I'm happy to announce we have been able to add another one of the WEVA Creative Excellence Award winners to our CEA page! This one is the Gold winner for the Demo catagory from All Occasions Video in Chicago IL. We'd like to thank Keith Anderson for allowing us to use it!
I am shocked by the number of bad wedding videos out there. It also seems that the majority of brides and grooms who wish after their wedding that they had hired a videographer. Often when asked why they didn't they say things like, "every video I ever saw or was in sucked but I don't know what to look for in a video". Or "I didn't want something that looked like my uncle shot it, so I didn't get one".
Bridal Films to the rescue. I have gotten one of my favorite wedding videographers to write us a series of articles detailing exactly what makes a good wedding video! So here is the first part of What To Look In A Wedding Video Demo Part One In forth coming articles he will be discussing what is good imagery, editing and whatever else he comes up with. -Amy
As a wedding cinematographer it never ceases to amaze me just how many poorly produced wedding videos are out there and how many brides and grooms regrettably purchased them. Not all videographers are created equal and as the consumer you need to educate yourself as to what to look for in a wedding video. In this and following articles we will illustrate what is good and what is bad when you are looking at wedding video demos.
Audio Is One Half Of A Video! Without audio video is nothing more than a sequence of still images displayed at 30 frames per second. Your photographer with modern cameras can capture 9 frames per second, why hire a videographer then if you aren’t going to be able to hear anything. The mp3 below is an example of a poorly done wedding video audio track during the readings. Notice that you can hear the person, but not very clearly. (Due to these clips being from a competitor's video the names have been removed and I am using video only.)
The audio could have been far more intelligable and easy to understand if the videographer had bothered to do his job properly. The following video clip demonstrates just how a reading should sound.
I like making videos sound "you are there" as much as possible so I have mixed back in some of the natural echo of the church while maintaining the clear and understandable words of the reader.
This next audio clip is from the vows of the wedding. This is where your audio should really excel! After all you will want to hear the words you spoke to each other on the altar. In the audio clip below... Well take a listen...
Yesterday I ran across a bride who I had exchanged a few emails with and reads our sister site Michiana Weddings. Michiana has lot of similar content as this one but limited to a regional flavor. Well one of the email exchanges we had was about wedding video, she was a little tic'ed that I was constantly pushing wedding video on the blog and her mother was pushing her on the subject, using the blog. Well I can't help it, I have heard too many of my friends/cousings complain they did not have a wedding video after the wedding. And one of my most treasured family videos is an old degrading vhs tape of my in my aunt's wedding as a 2 year old flower girl. And I wouldn't have that video if my aunt hadn't paid someone to make it.
Well, Julie (not her real name to protect the guilty) stood her ground and kept to her original plan of having a friend record the wedding. Make a long story short, during the vows the video shows the friend's feet and floor because he didn't bother actually turning the camera on the B&G from where he was sitting. So no vows, no rings, no nothing. During the reception there is some fantastic shots of women's clevage and butts but not much else. Especially missing is the Father's toast, for which the friend was at the bar he claims.
The moral, well the mom won't let the bride forget the disaster the friend made the video and the bride is now mad at her friend.. Hire a professional, save your friendships and keep peace in the family. :-)
Anyone who has read the majority of this blog probably realizes I'm sort of on a crusade for wedding video. Photography is a top 10 priority, but so should be video. Well it is nice to find someone with like thoughts; Kelly McWilliams at the Weddings by Socialites blog has an excellent post about video.
You never know just how handy that wedding video may be. It may just help catch a crook!
October 2, 2007 (RIGBY, Idaho)- An Idaho wedding crasher is charged with helping herself to more than just a piece of cake. A home video of Sciara and Charles Dougherty was taken at their wedding in Rigby, Idaho.
While the unsuspecting bride and groom enjoyed their first dance, an uninvited guest was captured in the background trying to blend in. Kim Cooper reportedly introduced herself to friends and family and even helped decorate the bridal car.
It wasn't until the newlyweds discovered dozens of gift cards and envelopes with cash missing that they considered the uninvited guest a suspect.
"We said, 'What if she took them?' Then we thought, "No, nobody would do something like that, that was our day, that's all about us," said Sciara Dougherty.
Cooper was caught cashing in the gift cards at various stores. She's charged with burglary
Amy Taylor is Editor and Chief of Bridal Films, Michiana Weddings and their respective websites and publications. Her passion for all things weddings started with "helping my sister plan her dream wedding"
