How To Choose A Wedding Videographer
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How To Choose A Wedding Videographer
Tips to help you choose the
perfect videographer for your wedding. Ask lots of questions when you interview the videographer.
Have they ever worked at your church and reception hall before? You should ask your church if video is allowed and if so, where they should be placed, and where they are not allowed . Does your videographer have capability for multi camera coverage? Second cameras cost about $500 more, but they give a great effect during the ceremony. The primary reason for a second or third camera is to pick up an angle the the primary camera cannot get. For example, the front camera will get the details of the ceremony, while the back camera gets an alternate angle of the recessional and processional as well as ceremony activities. Two cams are important because one person cannot be two places at once. With 2 cameras the videographer can create a picture in picture on the screen, showing the exchange of vows in the main portion of video, and the parents' reactions in a little window. If you have the extra money, this is really worth doing. Also, the second camera can capture scenes at the reception that the first camera may have missed. Do they record the event in a professional format such as S-VHS or digital? You do not want a videographer recording your wedding with a VHS tape. Some videographers don't like the digital technology due to video compression, and they feel it does not provide a good enough image. Can they give you a tape in S-VHS format for those people who have S-VHS video players? Do they have the capability of using computer generated graphics? (and not cheesy ones, either). What other hidden costs are associated with the quoted price? Sometimes they will charge you extra for a 1 minute "Love Stroll" segment of video. Some people want a package that includes a short musical picture story known as a video collage with photos of the bride and groom growing up. Usually a handful of photos of each person is given to the videographer to tape. How many hours do you get the videographer for? You don't want any surprises here. Will the video be edited "In Camera" or in the studio? You want your video to be post edited in the studio, which usually has much better quality effects than the camera, even though it costs a bit more. Don't forget to ask if they have worked in the location of your reception before. |
Get References
From Friends and Coworkers
Your best resource is people
you know. Ask around at work. Every married couple has a video. Call a
TV station and see if any of their cameramen moonlight on the side. They
work with the video cameras every day, so if anyone can do it, they can.
Look at other wedding videos. As with your quest for photographers, interview
3 to 5 videographers. We interviewed 3 different videographers before we
settled on one, and the differences in quality and personality are vast.
There are people out there who think they can just pick up a camcorder
and hereby knight themselves as pro videographers. You want someone with
many years experience in photography and videography who really knows lighting.
For example, video usually turns out better with lights color balanced
at 3200 Kelvin. Your videographer better know details like this, and not
just slap a light bulb on top of his camcorder. Talk to the videographer
and listen to their philosophy on how they operate. Ask them how they interface
with the DJ, photographer, and caterer. You want a videographer who stays
in close contact with the DJ, so they know when to be ready to film the
milestones. It's a big industry out there, but it is a plus if the videographer
has worked with the DJ or the Hotel/Resort where the reception is. Visit
people you know to view their videos and get an idea of what you like on
the video. As you watch the video ask yourself the following questions:
Do
you like the effects?
Is the lighting bright enough and does it look acceptable?
In areas of low lighting, is there a fuzzy graininess?
Do the colors look bright and accurate?
Does the audio have a good level and is it free of distortion?
Do you like the scene transitions, or are they choppy and sudden, cutting
off the audio?
Is there anything missing that would like to see on the video?
Is the video vibration free and the left to right panning smooth?
Are there too many zoom in/zoom out shots? These make it look unprofessional.
Do computer generated titles look professional or do they look like an
old Pong video game?
A
Little bit of Tech Talk.
There are a few technical
issues to consider as you interview the videographers. There are different
types of video cameras that may be used for your wedding:
Digital
Video Cameras
Many videographers have
gone away from SVHS and Hi8 and into digital acquisition. Some have
also abandoned SVHS editing for Non-Linear editing, which is totally digital
and done on the computer. Thank God for that! I banned video tapes
from my house a long time ago. Wedding videographers now give you wedding video DVDs.
This ensures that your wedding video will last forever, with no more tapes to wrinkle.
The only type of digital camcorder that your videographer should be using
is a "3 CCD" or a HD(High Definition) camera. If you have an HD DVD
player, you'll want to get your wedding video in a high definition format
compatible with your player. With a 3 CCD camera, this means there is a separate Charge Coupled
Device for red, green, and blue. This results in much better picture
color renditions, saturation, and low video noise, all requirements of
professional video. Pictures shot with 3CCD camcorders are stunning.
