding. This is extremely difficult and requires many late night editing sessions, but it’s worth it in the end because our couples are still fresh from their wedding, and sometimes are just getting back from honeymoons so we often hear how much of a gift it is to them on their one month anniversary.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success for GGC is not how many weddings we book a year, or how much we make off those weddings, but if we are capturing the couple in a way that tells their story and who they are truly as people and as a couple. Some of my favorite films GGC has captured aren’t the highest budget ones, but the ones where you can tell the couple is so infatuated with each other that it’s overwhelming. Those have been our most successful films.

Contact Info:

• Email: gavyn@gavyngates.com
• Website: gavyngates.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gavyngatescreations/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKZhmcyNLHzXlDWftoTnakA?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
Featured image was taken by the amazing and very talented Makayla McGarvey!