Wedding Videography
Budget Tips:
You've invested lots of time into
finding the
right wedding videographer for your wedding. Now, the
issue is deciding what moments you want to make
sure make it onto the final product. A
wedding
video is your opportunity to capture and
preserve your wedding day forever -- from all
the wonderful moments you'll witness, to the
moments you might not otherwise see. In many
ways, a wedding video is priceless; but in
reality, they can cost anywhere from $500 to
$15,000. Couples generally allocate 10-15% of
their wedding budget to
wedding videography, but it's
important to understand which factors shape the
cost in order to choose the technology, people,
and style that's right for you.
The Goods: Wedding Video Equipment and Technology
Most weddings are taped using one digital
video camera or digital camcorder (the
cheapest route), with a second digital
camcorder costing
between $400 and $1,000, depending on the amount
of coverage. The most advanced videos these days
are shot using digital video or DV, and
deliver your Wedding
Video on DVD. While they're a pricier
option, they have the fun advantage of letting
you skip around to watch whatever sections you
want, plus no matter how often the video is
copied, it won't ever lose image quality. No
grainy videos for your future grandkids!
Premium sound quality is a must for professional
videos so you can relive those vows and that
first dance over and over again. The single microphone,
which is built into the recorder, costs the
least, but the digital camcorder isn't always close enough
to pick up sound perfectly. Wireless microphones are
also used often, but be forewarned that things
like fluorescent lighting and the officiant's
microphone might interfere with the signal.
Digital
sound recorders (placed in the pockets of the
groom, at the podium, etc.) record the sound on
a disk, which is later transferred to a computer
and edited along with the video. Since it has to
be synced in with the video, it is more
time-consuming for the video editing - and more
expensive for you -- but it's the top way to get
premium sound.
People: From Beginners to the Best
It may seem like a huge money saver to have a
friend film your wedding for free.
Unfortunately, this is a dangerous road to
travel down. The average consumer video
camcorder
simply doesn't compare to the digital
camcorder used by a professional
wedding videographer, and the likelihood of your friend being
able to handle disasters if they should occur
isn't very good.
If you're thinking about hiring
someone with some, but not tons of experience,
look carefully. A beginner with excellent reels
might be a reasonable bet, but run from someone
just trying to make cash between acting gigs.
Experience is not just necessary for the
technical aspects of filming, but for the
professionalism (showing up on time, knowing
what shots are important) and demeanor (knowing
how to stay cool under pressure and interact
properly with you and your guests). A trained
and experienced wedding videographer is definitely worth
the money.
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