It’s Your Wedding – Don’t Miss It!

If a picture is worth a thousand words…then video is an encyclopedia
They say our most valuable possessions are the memories of our life experiences. Since the beginning of recorded history, the marriage celebration has been the high point of a family’s celebrations. Preserving the memories with motion and sound is one of the wisest investments you can make. Choosing the best videographer is a decision that takes research and careful consideration.

IT’S YOUR WEDDING …DON’T MISS IT
A string quartet softly fills the air with classical music. The mothers are wearing elegant gowns. After being escorted to their seats, they light two candles adjoining the unity candle. The man of your dreams walks to the center aisle and takes a deep breath. Your best friends carefully march to the front and await your arrival. Sighs fill the air as your niece, the most adorable flower girl the world has ever seen drops rose petals on a white runner…and you are not even in the room. You are standing in the hall with Dad getting ready to make your entrance. Without a quality wedding video, you will have missed important moments that you have been planning since childhood.

UNOBTRUSIVE
Video is naturally less obtrusive than photography. There is no need to pose or arrange people. A video camera is silent and the newer digital cameras work in such low light that rarely is a light needed on the camera. A skilled videographer will be able to catch all the events and the interactions with your guests without you being aware of their presence. When you think about it, all the emotion, drama, suspense and lighter moments are built into the event. There should be no need to perform for the camera. Look for a videographer who will work in the background without becoming the overbearing director of your event.

CALM, CONFIDENT & QUIET
Attitudes and emotions are contagious. That is why so many wedding professionals have chosen to be at a wedding event every weekend. The love and excitement that wedding party’s exuberant will leave us feeling truly good about life. In turn, our attitudes and emotions will have an effect on the people with which we are working. Choose wedding professionals who will make you feel both calm and confident.

WOW! THIS LOOKS AND SOUNDS LIKE TV
If you are going to watch it on TV, it should be of the same quality as the other programs you watch. In order to have a great quality wedding video you need a videographer who has the right equipment and is skilled in the areas of camera work, sound recording and editing. Make sure the videographers you interview are full-time professionals who use three chip digital cameras for high resolution and great color. Ask if they will attend your rehearsal to properly plan for camera angles and microphone placement. Unless you want to assume the liability for their actions, make sure they carry liability insurance and have a business license. When you visit, do not be afraid to ask and see proof. Look at sample videos from actual weddings shot by the videographer who will be shooting your wedding and evaluate for smooth and steady camera work. Do the people on the tape look natural or staged? Can you feel the emotion? Listen carefully to the audio from the music, minister, vows, readers, vocalists and the D.J.’s introductions and toasts from the reception. An experienced videographer will have carefully miked all of the above. The on-camera microphone will never produce better than home video sound. Choose a full-time professional with quality equipment, skill and experience.

THE BIG PICTURE
The love that a couple feels for each other will be with them for the rest of their life. Getting in touch with these feelings years down the road might be a challenge for some. Having a Love Story produced where the details of your romance are documented may very well be the vehicle that will take you back to the time when your love was new. Many couples will have their video include additional important elements of the wedding process such as obtaining a marriage license, a visit to the site of the first meeting or date, recreating the proposal, final fitting of the dress or a visit to the tuxedo shop. When wedding video is produced to its potential, it will do more than just record what you look like and what you say, it will truly capture all the emotions of planning the biggest day of your life. Choose a videographer who is willing to customize coverage the way you want.

HOW MUCH SHOULD PROFESSIONAL VIDEO COST
The going rate for an experienced camera operator who owns Broadcast Quality equipment is between $100 & $150 per hour. When you consider (depending on the coverage you select) the time to plan, shoot and edit a professional wedding video will be anywhere from 15 to 60 hours, you can estimate what the cost should be for a top quality wedding video. You can always find somebody who will do it for less, if you are willing to accept a lower level of skill and quality. Sometimes it is better to spend more than you have planned, instead of less than you should.

THE TRUE VALUE OF VIDEO
A young couple in my office was up front about deciding whether to include professional video in their budget. I asked them to picture themselves owning a film of their grandparent’s wedding day and how much it would mean to them. She replied that her grandparents did indeed hire a professional to record a 16mm film of their wedding. I offered to buy it from her and asked her for a price. She said, “I could never part with that film, it’s family history and probably the most important thing I will ever own.” That was precisely the point. Having a professional wedding video produced will provide joy to your family now and for generations to come. Capture the romance by investing in a professionally produced wedding video.

