Comments

Serena wrote on 10/7/2005, 3:48 PM
To make any cinematic sense of the posed shots you have to include the stills photographer at work. That work occupies most of the time before the ceremony and the interactions between the stills guy and the bride and bridesmaids, bride and parents is what you're shooting. Stills of the groom's party will be done earlier, where you can get similar material for that side of the proceedings.
Although many people recommend that you do interviews to camera I prefer, as in any wildlife doco, to concentrate on natural interactions as they occur. Interviews take skill and too much time to do properly and if done quickly get rather banal and often awkward and the result can be embarrassing. There's a lot going on that people want to witness and much to be done by those close to the B&G; being interviewed is very low in priorities. You'll miss good stuff while you're trying to do them.
However you're running this job, and you'll note that several other people recommend interviews before, during and after.
Sonisfear wrote on 10/7/2005, 4:15 PM
"You may want to speak with the Photographer before the wedding as well, so that he will be aware of your position, especially if you are going to try going handheld at any time. It is unlikely, but you may run into a photographer who doesn't want you to use his shot compositions (poses) in your video."

You coud also offer to put the photgrapher company credit in the video.
jrazz wrote on 10/7/2005, 4:34 PM
My clients love the interviews as that is a very emotional, personal, and enjoyable section of the video for the bride and groom. Realistically, they are only going to watch the ceremony probably a total of no more than 10 times over the life of the dvd (not including letting family borrow it), but the interviews are what make the DVD stand out... at least with my clients. When I show them my work including the interviews and I am up against other videographers, 9 out of 10 times I am chosen to shoot the wedding. When I ask them why they chose me, 10 out of 10 times it is b/c of the work I have done on the interviews.
I always announce during the rehearsal that interviews will be done and go over the criteria so that they know it is coming and on the wedding day, I have an assistant grab those that need to be interviewed so that it goes smoothly.
Serena wrote on 10/7/2005, 7:21 PM
Ah well, there you go then!
masmedia wrote on 10/7/2005, 8:10 PM
Thanks for sharing your contract, jrazz! Very helpful!

Arem,
Don't be discourgaed nor overwhelemed... weddings are different than other video, but the main thing to remember is to
KEEP THE CAMERA(S) STEADY!
Moving all over the place, zoom in, zoom out, pan left, right over and over again is a very common error new shooters make. Once you edit, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

All wedding folks,
I think the best advice is what was already said here by being firm in our offers and the more info before the ceremony the better. The key is pre-production meetings, am I right?

Only had done a few weddings so far, and I can safely say all of the above is excellent advice!
jrazz wrote on 10/8/2005, 11:25 AM
When you finish with this project, post back and let us know how it went and what was most helpful and practical to implement.
arem wrote on 10/8/2005, 2:26 PM
"When you finish with this project, post back and let us know how it went and what was most helpful and practical to implement."

I'm make sure to do that! Thanks again for everything you guys have said. You've given me a lot more confidence in myself in my ability to complete this.

-Dan
CVM wrote on 11/1/2005, 10:57 AM
Holy smokes! I can't believe the lengthy diatribes going on here!

Yeah, sure... wedding videos are a different animal... and yes, I'm always nervous something will go wrong with equipment or a missed shot. But I have a realistic expectation of the end result (it's not Schindler's List we're talking about here... it's an event video).

My brides (or paying parents) know I am a one man band - and my $1,300 fee certainly is reasonable for my services. I use one camera (GL-2) and will capture as much as I can - my clients understand this. I tell them how I will shoot the ceremony/reception and ask if that's OK. RARELY do they ever disagree with me - my confidence convinces them that I know what I'm doing.

I've never had ANY client unhappy with my work... even if I blow a shot or have slight audio issues. I always try to fix it somehow. They call and/or write me to say how pleased and happy they are. They THANK ME for my work. I don't require contracts (but I do get my entire fee up front - by the day of the wedding).

I am a happy person and make my client's feel at ease. In fact, I helped one best man write his speech!

Just FYI... I've NEVER attended a rehearsal, and I've NEVER gone to the church before the wedding. Crimony! How much time do you spend on each client? Churches are all the same for the most part. Be smart and figure things out an hour before the ceremony.

Listen, we are all very different video professionals. Only take from us what works for you. I will never change my outlook, but I will tweak how I work when necessary.

Oh, and if you do blow something big, what's the worse that can happen? Refund the bride's money and give her everything you've got. Apologize profusely and move on! Yes, word of mouth is the lifeblood of our business, but I don't know how vindictive a bride will be if you've given her money back AND given her all the video footage.