Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Goal and Must-Have-Shots

When I started booking wedding in January and saw that May was going to be a packed month I knew that I had April to get the March weddings finished and out the door. In my last blog I said I had one down and one to go. Yesterday I met my goal and mailed out the finished video for my second March wedding. This wedding was the biggest wedding I had done to date. The video is over an hour long and most wedding videographers will try to keep the video to just about 45 minutes. The bride loved the video and only wanted to make one change. Seems that someone she was not very fond of popped his head into a shot and said hi to the bride and groom. She just wanted that removed and very happy with it otherwise.

I have talked in past blogs how important the "must-have-shoots" in your wedding video and that is one of the main reasons you need to have a professional videographer to shoot your wedding. By my count there are 22 must have shots, things like the bride coming down the aisle, the parents during the reciting of the vows and so on. There is a list of these must have shots and anyone who is a professional will know those shots without thinking about it. Anyone can get a list from the internet, but do you want your videographer looking at a list before each shot? Think about it, something is happening and you look up to see your videographer looking at a sheet of paper to know weather or not he should be shooting.

This is my last couple of days without having a wedding in front of me. All of the month of May is booked solid so this may be my last blog for a couple of weeks, but I will do my best to keep you up to date with how it is going.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

One Down.....

One of the March videos is finished and out the door. The wedding at the cabin is, as they say, in the can. I finished burning the last DVD today and boxed them up and sent them out. It is a good feeling having the video done. I take such ownership of the project when I am working on a video, I think about it all the time, it is all I focus on at times. My wife has to come and get me off the computer sometimes at night just to go to bed. Thus the name, Midnight Magic Video. When I started this, I was working a full time job (not that this is not a full time job, but a full time job at a corporation) and most days the only time I could work was at night and most of my best work was around midnight. My wife said that is when all the magic would happen, so the name just seemed to fit.

I am waiting on the other March wedding to tell me what if any changes she wants to make on her video. That is the part I get the most nervous about. Here is someone who is looking at something I have put long hours into and they are going to nick pick it apart. No one ever has, most times it is just some minor adjustments or a change of music. But, I still get nervous just the same.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Why have a wedding videographer?

Well, to say I have been busy is an understatement. I have finished up the rough cut for both of the March weddings. The mountain cabin wedding video has been mailed and delivered. Now I just wait to see if she wants any changes. The second wedding rough cut is also finished, but the bride and groom have been busy trying to get back into the normal swing of things that we have not been able to get together and watch their video. Speaking of their video, it is the longest video I have done to date. Most videographers, myself included, like to keep wedding videos under an hour for the most part. If it goes over an hour, you tend to loose the audience. Well, this last video was hard to do that with since the ceremony was 45 minutes alone. With everything else we added to the video, it ended up being about an hour and 15 minutes long. WOW.

My wife and I went out this past Saturday night to see Sugerland in concert with some friends of ours. Their daughter baby sat our daughter that night for us. When we came home we were chatting with her and she was telling us about a wedding shower she went to that day. She said that the bride was looking at having a photographer but did not know if she wanted a videographer for her wedding. So our baby sitter told her about my business and that my wife is now doing wedding photography. The girl said she didn't think she needed a videographer. Our babysitter then asked me, "why should you have a wedding video done?"

I hear that question a lot, mostly at bridal fairs and wedding shows. I have one simple answer for that question. You are going to have a photographer at your wedding right? Of course, everyone does. Everyone wants to have photos to go back and look at and share with their friends and family. But, lets say your best friend was getting married, and for some reason you could not be there. You had something you just could not get out of and you were going to miss the whole day. When your friend came back from her honeymoon and you two got together, would you rather sit and look at her photos or her video?

Think about it, the pictures are great and capture a moment in time. They are artistic and can last a life time, but they only capture a second of time and more time than not, they are staged. The photographer studies long and hard to learn how to pose everyone for that perfect shot, the bride, the groom, the families and such. But, it is staged. What about that little moment you and your groom stole and you just looked at each other or you put your head on his shoulder while the photographer was setting up the next shot? What about the little kids running around or dancing during a song? Those are just a few things that the photographer will not get or can't capture the true feeling of the moment.

Also, think about this. You are planning a wedding you want to remember for ever. Your special day with that person you have looked long and hard for. Your day arrives and you are lost in all the preparation for the day, make up, hair, pictures, not to mention the actual ceremony itself. Shouldn't you get it see it as well? With a professional videographer, you will get to see everything you planned and get to see it the way your friends and family saw it. You can relive the vows that mean so much to you, the first dance you had as husband and wife with that song that reminds you of him. You can see the tear in your dads eye as he holds his little girl close for their special dance. These are emotions that a true professional videographer can capture for you on your most special of days.

So ask your self again, would you rather look at her pictures or her video?

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Inside Out

My last blog said I was going to be busy the last couple of weeks. Was I ever. I have had two weddings the past two weeks, one inside, one outside - sorta. The first wedding was in Wears Valley in the Smokey Mountains. When I booked the wedding, it was to be an inside wedding at a cabin. I knew going into this wedding that it would be a challenge since they were not going to have a rehearsal the night before. The rehearsal is very important to me so that I know what I need for the day, where my cameras will be and about how long I will be there. Well, with no rehearsal, it is really fly by the seat of my pants situation.

The wedding was supposed to be inside but when I got there, plans changed because it was such a beautiful day. The big problem (for me) was that the wedding was going to be on the deck with the view of the mountains in the background along with a big bright sun. SHADOWS are had to video tape. I don't have a light bright enough to overcome the sun. I definitely understood the couples decision to move outdoors because it was a stunning view... I was just concerned about how the video would come out. In the end, it went really well and was a lot of fun and Eli, a videographer working with me did a great job. We got great footage. Brenda, the coordinator, is wonderful to work with and this was my first time working with Carlos, the photographer. We all worked great as a team and I'm really looking forward to the other weddings that I have booked with them in the coming months.

The wedding this past weekend was indoors and just as much fun, the bride and groom were wonderful to work with as was the family and bridal party. Again, Eli was wonderful... he's been a huge help.

So far I am ahead of where i thought I would be in editing the videos. Editing is the best part for me. I get lost in the creativity of it all. I love working with people and being a part of their excitement of the big day - but my real passion is editing and coming up with a product that they will hopefully cherish for a lifetime.

More later.
Don