About The Author: John Goolsby has produced over 1500 professional wedding videos working in 14 different states and 9 countries. He is a Certified Professional Videographer and Master of Electronic Imaging and has taught video communication at California Baptist University and the University of California-Riverside. He has won numerous awards including the PROVA award for the best wedding video in the United States three times and is the Past-President and Honorary Lifetime member of Professional Photographers of California and a Wedding Video Hall of Fame Inductee. You can reach him at (800) 495-5530 or www.AmericanVideographer.com

Choosing A Videographer For Your Wedding

One of the fastest growing wedding services today is Wedding Videography. It stands to reason, because the video medium is something with the movement and sounds of the most important event of your life. Twenty years down the road, you can see and hear your vows, as well as your parents and grandparents as they were on your special day.

Wedding Videographers range in services, as well as prices, equipment and experience. Many people think, “I’ll get my Uncle Charley to use his video camera, and I’ll save a couple hundred bucks.” Well, this may save you a couple hundred bucks, but the video that you will view for a lifetime will look like you saved a couple hundred bucks. While your friends will be using a home camcorder (VHS or 8mm), the 1st category of Videographers will be using S-VHS or Hi-8, and the serious professional will be using the new digital formats; either DV, DVCAM, or DVCPro with twice the resolution. The quality difference can definitely be seen. The professional will be using more than one camera at the ceremony which will be edited or mixed together.

Some available services include remote cameras placed at the front of the ceremony. These cameras are operated from a control station (usually in a side room), where they have the capability of panning from side to side, tilting up and down, zooming in and out, as well as focusing. These cameras eliminate the need from someone being partially hidden behind the choir banister or at the alter while getting that special shot of the smiles of the bride and groom, the tears of the mother, the groom caressing the bride’s hand, the rings, and on and on. This also keeps the focus on the ceremony, instead of your uncle trying to put out the fire that he caused when he tripped over the candelabra.

Other services include wireless mikes picking up the quivering voices as you say “I do”. These are usually only picked up on the video, and not the “house” system, so you don’t have to worry about saying “I love you” to your new husband in the middle of the ceremony and the whole church hearing you. Other usual services of the professional include the scrolling of the words of the invitation at the beginning of the video, a “video collage” of pictures or videos of your childhood or dating, and even a re-cap of the day; making a “music video” of your wedding. Most professionals will give you three copies of the video, one for you, and one for each of your parents.

Some Videographers mix the video from 3 or 4 cameras “live” as they are recording during the ceremony, which gives you one generation better quality, recording backup tapes (just in case), as well as mixing the audio from the wireless mikes on the groom and the minister, the organ, the sound track, the soloist and any other sources.

While you will watch your wedding video more than you will look at your wedding album, don’t expect to pay your Videographer quite as much as your Photographer. A professional Videographer’s services for that special day can range from $650.00 for the ceremony, to $1000.00 and up for reception as well as other services provided. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and unfortunately that usually stands true for the videography business as well.

First; meet the Videographer. Assure your personality does not clash with them so you could work out any last minute details should they arise. Second; see a sample of their work. The professional Videographer can show you past weddings, and the quality of their work. Third; ask about remote cameras, wireless lapel mikes, and other special things that you might want such as black and white capabilities, graphics, transitions (fades or flips from camera to camera). Fourth; glance around the studio for magazines like “Wedding Videography Today”, DV”, or “Videomaker”. Ask about their association with memberships like “Wedding and Event Videographers Association International” (WEVA). Assure that your Videographer cares enough to go to seminars and Video Expos, as well as reading about new innovative ideas on how to make your wedding video the best possible.

A professional Videographer understands who the customer is, and that you are the boss. Tell the professional exactly what you want in detail, he will put it in writing so there will be no “I thought that you said..”, and you will get what you wanted. You’re not skimping on the quality and the beauty of your dress, so make sure that you don’t skimp on the remembrance of your special day.

About The Author: David Selph is owner of ADVANCED VIDEO PRODUCTIONS, Augusta, GA. He started in video in the late 70′s in the production of cable TV shows. He started videoing weddings in 1987, and he and wife Leticia (with a degree in communications) continues today, as well as directing live programming for an Augusta TV station. They videotape Weddings and other special occasions such as Pageants and Church Services, Promotional Videos, and Commercials. You can contact him through www.Advanced-Video.net

Why Have A Professional Wedding Video?

Your wedding day, you’ve dreamed of this day your entire life, whether it’s a sparkling, intimate gathering or a dazzling grand celebration. You’ve seen pictures, movies, and visions in your head. The only way to relive those memories is in color, on video…so the dreams you’ve created in your mind are those that you will see in reality forever.

