The father of the groom is actually my old youth pastor...so I don't think there will be much worries about that. Thanks for your opinion though. I'll definately ask if they want any specific shots.

-Dan

Dan, if at all possible, get a second camera and a friend to operate it. The bride only comes down the aisle once: if for some reason you miss the moment, there's no way to do it over. That second camera can really save the day.

Also, if you can, put a wireless mic on the groom. If you can't, put the second camera as close to the bride, groom and pastor as possible and run a wire from the camera to a mic placed close to them on a stand. If you can't get a mic up there, then put the second camera in the front row and use the camera mic. Hearing the vows is more important than getting good video of the vows being spoken. It doesn't matter how good the video is if folks can't hear what's being said.

Also, no matter what, use a tripod. Once the bride walks down the aisle, getting closeups of the bride, groom, pastor and any readers is important, and you can't get good closeups without having the camera rock solid on a tripod. You'll probably have to be at the rear of the church, so you'll have to zoom in to get tight shots and the tripod will assure that those shots look really good.

At the reception, the "must have" shots are of the bride and groom coming into the reception hall, the cake cutting, toasts, first dance, garter and bouquet throwing. If they're leaving in a special way -- in a Rolls Royce, for example -- you'll probably want to tape that as well.

If you still have the second camera person available, have them stand near the DJ's speakers while the toasts are being given. This camera will pick up what's being said by the folks using the mic for the toasts. If you're alone, get as close to the toast givers as possible so your camera mic can pick up what's said.

My suggestions don't describe the ideal, but I don't imagine you have access to sophisticated sound equipment and what I've described here will work.

Get some good shots of guests going through the buffet line and at dinner. Don't use pictures of them eating or chewing (looks pretty awful), but go for folks talking, laughing, etc.

Shoot some of the dancing standing on a chair. This provides a nice change in your shots, as well as giving a good view of the dancers.

Finally, think about the whole wedding day this way: I'm going to make a video to send to a friend of the bride's who couldn't get to the wedding. I want to tell the story of the wedding day, and show all the neat things that happened along the way, so this "friend" can share in the excitement and wonder of the occasion. If you shoot with this in mind, and edit accordingly, you'll make a newly wed couple very happy when they see your video.

Good luck.

Jack

I don't do weddings, but ask the B&G to provide any amateur videos or stills they get for possible use in the video. If the professional still photographer releases all rights, you can use his too. Ask permission and give credit to any amateur images used.

These can be used for fill in places where video is a total loss, and to make a montage in the beginning or end.

Consider doing some shots of the bride and groom getting ready. Attend the rehearsa and get familiar with the cameral!!!!!

Check out some of the wedding videos posted by GM Elliott and others for shooting and editing techniques.

Good Luck

I agree with pmasters.
You are better off doing fabulous work and asking giant money or not do it at all.
I did still photo's in the 70's. Grumpy and difficult people all of the time. I was once asked to do a wedding (last minute) but declined because I had a better gig for one hour during the reception. They begged because they could not find anyone else. I agreed with the understanding that I would be gone during the reception for 1.5 hours. All was fine but later they complained about it. I saw a fight between groom and his father (fists) and brides that just never smiled. Not all bad, 50% were ok, but the other 50% made it a pain.

JackW has some great advice. You should also listen a little to the advice of pmasters, even though I know you're going to do this no matter what. However, in support of his remarks, I remember doing the still photography for a wedding back in 1973 when I was in college, and the strobe didn't work right and the results were, shall we say, less than ideal. Not too many happy people, and I didn't get to charge a dime for my work.

The one useful thing I would add is that you should go to the church at least a day before the wedding and understand how and where you want to set up. You absolutely MUST have a second (or third) camera. I have my old S-VHS unit, and I usually set that up in the back of the church, plug the power supply into the wall, pop in a two hour tape (it is a full-sized unit) and just let it grind. When all else fails, or if I need a cover shot, I've got the old S-VHS tape. (Of course, if you've got a friend with a DV or Digital8 unit, for sure use that instead. You can use an 80 minute tape, start it just before the wedding, and let it grind).

The other thing is to test out any borrowed equipment, in the church, before the wedding day. I taped a relative's wedding (much like you are going to do) and borrowed a wireless mic. What I didn't realize is that this particular unit absolutely required that the antenna on the base unit be pulled all the way out. I didn't do that. As a result, the audio from the mic was scratchy and muffled. Fortunately -- thanks to Vegas -- I was able to mix in just enough of the audio from another camera to provide a certain amount of ambiance and high-end fidelity to make the audio still sound closely-miked, yet not muffled.

