"I can hardly remember a thing about the
day, and I didn't get to eat any of the food," a close friend
lamented to me about her recent wedding. "But I know I had a
great time." She treasures her wonderful wedding photos, but
in retrospect, she regrets not having the event recorded on
video. Another friend would have sooner served peanut butter
sandwiches at his wedding than have the festivities videotaped.
"I think video cameras are a real intrusion," he said. "The
lights alone are a distraction." Opinions are definite on the
subject of videotaping.
Required? No. But the practice of recording the ceremony and
reception on video has become commonplace on the North American
wedding scene. The whirlwind of the event, and the monumental
nature of the process is often more than couples can take in,
and large periods of time simply don't lodge in their memory
banks. With a video recording of everything that transpired
on the day, the couple can fill in the blanks and maybe even
glimpse a few special moments they would never have seen at
all.
Intrusive? Not any more. Just as the development of fast film
allowed photographers to take wonderful photographs in conditions
of low light, so too has videotape and equipment evolved to
accommodate a candlelight ceremony or a church lit only by the
stained glass windows. There are definitely videographers around
who have not updated their equipment, and if hired, would show
up with floodlights, prompting guests to raise their palms against
the glare. But the best videographers will tell you as Sandy
Brooke of Brooke Video Productions told us, "This is not a Hollywood
set." They will bring only the lights that are absolutely necessary.
When and where to book? Good videographers like good caterers
and ideal locations will book up early, so it's not unrealistic
to start interviewing a year ahead of your wedding date. If
you have a hard time locating a professional you like, your
other wedding service providers may be able to help, as can
friends and family. Your best contact will be your photographer
who has probably worked in tandem with many videographers. It
is quite common to find photography studios with a videography
arm, so ask, and ask early. The manager of the reception location
has surely worked with videographers, and wedding caterers are
invariably a good source of inside information.
Show me your credentials. Once you have the recommendations,
you'll want to see the artist's work. The elements of the videographer's
work you should pay attention to can be summed up by the acronym,
F.O.C.E.S. which stands for Focus, Originality, Clarity, Editing
and Sound. Shots should be in sharp focus throughout the work.
You should feel that the video you're watching is original,
unlike any other wedding video you've seen (or at least shares
elements of the best recordings). The colors and lighting should
be clear and never gloomy. The shots should not linger unnecessarily,
cut away sharply, or go out of focus in a well-edited video.
Finally, the sound should be clear at all times. If you are
shown interviews, you should be able to understand what people
are saying. Speeches should all be clear and without too much
ambient crowd noise.
Ask the videographer to show you tapes of several other clients
whose celebrations took place in a location and conditions similar
to those you've chosen. Then ask if you can contact the clients
directly as references. If you encounter resistance, this should
be a red flag that clients weren't satisfied with the work.
Lastly, be sure that the videographer whose tape you're watching,
and not another employee from the same company, will be the
person filming your wedding. In the final analysis, Sandy Brooke
suggests that couples should never let the videographer overwhelm
them with technical talk about their latest equipment acquisition.
Instead she suggests they "see the production and follow their
hearts."
Show some style. You'll essentially have three options of the
style of video you choose. Whichever style you decide upon,
you should go over the shots and people you definitely want
the videographer to capture on tape. He or she will know all
the standard shots to cover such as the first dance and cutting
the cake, but capturing all the people you want on film is more
difficult. It may be a good idea on the day to assign someone
who knows both families and some of your friends to show the
video team who's who.
The Straight Shot video (also called Straight Cut)
covers the event in its entirety as it occurs. This version
is usually quite long since the filming is in real time. The
final product can be several hours long. There is little or
no editing in this production, and only one camera is used,
resulting in the lowest cost of all the options. The Documentary
Format (which is sometimes called the Director's cut) presents
the wedding as a story, often containing interviews with the
couple and significant friends and family, filmed both before
and after the event. With this format you will usually receive
a finished product at a very watchable one-hour length. Because
of editing costs, this is a more expensive choice than the straight
shot video. The Nostalgic video is the most expensive variety,
since it includes both editing and special effects, such as
titles and dissolves. These videos often use more than one camera
and include such extras as shots of childhood photos, clips
from old home movies, as well as interviews.
Type the tape. The variety of film or videotape the videographer
uses will determine the quality of the finished picture you'll
see. The quality from lowest to highest stacks up as follows:
VHS, 8mm, Hi-8, SVHS. Hi Fi tapes produce the best sound quality.
Some videographers have also begun to offer digital video production
which provides a high quality finished product. Costs and contracts.
After speaking with several video production companies, we determined
that the cost of a well produced wedding video starts at about
$1000 and goes up from there, reaching a rare high of around
$6000. The price is most dramatically affected by editing, special
effects, extra music and the number of cameras used.
Be sure that all the options you've decided upon are covered
in the contract you sign with the videographer. The following
information should be covered in writing:
Your deposit
Balance due and when
Any overtime clause and charges
Additional charges such as mileage
Scheduled time of the shoot
Arrival and departure times
Location of the coverage (both ceremony and reception)
Attire of the videographer and the crew
Editing options you've chosen
A delivery date for the finished film
Any special needs
Choosing the right videographer has become for many people as
important as selecting the right photographer. Treat the process
seriously and you'll find the right person to cover your wedding.
If you hire a professional, the product will be of the highest
standard. Sure, your cousin who volunteered to shoot the wedding
for free might have great videos of his three year old at the
zoo, but remember, this will be a zoo of a whole different variety.
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