Why should I have a video of my wedding?

I have taken a break today from editing. I have been spending the past couple of weeks finishing up the infomercial from the Palm Springs trip; I have also been wrapping up the video from the mountain top wedding. I have been in front of my computer every spare moment and Leeann told me to take some time off, clear my head a bit and asked me if I could help her with a few things. I am glad she did.

I got a phone call this week from a bride and all she wanted was to get a price on a package for her up coming wedding. That is not a big deal, I get those calls all the time, but this one made me think. After I gave her the price, she said she was not sure why she should have a video of her wedding anyway. She said she had a "friend" who had a camera and he would set it up on a tripod and get the wedding that way. I asked her a few questions and got the feeling that she really didn't understand the whole video process.

Sure it would be easy to have your uncle or cousin at the wedding with a video camera and just have them shoot the wedding, give you the tape and wish you a happy life. But, you have to ask yourself something, "Is this what I want to use to remember my wedding day with?” It is true that the price of consumer quality camcorders have come way down and the quality has gone up in those cameras has gone up. Most of the consumer quality cameras are great and you will get a good image from them, but would you use one of those cameras to shoot a TV commercial or a TV show? Would you like to watch your favorite show if it was shot by your cousin or uncle? Of course not, so why would you want one of the most important days in your life done the same way?

Lets look at the diffrence. Your uncle shoots the wedding and gives you the tape. You first have to get it onto a DVD format to play it back since so many of the cameras use miniDV format and I doubt many of you use a miniDV player in your house to play movies on. Ok, now you've got it on a DVD and you play it back at home and the image is shaky, the camera is moving all over the place, the sound is not great, you don't hear any of the vows you and your husband said to each other. The image is dark, then it jumps to your reception and you don't get to see that first dance you had with your new husband because your uncle was on the other side of the room getting a drink or talking to his wife or kids. You don't get to see your dance with your dad or parent, or you get just a quick glance of a toast made to you. The audio is garbled, or not there at all because the camera is new to your uncle and he didn't know how to get the audio turned on to start with. Now, you finish watching your tape and you put the tape or DVD up on a shelf never to be seen again because it looks awful and you don't feel the emotion of your day remember.

Now, you hire a professional videographer to shoot your wedding. They take some time to sit down and talk with you, get to know you and your groom. On the day of the wedding, your videographer has been at the site of your wedding 2 to 3 hours before you arrive getting some shots of the pre wedding set up. They greet you when you arrive, ask if you have any questions about the day plans. Or, they were with you, as you were getting ready, getting those special moments you share with your mom or dad. They use professional cameras and know how to use them correctly. They know how to edit the video so that it is something you want to watch and you don't see all the bad shots. They get the audio ready to go so that your hear everything that was said. They use professional wireless mic on either the groom or the officiate. They are experts in getting those special shots, setting up the cameras so that they that shot of you walking down the aisle the first time. The first dance, the cake cutting, the party funny moments, they are not off doing their own thing. When you get your DVD from them, you are proud to show it to friends and family. It is a professional quality DVD with chapters, and music of your choice. When finish watching your DVD, you remember all those emotions and feelings from your special day. You have something you can share with your kids one day and maybe even your grandkids.

Now, when you ask yourself again why do I want to hire a professional videographer when my uncle or cousin can do it for me, think about the quality and type of video you will get.

What has been going on??

I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have been very busy with so much. First off, we just got back from Palm Springs, CA this week.

We had a great time out in Palm Springs. We didn't get to spend much time having fun, driving around and such, but we did take one night to go out and explore the area. I have to say, I could see myself living out there at some point. Who knows.

I am getting ready to start doing some very heavy advertising in the coming year. The local bridal book "Premier Bride Knoxville" is coming out with a new issue in January and I am going to be placing an ad in it along with doing the January show. I am hoping that this will push business up a bit more. I like staying busy.

I am busy right now trying to finish up the wedding I did up on top of the mountain back in August, should have the final changes done here in the next couple of days or so. I really like how that wedding looked and felt. Things went well, except for one small things but that was a technical glitch on my part. We fixed it quickly, but that is what makes this so much fun. Staying on your toes and sometime thinking outside the box.

Any videographer you are looking at to shoot your wedding or special event should be able to think on their feet. You have to be able to adapt to a new situation as they come up. You have to be able to look at the shot from several different views at the same time and always be looking to get the next shot while you are doing the current shot.

Whenever I am shooting an event I am always putting the video together in my head so that I can lay out my shots as I go. I may have the bride and groom go back and redo something just so that I can have a backup. If your videographer is asking you to redo a ring exchange, or a kiss. It's not because he did not get it the first time, if he is professional, he is looking to have a back up shot so that if something happens to the good shot, he has something to fall back on.