If I had the antenna pulled all the way out, I would have picked up the conversation between the minister (who was wearing the mic) and the groom when he arrived 15 minutes late. The little bit that I did pick up was hilarious and would have made a great "extras" section for the DVD.

First, if posible, sit in a few wedding rehearsals and a wedding prior to the event
so you know what is most likely be the order of the service.

Record a worship service prior so you can hear the sound of the room on the tape.
If possible record video about an hour later than the planned service (due to
changing sunset this time of year) to get an idea of lighting and what lens settings
will give you best results.

Get to know the equipment, no reading the manual the night before the event.

If possible get someone to make an audio tape or CD off the church's sound
equipment so you have a clean audio source. Camcorders often will make
motor noise.

Try and use a wireless mic for the groom to pick up "I DOs".

Harold,

That was my experience as well. When you got a B&G who were cool, everything went fine and I made some money without losing my hair. But then on those projects where the B&G dont pay as much, they expect the world.

Funny story. One time, I had a B&G beg me to do their wedding. I agreed and did it for $500 less than my usual price and told them I would give them the premium package (2 hours before event, the event itself, and the reception afterwards.) End of the night everything went well and I settled up my invoice with the B&G's parents. Then the groom comes over and asks if I am ready to head out and get some rest before the next day. I'm like "Huh?"

Apparently the groom thought the $1200 they paid me was not only for what I listed, but also his honeymoon. The ENTIRE honeymoon. So I tell the guy, "No way dude." He's like, "I paid you $1200. Thats more than most people make in a week." So I asked him where I was supposed to stay and who was paying for it and he said he expected me to use my new "windfall" to foot the bill. I told him I dont usually film honeymoons but if they paid another $3k plus expenses that I would be game (they were going to Jamaica) until I found out that he also expected me to film the consumation. Too much for me so I declined. Then he offered to "rent" my camera for $250 and that he would return it to me when he got back. I just shook my head and walked away.wondering just how much the groom drank that night.

I just went to a wedding this past Saturday for an in law and I offered last year to shoot their wedding. Sister in law declined and said that their uncle was going to film it. Saturday rolls around and they call me at home while I was getting ready and asked me if I could bring my camera because their uncle didnt have one. I'm like WTF, how did he plan on shooting it? Then my wife (bridesmaid) gets on the phone and threaten s me with the couch unless I do my family part and help out.

So the entire night, I am watching this dude with my camera making sure nothing happens to it. I get my camera back at the end of the night and he leaves his tapes in my bag. I take it home and the WHOLE footage is shaky and unbalanced. The bride was not too happy and said the uncle told her that it was a "sh*tty" camera. So lets just say I have been on the couch this week.

It seems like anytime someone asks for advice on shooting, producing, etc, the worst experiences possible are always the ones told. Here is some CONSTRUCTIVE advice.



If you haven't shot a wedding before, do this one gratis. If you are offered a tip at the end of the night, great, if not, you got some experience, and if there are complaints, well, it isn't like they PAID for it.



BE PREPARED! This means extra batteries, extra tapes, and, like most of the other posts have stated, extra cameras. Even if the Bride and Groom only want the ceremony shot from one angle, you can keep a backup camera with you in case of a tape jam, dirty heads, etc. Also, as stated above, go to the rehearsal if possible and check out the lighting, sound possibilities, maybe tape a little of it, but maybe most important, WATCH THE BLOCKING OF THE PARTICIPANTS. It really stinks when during the ceremony you can't tape the bride and groom because you are parked behind the very TALL best man, and picking up and moving the tripod during the ceremony, well, it just doesn't work very well. Also, be sure to speak with the officiant (Minister, Priest, Shaman, whatever) to be sure you can shoot from the place you want to shoot. Do this during the rehearsal.



Talk with the bride and groom and find out what they are expecting. Maybe they just want a simple video of their wedding. You should see some of the crap that passes for "professional" wedding video. I've seen one that looked like a security camera parked in a corner of the chapel. You MUST find out what they expect, and then do a little more.



Just before, or just after the ceremony, go around the chapel and tape different things. Tape the candles, the organ pipes, do a pan over the cross or other religious symbols. Get close-ups of some of the attendees. These make for excellent cut away shots if you end up editing the footage and you have a camera shake to cover up, need to move the camera, or have a long sequence that needs to be broken up a little. Just watch the continuity, especially with the unity candles.



