Amanda + Max Blog — Salt + Pine Films

“One in a lifetime, if you’re lucky, you find your someone.”

Max and Amanda met in the second grade. As they like to tell it, Max was immediately smitten. Amanda didn’t even know who he was. One day in second grade English class, they were working on a question and answer form. On that paper, they gave them the prompt “Who are you going to marry?”. Max wrote Amanda’s name. The two of them grew up together, but they wouldn’t finally start dating until their senior year of high school. They chose Italy not only because they got engaged there, but because Amanda visited often throughout her childhood. It became one of their favorite places - one that they wanted to share with their circle of friends. They have no shortage of love to share - with each other or with anyone around them. They are down for just about anything, almost as if they deeply understand that life is a true adventure and you get back what you give.

We filmed their wedding over a few days in Tuscany, surrounded by their close family and friends. This was not just simply a destination wedding for them. It was an opportunity to share a piece of the world with people that they shared their hearts with - giving others what they loved experiencing for themselves. It was understanding this that allowed us to create this film - imbuing it with their laughter, their candidness, and their generosity of heart.

“It was understanding this that allowed us to create this film - imbuing it with their laughter, their candidness, and their generosity of heart.”

As much as we pride ourselves on being storytellers, it’s A+M that are the true authors of their story. In terms of editing, this film was heavily inspired by 1960s Italian cinema. The first third of this film reflects our getting to know A + M over the first couple of days. The editing is more obvious and our hand in telling the story is more direct. There are fast montages that reflect all the new people you’re meeting and how there is so much to do and see at a destination wedding. The second section works as a bridge building up to the wedding day. Towards the end we take our hands off the editing process a bit and hand things over to A + M to finish telling the story in their own words. By this point in filming we had the chance to get so comfortable with A + M; seeing their love and bright personalities so clearly. As we spent more and more time with A+M, we got more comfortable in letting a scene breathe, giving it time to sit on screen. The story - the love - was right there in front of us, palpable and bursting with every quick glance, in every giggle. There was no need to over edit when they themselves could carry the narrative. The heart of this story was playing out in front of the camera, not behind the computer. The filmmaking process becomes more about creating space for the couple to be their authentic selves and to feel the freedom to show their full range of emotions. We then merely need to capture it and play it back.

The Teaser

In the opening, we see a bird silhouette by a curtain. There’s an air of mystery, of not quite seeing the whole picture yet. We cut to a shot of A + M running - in the throes of young love, chasing after each other as we do when youth is on our side and love is in our hearts. The bird represents their relationship: mid flight and looking for a place to call home.

From there it’s all about mood and anticipation. We have scenes in black and white that bloom into color as A looks out to where she’ll have her first touch with M. There’s a vintage charm to Italy; a love of love through the ages. One that still persists in the narrow streets, vineyards, and galleries. In all forms of Italian storytelling - art, film, poetry, music - there is an admiration for conviviality and romance. In the shot choice and sound design we really wanted these elements to shine through.

In the film’s closing, we're left with a long drone shot ascending above A+M’s reception, watching them dance without concern atop a stone table, leaving them to their fun as we, the audience, depart. The final shot is of a sleepy villa cat gently closing its eyes. During our weekend there, we watched that cat chase recklessly after birds. In our mind, he’s dreaming about the bird from the opening shot, ever chasing after something it longs for; the thrill of longing for something and then finally catching it. In second grade, M said he would marry A one day. The cat represents their long history, finally taking a breath after its eventful journey and happy in knowing the chase was worth it.