We are always looking for B roll as well. If you don't know what B roll is, this is extra footage we get to use as a filler for the main footage. Think of it like this. If you are watching the news and they are doing a story about a new building going up and the reporter is talking to the site forman about how it is going. While you hear the forman talking you are seeing images of the building and the workers doing things to finish the project up. Those images are B roll. Just like on your wedding video, you hear how much your groom loves you and is looking forward to spending the rest of his life with you while you are watching the two of dance, this is the B roll. That is why your videographer has to stay on his feet, always looking for that one special shot, or that piece of B roll that makes it worth while.

It Went Very Well

First off, I want to say thanks to all those who stopped by my booth yesterday at the bridal fair. I enjoyed meeting and talking with each one of you. I had a great time at the bridal fair and meet some really great people. Got a chance to meet some other videographers and wedding planners. It was so nice to have a chance to chat with them as we don't have a lot of opportunity to meet and chat with each other very often.

I was a bundle of nerves Sunday. This was the first bridal show I have ever done and I wanted it to be just right. My friend Lisa helped the first hour and half then my wife, my wonderful, wonderful wife was there with me the rest of the day. It is so nice to be able to work with my wife as she is so supportive and helpful in all of this. She is the one that put in so much work with the marketing materials. She picked out the decorations for the booth and it was her vision that made the booth look so nice. So a HUGE THANK YOU to my Leeann, without you, I would not be here. Much love.

We all went out the dinner after the show. I did not eat the entire day so I was starving by the time we left. When we got home, I was so tired last night that I pretty much feel fast asleep. But, I woke up today with so much energy and excitement for what I am doing. I know now that this what I want to do and I know now that I can make a great company.

I started downloading the video from the wedding on top of the mountain a couple of weekends ago. So far, it looks great and I am already putting it together in my head. It should look great when I am done.

Big Day

This is a big day for me. As I write this I am getting ready for the Premier Bride Wedding Show. I have spent the last 6 days burning DVD's, printing cover letters, info pages, flyers, DVD labels, folder labels and I have gone though so much ink I can't even start to count. I am a bit nervous today as this is the first time I have put myself out there in this manor. I have to tell you, I would not have been able to do any of this if it had been for the help and support of my loving, wonderful, and patient wife.

I will let you all know tonight how it goes. If I see you today, please let me know you read my blog.

Hope it goes well. I am a nervous wreck!!!!

Great Day, Great Wedding

Worked a great wedding yesterday. The Rogers-Valentine Wedding on top of a mountain in Gatlinburg and I do mean on top. Great views but a bit hazy for most of the day. The one drawback was the heat. It was so hot up there yesterday and not a bit of shade to be found. The biggest problem for the day was no rehearsal the day before the wedding. I strongly recommend rehearsals for a couple of reasons. It helps everyone know where he or she is going and what he or she will be responsible for. Especially if you are having vocalist or someone reading something special at your wedding. It is also a great help for the videographer as it helps us with camera placement. When you make the decision to have your wedding video taped, you want to make sure that you get your money's worth. You don't want the final DVD to miss that shot of you walking down the aisle or to have your audio sound bad because the videographer didn't check the acoustics of the church your getting married in.

My bride this past weekend did not have a rehearsal for a number of reasons. One of them was the fact that she would have had to rent the facilities for an extra day so, without the rehearsal it was all by the seat of my pants for the day. I thought it would have been difficult, but it was easier than I thought. The entire wedding party was so great to work with, they were helpful, willing to listen and stand where I asked them. It would have been a great day had it not been so hot. I felt bad for the guys in the wedding party; they were in black pants and jackets with black vest. Not the best thing to wear on a 92-degree sunny day. They survived, but I felt their pain. The bride looked great and was so much fun to work with considering how hot it was.

I find one thing very funny about weddings. There is always one song that seems to get everyone up and dancing. Anyone care to guess??? "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang. I don't know what it is about that song that gets to people. They can be sitting down eating a nice meal, talking to friends and family, but the minute that song comes on, everyone is up on their feet dancing and swinging and singing. That is some of the best footage I get at a wedding. I usually stand off in the corner or off to the side and just let the fun roll. People dance a bit kooky, let their hair down and just have a ball.

The wedding show is next Sunday. I am really looking forward to that. The last time I checked with the group running the show, they told me that they expect 700 to 1200 brides to show up. That sounds great to me; I can't wait to meet all of them. That will be a long day, but I am looking forward to it.

Have a great week everyone.