SELECTING AN EXPERT VIDEOGRAPHER

You can actually have your wedding produced with the quality of a Hollywood production. But all videographers are not the same. The goal of this guide is to help you find an expert VIDEOGRAPHER who can produce an excellent video for you. The secrets revealed in this guide will give you the tools you need to distinguish between the amateurs and experts. Please print this article out. When videographers say professional, don't you want what you are paying for???.

Video is the only way to capture the sights... sounds... and motion. Your wedding day is the most important day of your life. You will want to relive it. You will want to see and better yet hear important friends and family members as they were on that day. And you will have future friends and family, even children who would like to see the wedding day of two people who are so special to them. Photos alone can not capture the excitement, last minute preparations, your vows, the exchange of rings, tears, grandparents talking to your kids, the joy, music and dancing. This is the only family historical documentation that uses sight and sound. Capturing the moments when the families meet is so important.

Vitally important. The problems start with cheaper consumer video equipment being used by Wedding videographers that claim to be professional. Typically wedding videographers use consumer equipment. By cutting costs and quality they can charge a lesser price. Professional equipment maintains a higher standard of quality and must pass more stringent testing. Don't be afraid of the technical terms like "three chip cameras". We all use them. It's what type and size of chips that is important. For the down and dirty technical information you can understand click HERE. Problems get worse when you listen to the sound. Amateurs lack the equipment and the knowledge to compensate for a problematic environments. Special RF (Radio Frequency) microphones are necessary. Next the typical amateur doesn't have the means or knowledge to shoot or edit the program into a closely knit production that tells your love story with emotion and impact. They lack quality equipment and commercial expertise. Remember! You are paying for a professional. Why not have one?

NO! On average, less than ten percent of your total wedding budget. Maybe even less than your flowers. Less than a band. And yet with the exception of your photographs, you're video is all you have after your wedding is over. It is the only sounds and motion pictures you will ever have of the most important day of your life. Your friends and family will be immortalized in this video. Some things and moments in time are priceless. Check pricing lists for options not boiler plated packages that are fixed with things you don't want. Experts give you these options to design your own package to fit your budget and needs. Also check to make sure your videographer is insured. Usually they are the better established firms that care about your satisfaction. We hope not, but things could go wrong.

It is a shame that most brides don't ask the right questions. There is no excuse not to know what to ask. So you don't get cheated I will give you things to look for and do, and some basics to ask your videographer!!!! Even if you already are signed with a videographer, check to see that he is giving you a professional job.
View more than one non demonstration video on a large screen TV. Sometimes the videographers carefully prepared a special demo that he took many unpaid hours to complete that is not the typical video you will get. When viewing, request many other samples and ask if this is typical of what you will get and how much will it cost for that exact same thing in your video. Also note the clarity of the fine details in the picture. (Fuzzy text and picture?) This is a hard one because it is all relative. If all you ever see is poop! Than you will not know there is better. Check to make sure that your videographer is well established. How many years has he or she been in the business? Is his/her work on broadcast TV now? Name commercials? How about commercial awards for videography? This will give you an indication of the videographers' abilities and open possibilities for quality broadcast productions. Some key technical questions you should ask your expert videographer important to your production are:
1)Do they use HD (High definition)BETA-CAM, DIGI BETA or DV CAM SP digital tape broadcast FORMAT throughout the entire editing process or do they use consumer S-VHS, MINI DV, STANDARD DV or HI-8? S-VHS, MINI DV and HI-8 camcorders are consumer grade equipment only! Ask your local cable technician about DIGI-BETA. Our corporate clients demand the best so we use QSDI full bandwidth uncompressed digital video and RGB throughout. For the down and dirty technical information you can understand click HERE.
2)Do they have a VECTOR SCOPE? This is a special tool that shows the color content of your picture so that it can be adjusted to perfect setting. Even though some cameras have auto color they can not totally compensate correctly. In the typical wedding video it always needs extra compensation. That white wedding dress you wear to your wedding will be white in a video that was monitored by a vector scope. Also it is used to periodically tune expert equipment too. An expert checks to make sure his equipment will deliver the best for you. Don't you think a professional race car driver will have a tune up kit for his race car?? Make sure you ask to see a vector scope at your meeting with the videographer. Some will tell you they have one and don't.
3)Do they have a WAVE FORM MONITOR? This is a tool that measures video levels so that optimum settings can be made for low lighting, typical of most wedding situations. An expert always checks this to ensure quality picture much like the vector scope. Its like the VU meters on your audio recorder. Over the red or too under the red is no good. Make sure you ask to see this at your meeting with the videographer. Some will tell you they have one and don't.
4)Do they have an industrial studio to do the production work associated with video? "Blue screen?" Scanning? Animation? Firewire Digital Editing? DVD??? HDTV??? Some times we use the studio to do special bachelor party videos or invitations on video. What a creative idea!!!
5)Can they do digital services such as your video on DVD or VCD, or still prints from the video? Or insert graphics?
6)Is their work on BROADCAST TV now? The Federal Communications Commission sets the standard for broadcast video so that you are guaranteed a minimum quality level. A consumer videographer has no minimum standard for quality. They count on your lack of knowledge. For the down and dirty technical information you can understand click HERE.

