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General Discussion
Unfortunately wedding videos generally have a bad stigma attached to them
wherever you go in the world. In contrast with photographers who are
regarded as skilled and artistic, wedding videographers seem to be treated as if
they are at the bottom of the pile of wedding vendors. Although unfair,
this widely held view has been brought about largely because of the many
individuals who claim to be professional, but who churn out sub-standard work at
a price that is an insult to themselves and the profession.
Think about the comparison with
photographers again to see how unfair the balance is at the moment. The
equipment they use costs less, they spend less time preparing for a wedding, at
the wedding and after the wedding, they get paid sooner, and they have less
objections to their higher prices than videographers do!
On the positive side, this
stigma is very gradually starting to change. More professionals have
entered the market, and more amateurs are taking their craft seriously, studying
and learning how to make videos properly. While there are some very good
photographers out there, there is far more work and skill involved in a
professional wedding video. Notice I say professional wedding video.
So before you start offering your services to every relative and friend, do your
research, perfect your style on some test weddings, and above all make sure you
charge a decent fee. If ALL wedding videographers charged a reasonable fee
in line with photographers (or above), this would quickly solve many of the
problems that threaten the entire industry.
Industry Organisations
WEVA
(Wedding and Event Videographers Association)
WEVA's
Local Association Links
Search your state for a local wedding video organisation.
4EverGroup
The 4EVER Group is
dedicated to providing resources, educational materials and services to all
facets of the event video industry. By offering quality products and services,
by hosting educational events and by bringing the industry together as one
support network, The 4EVER Group will help advance and promote the entire event
video industry.
Today Topic
Editing Wedding Videos
Wrote by Media College
Unless you absolutely have no way to do it, wedding videos should be edited in post-production rather than in-camera. Editing as you shoot is simply too difficult for this type of work, and there's no chance of having a nicely-flowing video without extraneous footage.
Before you begin the edit, it's a very good idea to plan for more than one version. For example, you could have a 10-minute highlights package and a 2-hour full-length version. You will then have a short version to show friends and visitors without boring them to tears, and have a complete version for yourselves and those friends who don't mind watching a feature-length movie of the wedding. Of course you can also edit a 30-minute version as a compromise, a 2-minute version to go on your personal website, or any other version which takes your fancy.
Titles and Graphics
It's a nice touch to add titles, such as a name key for people speaking at the reception, titles to announce things like cutting the cake, etc. See Wedding Video Titles for more info.
Special Effects
Wedding videos can work very well with special effects in the right places. As always, don't overdo it and never use an effect just because you can — only use effects where they genuinely add to the video.
Examples can include:
- Slow-motion shots with soft music.
- Soft filters, subtle glowing edges, etc.
- Sepia tones and other colour effects, especially for photo shoots.
- Photo montages with transitions.
The key with wedding effects is to get the mood right. You will probably use a lot of gentle, slower effects rather than hard and fast.
Speeches
The wedding speeches are a special case and can be difficult. What do you do with Uncle Bob's 90-minute speech during which most of the audience fell asleep and snored? Do you include the whole thing so as not to hurt his feelings, do you chop it down to five minutes (which can be a time-consuming job), or do you leave it out? The best plan is to ask the bride and groom or person paying for the video.
Wedding Video Tips
A few more general suggestions to:
- The schedule always changes. Be prepared to be flexible when the cake-cutting is suddenly brought forward 30 minutes.
- You may not be able to please everyone. If you can't do so, please the person who's paying.
- Some people are camera-shy. You can make them more comfortable by saying you'll edit out anything unflattering.
- When the video is finished, keep the master copy well stored and don't use it for general viewing. Make copies to show friends and family — the master is too precious to risk damaging or losing.
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