It isn't rocket science. If someone is asking you to do this as a favor, most of the time it is because they believe you will do a little better than they will, and, YOU WILL. Good luck, and if you have any specific questions, post back. I'll be happy to help if I can. Best of luck.



Corey

Policy: "if my camera is on the job, I'm firmly attached". Certainly I don't lend to relatives, no matter how great they perceive their expertise. Guess I'd make an exception for DSE, but that is an unlikely situation! Anyway uncle is making the video, so give him the tapes.

> Just before, or just after the ceremony, go around the chapel and tape different things. Tape the candles, the organ pipes, do a pan over the cross or other religious symbols. Get close-ups of some of the attendees. These make for excellent cut away shots

Don’t underestimate the value of B-roll (cut away) shots. Let’s say you are in a bad position and you have to move the tripod. You know the footage while moving is worthless but if you taped some footage of the audience; you can always cut away to it while the audio is still rolling on the camera you are moving. No one will be the wiser.

I did a single camera shoot of a “roast” for a priest that was leaving our church. Being able to cut away to shots of the members on the panel and audience during long monologues really broke up the monotony and gave the illusion of a two camera shoot. Film the audience for a little bit during the parts of the ceremony that aren’t so critical and it will be an insurance policy against anything that might go wrong later (not to mention it breaks up the long sermon) ;-)

Ditto on what others have said. Like a good boy scout, be prepared! And don’t forget to have fun.

~jr

IMHO weddings are for retired hobbyists with pensions so big they don't really need the money, and they have nothing better to do on Saturday. Or for kids living in their parents' basements with a PC an NLE and camera and no projects to work on and no groceries to buy or rent ot pay.
You certainly don't do weddings for money.
You're going to knock youself out shooting and editing a project for minimum wage when worked out on an hourly basis.
The couple will want an hour and a half, inlcuding ALL of uncle Albert's 23 minute monotone diatribe.
And there is NO way to make that interesting or entertaining.
They'll find the transitions either too cheezy or too plain.
They won't want your royalty-free legal music.
They'll want ripped off tunes. And you better provide them.
The bride's mother will be asking "are you getting this?"
The best man will want you to get that "dirty dancing" thing going on in the corner.
The bride will be upset if it ends up on the DVD, even though she's the star of the scene.
Some will want bubbles,---some smoke.
It'll drive you nuts.
If that's your idea of a satisfying occupation go for it.
Otherwise use your knowledge and talent doing real jobs.
Training, promotional, commercial, docs.
Do non-profit stuff it you want to work for almost nothing.
At least you'll get a thank you. And maybe even an award.
You'll still have to handle complaints and make compromises.
But at the end of it you may be appreciated.
Weddings,---schmeddings.
But If you must do weddings,---overcharge.
Because no amount is too much to do a wedding.

................You certainly don't do weddings for money.

i dont know about that, having my daughter married in April, i hired a company and got to know them pretty welI, can promise you they are making 6 figures. pretty serious cash to me.


Advice,, learn the camera, learn the setting, and have fun. If you are doing this as favor do the best you can , make sure you know what you are expected to shoot , and dont let us yahoos here scare you to death.

The poor guy is only 16. Remember the days you guys entered this thing. My advise to you is listent to the good advise here, it's pretty difficult but you can do it. Relax and view the wedding in your mind. There is a lot of wedding clips on the internet that I have went to and learned from them.

I have done many weddings, some free, I got the experience that way.

Do the best you can. Have Fun.

MAC

can promise you they are making 6 figures

Six figures???? - As in $100,000 for one wedding???? If so, I gotta go work for them! Even better - gotta go work for you!

I do weddings all the time, but I am very picky about who I film for. If I don't feel right about doing it for them, I don't. I do have a contract though that I use that covers the whole gambit and works quiet well for my area of the world. Here is a link to my contract http://www.jrazzcreations.com/j razz creations Video Contract.pdf I would suggest that if you are going to start doing weddings, make sure that you have a contract that covers you. My contract also gives a diagram about camera placement that may be helpful.
So far, I have not had but one complaint from a customer and that was because the lighting was really dark (candlelight only) and they decided to do this after the rehearsal and before the ceremony so I had no knowledge of their plans. After they made this change, I did not know until the lights never came on and then after I gave them my product, they wanted to know why it was so dark on tv. I told them that I cannot make the the final product any brighter without noise being predominant and that it was not discussed with me prior to them doing it, so i did not have any input in the situation. I have a portion that deals with this in my contract.
Anyways, I enjoy it and like doing it and I do it to make money on the side... oh, and do run everything by the B&G as they are the ones that ultimately see that you get paid. I have had run ins with pastors but I tell them that if they don't want me to do something and the B&G do, then he will need to discuss that with the B&G as they have the final say in my book.