The use of special effects is a matter of personal taste. As a rule you don't want them overdone because they overwhelm your story. But when properly woven into a video, they add excitement. Here are some typical effects you might see: FREEZE FRAME--Stop action at a critical moment for dramatic effect. WIPES/DISSOLVES- The current image transforms into the next. STROBE-- Looks like slow motion. But true slow motion can only be done with professional equipment. Ask to see samples of that one! MULTI SCREEN-- Many Images are on the screen at one time. This is only capable by those who have extensive digital editing abilities and the knowledge to use them. MORPH--where an object such as your face transforms into your fiancé's face and at the half way point you can see what your children will look like. FLYING FONTS-- 3-D letters that float or tumble, in or out. Select a videographer that integrates effects into your wedding video according to your requests. This is your video.

First inform the person in charge that you intend to have your wedding video taped. There may be restrictions in regard to the lighting and filming locations you need to be aware of. Next request your videographer visit the locations in advance of the wedding. This allows them to familiarize themselves with the best locations for filming. Experienced videographers usually are familiar with the filming location. Next sit down with your videographer and discuss the shots that are important to you. Tell them of the special pictures you want them to catch on tape. Give them guidelines or an itinerary in writing. List : interviews, down the isle shots, possible locations for best view of ceremony, etc. Your input is mandatory so that we can get that shot for you. Top professionals or experts are sensitive to your needs. They will guide you, suggest shots they know are popular, and will work hard to be unobtrusive and still get those memorable moments for you.

Two cameras are better than one, but they cost more and require man power to properly work for you. Have you ever notice the evening news where they always use more than one camera? The news announcer will turn their heads to look into the camera that is on. This is done simply because it makes the news more interesting to watch. A two camera production gives two different views of the same event to make your video more interesting. Extra cameras with operator is always the best. Watch out for videographers that use unmanned cameras. A good editing job then combines the shots from the two cameras such that they form a fabulously compelling finished production. A third camera gives us even more to pick from. If your budget allows, it's worth it.

Yes, you do. A contract clarifies the specifics of your arrangement with your videographer and eliminates confusion and misunderstanding. Your contract should spell out details such as: How much your video will cost; When payments are due; Dates times and places for your wedding; Special requests; Delivery dates of your finished video.

That is up to you. Most parents love to receive a copy of their son's or daughter's wedding day on video. As a result most couples do purchase two additional copies, one for each parents. Remember that each copy you purchase from the expert videographer will be passed through a TBC or time base corrector that digitally refreshes the broadcast masters so that each copy is pristine like the first. Copies are just not copied like you think. An expert just doesn't plug one deck into the other and makes a copy.

Typically a good wedding videographer puts 30 to 40 hours into a single video. This includes preplanning sessions, visits to wedding and reception sites, shoot time, your sales meeting, editing time, and equipment preparations. Excellence shows. You will get more than your money's worth when you hire an expert.
We live in a video age. Wedding videography has become as accepted as still photography. Even more so because this is the only family historical documentation that uses sight and sound. You now have some insights to make an informed decision when selecting your wedding videographer. We feel you have a right to know about the cheap and dishonest videographers that claim to be a professional and how to sort them out. Please ask your videographer how they measures up to the issues in this brochure. You may even want to show them what you have found. Be ready, they may get mad. Most don't think you are smart enough to be asking these questions. If you did read down to this point, you are my type of client.

Call now for your free orientation where we can further explain what makes an expert videographer, and show you our wedding work. This is a one hour $95 class jam packed with information and video samples that you need. And it is free for you. Be a smart shopper! Frugal! You will never regret hiring an expert videographer.


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