Videographers

[zoebartlett]

So while I''m comtemplating spending more money than I had planned on for a photographer, it occured to me that I haven''t even thought of having a videographer. A friend of mine had one for her wedding and he had put together a slideshow put to music (Shania Twain''s "From this Moment"). I must have watched it a dozen times at least, and I''m not even the bride. I like the idea of having this but I have NO IDEA how much one will cost.

What are things we should be looking for if we explore this option? Do you think it''s really worth it? Did you miss not having one if you originally chose not to have a videographer?

 

[Skippy123]

Nope, don''t miss it. We didn''t want to many things interrupting the guests, just my 2 cents

 

[luckystar112]

hmmm I not sure how much one would cost...but in my opinion it *sound* easy to do yourself.

If you know someone who likes to videotape things, then I hear that putting it to music is the easy part.

Especially teens...they seem to know how to do it way better than us *older* folks. (Coming from a 24 year old. lol)

My BF''s cousin put together a half-hour long video tape of some celebration at their church with background music and captions and everything...it was GREAT. So I''m sure I''m just going to have him do it.

But if you''re looking for Stephen Spielberg quality, than I would go with the videographer.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/16/2007 9:54:28 PM
Author: luckystar112
hmmm I not sure how much one would cost...but in my opinion it *sound* easy to do yourself.

If you know someone who likes to videotape things, then I hear that putting it to music is the easy part.

Especially teens...they seem to know how to do it way better than us *older* folks. (Coming from a 24 year old. lol)

My BF''s cousin put together a half-hour long video tape of some celebration at their church with background music and captions and everything...it was GREAT. So I''m sure I''m just going to have him do it.

But if you''re looking for Stephen Spielberg quality, than I would go with the videographer.

Good idea!!!

You made me feel like a dinosaur Luckystar!!! hehehe

 

[labbielove]

we aren''t having one, we have 2 video cameras that we''ll use to grab the informal stuff that''s always my favorite part of any pro wedding video i''ve seen (i.e. messages bride and groom say to each other before the ceremony, as they''re getting ready,etc.) i''ll have my 3 sisters with me and he''ll have his 2 gms so it should be fun.

then we''re passing the 2 cameras off to my 20 something nephews- one makes pretty cool skate videos with his buds and the other videos bands on the side. not pros by any means but fine for our needs. we just want to get some random shots and especially the reception where they can ask people to tell us a message, wishes for us,etc.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We had two videographers and they stayed back (maybe too far back

) So I doubt the guests even noticed. It might not be the BEST quality but we do like having it and over the past (almost!!!) year have watched it a handful of times. My favorite is watching our first dance since we worked SO hard on it! (though all the dancing with the guests they filmed was great). Worth the money to me.

 

[whatmeworry]

You know the last thing we added to our budget was a videographer. It was left off, but when we ended up under budget we added one. I tell you every time we watch the wedding video, my wife turns teary. (Me too but I don''t admit it)

One thing our videographer had was a wireless microphone. I was miked up, so we can clearly hear our vows. The other thing the videographer will do is actually edit the video for you. Not that anyone else couldn''t but you would have to get someone willing and able to do it.

Some cool things about our video:
He had me say a message to my wife before the ceremony and also had a wife say a message to me. When we watched the video, we said the same message in some cases almost word for word!
Another cool thing was that he made a music video of the ceremony (all the highlights compressed into 4 mintues) set to Shania Twain "From this Moment"

I provided him some still photos (baby pictures, childhood pics, etc) and some music (Shania Twain) to incorporate into the video.

 

[hopefulheidi]

I''ve been able to find a decent videographer in the upstate NY area for about $1500 (obviously the more fancy, the more pricey). I really fell in love with a husband/wife team but they were unfortunately unavailable and probably out of my budget anyways. I''m actually in the process of shopping around for additional options, but for the sake of keeping out of debt, I''ll probably go with the first guy. His work may not be quite as award winning, but it''s much better than the old VHS videos from the 80s so I can''t complain too much. He has a background in TV/News editing which is important to me. I don''t want JUST the raw footage, but if money is an issue, that''s certainly an option.

One thing I CAN recommend if you can''t afford a videographer is to make your own slide show with photos and background music. Before my current job I worked at a software company that made a slideshow software that was easy enough for anyone to use. After my sister got remarried, I used photos I had taken that day, and the actual music from her wedding to create the slide show. I even pieced in a couple of short video clips I had taken on my digital camera of my sister dancing with my dad, and my parents dancing etc. With this type of software you can zoom around/within the photos or slide the photos in/out to create some motion. It''s not exactly as impressive as the real deal, but the software is only $70ish and the photos you''ll already have I''ll admit that I''ve watched that little slideshow a number of times over the past couple of years and I still love it. It was also an executable file that I was able to put on my web server for guests to view as well which is a nice option.

~Heidi

 

[Pandora II]

We''re asking a trustworthy brother (not sure whose yet, mine or his) to use FI''s videocamera on the day.

The last wedding we were at we videoed their first dance and the speeches for them which they were so pleased to have.

One thing we did discover is that it is a good idea to have a tripod or monopod as even the lightweight ones get heavy after a while and it makes the film look so much better.

 

[jcrow]

i LOVE our video! and i still can''t believe we came **this** close to not having one.
i looked at lots of videographers in the area and hated the quality & editing. hated.
then i saw gingerBcookie''s video from her wedding and tracked down her videographer. including travel expenses he was less expensive than the videographers in my area. and did i say i LOVED my video? and i LOVED working with him. LOVE LOVE LOVEd. ok, i''m done

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Hey Zoe- It''s totally a personal decision. I know I CANNOT stand the way I look on video, so I vetoed having a videographer. DH really didn''t mind either way.

As with a photog, you just really need to check out their work and recommendations. And make sure you click!

 

[Fancy605]

We didn''t have a videographer. I sort of wish someone had videoed the ceremony simply because I would have liked to see the whole recessional, etc, but I REALLY didn''t want a lot of professional video equipment around. I get very uneasy around video cameras and always end up acting awkward instead of natural because I am trying too hard to just be natural.

A friend of ours did take some footage of the reception for us, but it was mostly just our first dance and the cake cutting and a few random bits of stuff. Nothing fancy.

I don''t miss not having a tape. I prefer photos personally. The only thing I would like to see is all the stuff I missed before I walked down the aisle.