Here is a link to my contract http://www.jrazzcreations.com/j razz creations Video Contract.pdf
By the way, how do you get these to show up in blue on here? Thanks

Like This:

Click on View - Page Source to see the code

My Contract

Got it. Thanks Bruce

I have collected some advice for wedding videographers from many different folks here:

Wedding Advice

You may have already seen it- if you type "wedding video" into Google, that's the first page that comes up. Wedding video is a lot of work, but it can be rewarding.

OK, the guy seeking our advice is a relative of the B&G, is not too experienced and doesn't expect to get an Academy Award for the production or get wide distribution.
Let's not lose sight of the purpose of the wedding film: it is a reminder of a wonderful day and of the friends and relatives who joined with you in the celebration.
The thing is to identify your approach, spend time getting prepared, pre-plan capturing key moments (bride coming up the aisle to join groom at altar, vows, signing register, H&W walk back down aisle, etc), get good audio in key moments, and take many cutaways under all the conditions (Serena's Law: you can never take too many cutaways). Cutaways (including stills) can cover a lot of difficult video moments (like shaky moves).
No reasonable couple are asking for an academy award production. If the people involved want a high-glam video (and they can't be talked around) then they're probably not clients your need.
Think of your own wedding--10 years down the track you're more interested in the people who attended than in yourselves. Sure, you want to see how you looked and all those things, but "look, there's grandpa and aunt flo" become treasured sights. And all those speeches, most of which are not particularly interesting, are easy to include (good audio and lots of cutaways and 2 cameras if possible to give variety to the view-- here a tripod saves tired arms and at least keeps things steady) and you put chapter points in the DVD so they can be skipped. There's always other people taking videos and still, so get their material also because it can be of use (but don't promise to include it!!)
You need to discuss your intended approach to the ceremony with the celebrant. Will he object to you being in close? Shooting from 1 to 3 metres of the couple during the vows gives much more intimacy to the moment - most of the ceremony isn't a tripod situation for the close-in camera. A camera on a tripod recording a general high view (balcony) is good to have for cutting. Get a good continuous audio by any means available (besides the camera audio).
Keep in mind "no zooming" but you'll have to zoom (slow) because shots must be composed and nothing waits. Steady handheld is essential and move around where possible to get a good viewpoint. Doing this will put you in most of the stills being taken during the ceremony, but only the stills photographer will care and anyway you're a relative. Incidentally, the stills person will have much of the running before and after the ceremony and you shoot around her/his activities.
After church capture lots of interactions between people -- parents being congratulated, friends chatting (most of the audio here will be marred by noise and perhaps wind, so will have to be substituted eg music and general crowd chatter). Remember that you can include stills.
Most of the work will be done during post and Vegas has a lot of power for making things better. Check out the wedding clips posted from time to time on this site, but use them as a lesson more than a guide. Don't rush post. You might give them a rough cut after their honeymoon and a final cut when you're satified (remember Michaelangelo: POPE: "Again, when will it be finished?" M: "When it is done!"). This job isn't being paid and a good job is the aim.
DSE tells that in his part of the USA people expect a cut of the wedding for showing at the reception, which I reckon is ridiculous -- whoever let that standard get established?
Make sure you can cutaway to parents at important points (they don't have to be taken at those points, but they have to be "in character" scene context).
A wedding is a fun time, a romantic time, a family and friends time. Do the best you can. A good wedding film requires the operator to be very comfortable with the equipment, be prepared, be quick thinking, have a clear plan for guidance, be able to improvise, and build a mental preliminary cut as shooting progresses.
If anyone tells you it's easy and just for old fogies, they don't know how to do it.
Oh yes, if you have respect for your clients then they will have respect for you and help you to get the job done. You can accept or ignore inputs as appropriate. And when they're not paying they'll be really happy with any reasonable result.

WOW. Thank you guys so much for all the responses. I'm gonna read it a couple more times to make sure I remember it all. :)

He's providing 2 or 3 Sony Digital8 cameras so I'll be able to get a couple angles. The wedding isn't until December so I still have time to do some planning.

Thanks again for everyone's help. This should be a good experience for me. :)

-Dan

Hey great advise on the site.

If you tell us what cam your using you can get more detailed advise. Ask them to rent a DVX100a.

Try not to use high 8 any Mini DV would be better than HI-8