That sounds nice, right, but what does it really mean? After filming hundreds upon hundreds of weddings, I think I am more than qualified to answer this question and perhaps offer some important insight into the world of professional wedding videography. Many brides and grooms are overwhelmed with the amount of planning that it takes to create a wedding day worthy of their expectations. Of course the economics of the event are usually a big consideration whether you are planning a smaller wedding or the next big Trump-like affair. There are many expenses associated with planning any wedding, but it is so important to remember to prioritize. What will you have left after the actual wedding day is over, when all the cake is eaten and all the champagne has been toasted away? After months, sometimes years of planning your wedding, wouldn’t you want a fabulous wedding video of this incredible day? It never ceases to amaze me when a bride will actually pay more for seat covers at a reception than she is willing to spend on a wedding video. The seat covers, though lovely, will be sat upon, and hardly seen (they will be under people most of the time). But of course a well filmed and edited professional wedding video will be a tangible piece of priceless memories that can be shared for generations to come. I think if more couples really considered this reality, the chair covers may take a back seat!

Most of today’s brides and grooms are well educated and savvy, yet I think many of them have an outdated impression of “wedding video” as a whole. Unfortunately, television shows that exploit “funny” wedding videos, complete with every mishap in the book, have given false ideas to some people. They may be afraid they will be made to look bad or that the video itself will be boring. I am here to scream, shout, yell from the highest rooftops that if you choose a great videographer you will have a priceless memory that you will want to watch over and over again for the rest of your lives. Anyone who has seen what the current wave of top professional wedding videographers are producing will know how breathtaking, beautiful, and emotional a wedding video can be. The wedding video industry has evolved so much in the last twenty years. It’s a whole new ball game out there, where top videographers are producing “knock your socks off” cinematic mini movies starring YOU!

Let’s not even get into the “we’re having a good friend film our wedding with their new mini DV camera from Circuit City” syndrome. BIG MISTAKE, HUGH! You will be so disappointed when after the first 15 seconds of the bride walking down the aisle with her beaming father, clutching her trembling arm, the camera suddenly drops to the church floor and all you hear is your “good friend” cursing the equipment. Even if you have friends or family kindly offering to help, do you really want to trust some of THE MOST important moments of your life to an amateur?

Okay, so you’re a smart bride and groom and you have decided to hire a professional wedding videographer for your wedding, you won’t be sorry (if you choose the right company). Here are some tips on what to look for and what to ask.

Always look for professionalism combined with a high quality of service. Find out how long the videographer has been in business and make sure that videography is their profession. “Weekend” videographers can give the industry a bad name. They may be cheaper, but be prepared for the results. But by the same token, you don’t have to spend $4,000, $7,000, $10,000 or more, to have a fabulous wedding video. There are some really great videographers who can produce a wedding video (that you will love) for under $2,000. It just depends on your budget and how much you want to spend. There are three main things to consider when choosing your wedding videographer. First, the videographer themselves. Personality and professionalism are so important in your choice. Don’t be afraid to call a videographer and ask questions. Ask about the video packages they may offer, ask about pricing, ask as many questions as you like, this is an important choice for your very important day! Second, view actual demos of the work so you can see the artistic level and quality. Does the demo move you, do you feel the emotion? With great state of the art editing, a really good videographer can turn wedding day imagery into a masterpiece. Most top videographers have video samples right on their web sites that you can view anytime, anywhere. And third, is price. As I have already said, there is a difference in price ranges. And here’s a really important tip, start looking for your videographer as soon as you begin planning your wedding. Unlike a florist or bakery who can handle many, many weddings per day, a video company will have a limit to how many weddings they can film per day. You don’t want to miss out, the really top videographers with great prices will book up very fast and far in advance. And remember, your videographer is not just a “vendor”, but rather a hired professional “artist” who will be with you, and your family, capturing some of the most intimate and special moments of your life.

I believe in professional wedding videography. It preserves images, sounds, and feelings from those people you love and from those times of your life, that otherwise would simply fade away. Just imagine being able to see your grandmother’s wedding, well fast forward fifty years and maybe that is a gift you can give to your grandchildren. Videos mastered on DVD are archival and will last for generations to come. A great wedding video can help us piece together the fabric of remembrance. It can make you laugh, cry and hopefully make you grateful you skipped the pricey seat covers!

About the Author: Harlene Conlin; along with husband and business partner Gary, created YOU’RE THE STAR VIDEO PRODUCTIONS in Santa Barbara, California. This year marks the companies twenty year anniversary in business. In that time they have proudly filmed over 3000 weddings and events all over California and coast to coast. Harlene and Gary are also the founding members of the prestigious “Santa Barbara Event Professionals” and members of “WEVA International”. YOU’RE THE STAR VIDEO PRODUCTIONS has a client base which includes many celebrities, along with sports and political figures who appreciate their unobtrusive style combined with a high level of quality and confidentiality. Harlene and Gary have an artistic, creative, and cinematic approach to wedding videography. For more about YOU’RE THE STAR VIDEO PRODUCTIONS please visit http://www.see-your-memories.com