by Uppereast.com Staff
In a world where YouTube is part of our daily vernacular, it is impossible to imagine getting married without having a video of that momentous moment. Just like hiring a photographer to capture moments of your big day, choosing the right videographer is very important. “I regret not having a videographer now,” Sara said. “We just didn’t think we would go back and watch the video ever again. The pictures, well, I knew we would blow those up and hang them in our home. But, now, I really wish we could relive that day again with video.”
Many times brides forgo hiring a videographer to save on cost or because they feel it is not something which they need. “The pictures capture only emotions, but the video would have told the whole story of the day. We do have a few clips that my cousin took on his cell phone camera.”
As technology gets more advanced so do the offerings of many video professionals. “We are able to combine old still photos into the video montage,” Mack, a videographer explained. Many people want to weave in photos from their childhood since the wedding day is a celebration of two lives coming together. “We also can treat and edit the video, much like PhotoShop, we can add cinematic effects such as slow motion, changing the color tone to sepia or black and white and making the film look like 8mm old home movies.”
Each videographer has their own style of shooting and editing – it is, after all, an art. But a savvy bride can help direct the finish product infusing her creativity and personalizing the video with her vision. “We use music to create a video montage of the day,” said Mack. “We work with the bride (and sometimes the groom) to pick songs which they love and they will want to hear as they watch their wedding day unfold when we set the video to music.” Songs range from emotional slow songs to up-tempo dance beats, it all depends on the bride and groom’s personality. “We used our wedding song, True Companion by Marc Cohn, in the video,” Alyssa said. “Now, whenever we go back and watch it, it reminds us of our first dance.” Depending on how your videographer chooses to edit your footage, a selection of many songs is an option.
“I give my clients three versions on a CD,” Mack explained. “I produce one version which is set entirely to music, which is the overview of the day. It’s about 5 minutes long. Then, I also produce a 15 minute cut which includes more footage, the audio from the ceremony and is also set to music. Finally, I provide the couple with a fully edited version of the entire day; from the bride getting ready to the last dance. This version is usually around 45 minutes. When I hand over the video package, the bride and groom have a complete video record of their entire day.”
Thankfully, now that the days of the VHS are behind us, DVD’s allow videographers to get creative with viewing options. “We add a button just for all the toasts and speeches,” said Mack, “that way, people don’t have to sit through the whole video if they want to hear what their best man said in the speech.” The menu page on the DVDs enables the couple to select highlights from the wedding and have them individually labeled and separated. “We wanted to have a bloopers menu button,” said Alyssa. “So many funny things happened during the course of the day. My aunt tripped coming down the aisle, our dogs started barking at the Rabbi when they were lead down – it was a comedy of errors, which in retrospect, is funny to watch.”
Be sure to ask about packages and pricing when you sit down to interview the videographer. Many will offer deals that include some extras if you are booking a larger package. “Most of the people we talked to did not include all the raw footage,” Lindsay explained. “I doubt that we were going to go and watch it ever, but I wanted to have it just in case. You never know when you may want it, so we negotiated that into our pricing.” Also, couples should know exactly how many DVDs they will need for themselves and for their families, some videographers only offer 3 DVDs (one for the couple and one for each set of parents), but divorced families may require more as well as those whose grandparents or close friends would like a copy. Discounts are usually given to couples who choose to marry in an off month or a Friday or Sunday. “We saved almost 30% on everything for our wedding,” said Mara, “By getting married in January on a Friday night many of our vendors, from the catering hall to the videographer, offered large discounts off their list prices.”
A video captures so much more than a picture. If a picture says one thousand words, then a video can say ten thousand. The teary speeches, the moment a father hands his daughter to her betrothed – these are the moments which a photo cannot do justice. “On our fifth anniversary, we thought it would be fun to get a bottle of wine, tuck the kids into bed and watch our old wedding video,” Mara waxed nostalgically. “It was great. Besides realizing how much 2 kids can make you age, it was nice to celebrate that special day once again. I think we are going to make it an anniversary tradition.”