Tip of the Day #61: Expert Wedding Videography Advice from Paperback Weddings
Tip of the Day #61: Expert Wedding Videography Advice from Paperback Weddings A friend of mine forwarded a snippet of a Paperback Weddings video to me a few months ago. Within seconds of watching, tears were rolling down my eyes as I found myself wrapped up in footage of complete strangers exchanging vows. The wedding video was perfectly edited and truly made me feel like I was a part of the couple's celebration.
The lovely and talented Katie Chesnut of Paperback Weddings offers up sound advice on the importance of wedding videography. Enjoy her tips for hiring a wedding videographer!
I become totally disheartened when I speak with couples that decide not to hire a videographer for their wedding in order to cut costs. Why, do you believe, is a cinematic account of a wedding so important to have? Other than photography, there is no other tangible way to look back at their wedding day - to relive the love, the laughter and sometimes the tears - of joy, of course.
When meeting with a videographer for the first time, what important questions should a couple ask? What’s it like working with you on our wedding day? When will we receive our wedding video?
Basically, ask the questions that make you feel comfortable with these people, so you don’t feel nervous being on camera - and feel comfortable to be real in front of the team.
What qualities should a couple look for in the vendor’s portfolio? What would you consider to be a red flag? Does their style align with the style video you want? Do you like the music, the tone of the video, the originality?
Wedding videographers are essentially by the bride and groom’s side for the entire day (or wedding week). What do you do to get to know your couple’s personalities and styles before the wedding? We spend a good amount of time in a meeting with them, asking questions to get to know them as a couple and as people. We also send an “info sheet” before the wedding to ask essential and silly questions - before the wedding.
How important is lighting? What about audio? Lighting inside is essential. If you’re having a indoor reception, it’s hard for us to capture the whole room if it’s only lit by candlelight. We don’t bring lighting and rely on the venue and DJ lights for the reception. Audio is important if you want good sound bites, your vows in your video. We use lapel mics during the ceremony, and the mics on our camera the rest of the day.
What is the difference with having one versus two cinematographers at an event? I’d say the only difference is the ability to be in two places at one time - i.e. one with the bride, one with groom.
How important is the relationship of the photographer with the videographer? It’s nice if the styles of the photographer and videographer align in similar styles. The challenge can come when there are different goals - ie. lifestyle/real life versus posed.
What is the editing process like and what is a typical turn around time for a wedding video to be produced? Editing is very personal thing and our team spends a lot thinking about the couple and the wedding day when editing. So we like to say that the video we create is the final video - and you don’t have to worry we won’t leave anything good out of the video. Turnaround time in the industry is really high - like 6 months to a year. Our turnaround time is 6-12 weeks - we want you to get your video asap.
Enjoy this fabulous video of couple Bekki & Dave's nuptials held in sunny California. Get the tissues ready for this beautiful tear jerker!
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/51616788 w=400&h=300]
To learn more about Paperback Weddings, please visit www.paperbackweddings.com, call 714.497.0824 or email hello@paperbackweddings.com