If the videographer does not have this camera, it means they tried to skimp
on a few hundred bucks and are delivering inferior quality to you.
I've listed some models below, that if your wedding videographer is using, you
can expect great results. Here are the better digital camcorders that
most professionals like to use:
Canon XL1 Digital Video Camcorder. This is probably the finest digital camcorder at the time of this writing. It's a $3500 3CCD camera with interchangeable lenses, and is a favorite among producers and documentary filmmakers, because it is smaller and lighter than older Betacam shoulder mount cameras. Also, the Canon Flourite lenses are excellent.
Canon GL1 Digital Video Camcorder. This is the next model down in Canon's digital video family, also with a Flourite lens. Some videographers prefer this camera because it is smaller, lighter, less expensive ($2500), and is ideal if you don't need to interchange lenses for a Discovery Channel safari documentary.
Sony DCR-VX2000 3000.00 This was Sony's top end product that competes very nicely with the Canon XL1. Also a 3CCD favorite of producers and filmmakers. I know a wedding videographer who swears by this camera, and his backup, the Sony DCR-TRV900, which I also own. But I'm looking for a good HD model soon!
Sony DCR-TRV900 2000
The next model down in Sony's lineup. I personally own this excellent $2000
3CCD camera and my friends are most impressed with the vivid color produced
by the large 3.5" color LCD. I don't think I have yet used the eyepiece
viewfinder, because the LCD is so huge. We had a new baby and I was not
about to skimp on quality, I had to have 3CCD. Every parent is really
a documentary filmmaker. This is a very light and easy to carry digital
camcorder. Don't let it's small size fool you. It's packed
with technology that rivals the big TV station Betacams.
The
big ones that the TV news reporters use.
Expect to pay $1000 and up for a bare bones package. If your
wedding videographer uses a 3 CCD professional video camera from a TV station,
you have it made in the shade as the camera is stunning in low light, still
providing bright vibrant colors. It uses 3 CCDs, unlike the consumer camcorders,
that typically use 1 CCD. Many cameras fail to deliver decent color in
low light. The built-in cartioid mic is linked to the zoom lens, so you
can stand 20 feet away and zoom in to hear 2 people talking. The audio
is CD quality too. The video tape it uses is usually a professional studio
3/4" tape. The type of videographer that uses this camera knows what they
are doing and you can be assured of getting top notch results. But this
is early 90's technology, and I dare say the advances in 3CCD digital video
cameras have caught up to this type of $30,000 camera.
S-VHS
(Super VHS) Video Cameras ("Prosumer")
You gotta be kidding me! S-VHS was used by many wedding videographers,
but should not be any longer.
This Prosumer format has nearly double the resolution of standard VHS.
SVHS gives over 400 lines of resolution compared to 240 lines in VHS, nearly
double the resolution of the VHS format. Most of the better wedding videographers used this type
of camcorder in the 1990's, shooting onto S-VHS tape and editing in the studio is S-VHS
format. This is a great video tape format because you can make 3 or 4 copies down
from the original before you begin to lose quality. With VHS, you lose
quality on the first copy, but S-VHS tapes
cannot be played in a VHS machine. Why bother when DVD players are even cheaper
these days.
Regular
VHS Camcorder
This format should NEVER
be used to video tape a wedding! VHS is terrible, the color stinks, and
you lose quality on the first edit, so forget trying to work with it in
the studio. Any decent wedding videographer knows never to use this format, but
there are still some idiots out there using it. There's always Joe Blo's
brother in law who switches jobs regularly and decides that this week he's
an expert videographer and has no technical expertise in this field at
all. If you were foolish enough to want your wedding video on tape instead of
DVD, the video should be mastered on S-VHS, then duped onto VHS for your
final product.
Other Technical
Aspects:
Make sure your specifies a few DVDs in your final finished
package, or if it's on video tape, that
your final copy of the video video is on a hi-fi tape. Hi-Fi tapes should
be used if the videographer used CDs to lay music on the tape. Regular
Video tape has an audio response of 50 - 8000 Hz, whereas Hi-Fi tape is
20 - 20 Khz, the audio bandwidth. Hi-Fi tapes are better than regular tapes
and they only cost $2 more. Don't let them talk you out of a Hi-Fi tape.
A few videographers have argued with me that HIFI tape is also a myth and
sales gimmick or that there is nothing inherently different about it.
I still recommend the Hi-Fi tapes because they have more coatings and will
be more durable than regular tapes. This point will be moot anyway,
if your wedding is on DVD. I have not even used my VCR since September,
1998.
