Can Gemma and Mark’s Montage From ‘Severance’ Be The Next Wedding Filming Trend?

Gen Z has been turning towards old technology to capture memories (hello, South Korean photography trend Youngtro!), and Severance’s latest episode can prove to be another great inspiration for future brides and grooms for their wedding photography.

The show’s last episode, from the ongoing second season, ended on a cliffhanger but gave us some insights into the relationship between the two main leads- Mark (Adam Scott) and Gemma (Dichen Lachman).

SPOILER ALERT! Towards the end of episode seven, ‘Chikhai Bardo’, we see the couple’s past through a beautiful montage of a life that the duo once shared as a married couple. And though their circumstances outside the flashback seem bleak, we can’t help but fall a little in love with the medley of their best moments together.

For those unversed, Severance stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Dichen Lachman, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry, John Turturro and Tramell Tillman and features a plotline in an ambiguous period, where employees of a mysterious organisation choose to undergo a procedure that severs their minds and splits it into two personalities, one for work, one for their personal life. Naturally, there are questions surrounding the ethics of the procedure and these two opposing ideas are the foundation of the show.

Mark and Gemma’s flashback in the second season seemed to be shot on a 90s camcorder. The texture of the visuals appears grainy and old-timey (my millennial self is cringing as I call camcorder recordings ‘old-timey,’ but ‘vintage’ sounds ancient). Due to the nostalgic feeling the video conveys, there is a sense of romance to it. And though there has been plenty of humorous commentary on how this is a typical style of video-making from the 90s, you cannot deny its allure. 

When we dug a little deeper, we discovered that this style of video is part of the Dogme 95, a Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement that was quite popular between 1995 and 2006. The movement required video and films to be shot on hand-held cameras, and in the 90s and 2000s, camcorders usually produced a lower-resolution image which was grainy.

Over the past few years, Gen Z has begun turning to older and simpler technology to shoot videos and photos, thanks to good old nostalgia. “Weddings are deeply sentimental, and couples want their photos to feel timeless—like they belong in a family album, not just in phone galleries. The retro look, from vintage cameras or film, adds warmth and nostalgia, making them feel more special,” says photographer Bhavya Kapoor.

Would you go for a vintage aesthetic for your wedding album?