Choosing
Special Effects.
Some videographers have
great effects on their final edit of your wedding video. Advancements in
computer and video technology, have put high quality graphic effects within
reach of more people. There are two popular digital effects mixers, both
of which have a suite of canned wedding effects:
Alladin Pinnacle: Some pros regard the Alladin Pinnacle to be the best 3D digital effects mixer in its price range (<$12000). For dissolves, it can do trails, page turns with new video on the back of the turn, highlighting, and drop shadows for a more realistic 3D look. It does a clean video compression effect with no ugly tiling artifacts. The Pinnacle can make 90% of all effects seen on network TV. It is the top of the line for wedding videos, and the Pinnacle does not degrade the video picture. Using the Alladin Pinnacle and the JVC KY 27b produces a high end video with impact.
Video Toaster: Video Toaster is another fine editor as well. It is used on Star Trek and Babylon 5 to create many of their effects. This unit can do numerous effects, and new suites of effects are coming out all the time. Some of the effects are a page peel to dissolve one scene to the next. Other transitions are water ripples, mosaics, etc. They even have some moving firework displays to overlay on top of the video during dance scenes. This effect is one of my favorites.
There's lots of other useful
editing suites that produce a great job, I just listed a couple of the
better known products. Ask your videographer which
mixer they use, and get them to show you some sample effects. They all love to
show off their computer setups, because seeing the setup leaves a lasting
impression on the client, it totally wows you to see all the technology
in action. Ask to see many examples to give you ideas. Some effects can
really make the video come alive with a party atmosphere.
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If you take your videographer to court, the judge will say "Where is your contract?" Make sure they have a written contract stating everything you expect of them in writing. If they refuse or give verbal claims, get up and leave. Do you think they will remember 10 months from now what they promised you? A written contract will help them remember. Just surf the alt.wedding newsgroup and see how many people got burned when they were not given what they expected and had no contract to enforce it. On the contract, you want it clearly stated who your videographer will be. You don't want to be surprised at the ceremony to find your videographer is NOT the person that you interviewed. Try choosing the business owner, even if they cost more, they have more experience. The contract should state which plan you get and HOW MANY HOURS you have the videographer. This is a big source of grief for newlyweds, when the wedding does not start on time and half way through they find out the videographer wants overtime pay. Know your ceremony, travel time to the reception, figure 2-4 hours at the reception and use that as your guide. Our wedding was at 3:00 in Fort Lauderdale, and the reception at 5:00 at the Boca Raton Resort so we chose a 6 hour plan. Make sure it is in writing!!!! Your contract should also state how many cameras are to be used, how many tapes you will receive, and what format they will be. The contract should list what is included on the tape, like invitation, picture story, love stroll, video collage, location sequence, etc. Other items in the contract should be your correct wedding date, where the videographer is supposed to report to, size of the wedding party, number of guests, ring bearers, etc., ALL event times and locations, your deposits, and remaining balance. Also mention in the contract that you are to receive a video recap. Some people refer to this as a collage, but it's usually 2 songs worth of video, giving a recap of the ceremony and reception. This footage is placed at the beginning of the tape so you can show the tape to people without having to watch the entire video. |
Summary:
So What Do I Really Want In My Wedding Video?
It all boils down to this folks. The
package I am recommending here will be fine for 90% of you. In keeping
up with the Jones's, here is what you should have in your finished product:
3
Fully Studio Edited DVDs (not edited in camera). DVD would be best because they don't wear out like video.
Titles, Invitation, Picture Story, 10 minute Video Recap, Location Sequence
Great music recorded from CD
Lots of great computerized digital effects, but not overdone
Multi-Camera shoot at Ceremony only (About $300 extra or higher). Not
every wedding videographer
does this.
This should get you going.
Remember, do what YOU want to do, not what other people expect of you,
and and stay sharp. The only one looking out for you is YOU. The wedding
industry can be a nasty, and expensive, nickel-and-dime-you-to-death industry.
There's enough hidden charges and weasel clauses out there to confuse a
used car salesman. They make you feel sub-human for not buying this or
that, but armed with the knowledge I've given you here, you are now fearless
wedding warriors in my image (yuk, what a thought) ready to deal with the
best of them. And remember, if they don't put it in writing, it means they
won't do it!
Good luck, and let me know how it went.
Go To The Next Section:
How
To Choose A Wedding DJ
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