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P H O T O G R A P H Y , V I D E O G R A P H Y & P H O T O B O O T H S
C H I C A G O W E D D I N G & P A R T Y R E S O U R C E
W W W . C H I C A G O W E D D I N G R E S O U R C E . C O M
59
Your wedding day, the most important
day of your life, likely will be one big blur.
A wedding video provides instant replay,
your chance to relive your wedding again
and again.
KEEP IT REAL
As with photography, there are certain
styles of wedding videos. A straight cut is
a chronicle of your day in real time and
will result in a finished product several
hours long. A documentary-style video
will contain interviews with the bride
and groom, family and friends, and
presents your wedding as more of a story.
Requiring lots of editing, the finished
product is usually no more than an hour
long. “Nostalgic,” “love story,” or “concept”
videos might creep up in your research,
too. These collections usually center on
each of your lives before you met and can
be put together in advance, shown at the
reception, then edited on to the front of
your wedding video.
You might find a studio that offers both
photography and videography. Assuming
you like the work, there are several good
reasons to consider this one-stop-shopping
approach. You’ll have one less vendor to
deal with, and if your still photographer
and your videographer are accustomed
to working together, they won’t get in
each other’s way. Their work will be
complementary and you’ll have a more
unified-looking wedding album and video.
HAVE A VISION
When deciding on a videographer, view
a complete wedding video from start to
finish, not a clip reel of highlights from
many weddings. And ask everyone you
interview if they’ve shot weddings where
yours is being held and ask to see those
videos. You’ll get a better sense of how your
finished product will look.
If you have a special song you’d like to
use, talk to your videographer about it.
Some pieces of music are simply harder to
edit to than others. For that reason, your
videographer may ask you to select from
his or her library of music. Since music will
play a big part in your finished product, get
that detail ironed out early.
Ask someone close to you to assist the
videographer in identifying certain people
you want to be sure to include in the video.
The day of the wedding, make sure they
meet. Similarly, you should also see the
raw footage of your wedding and point out
any special scenes or people who are must-
haves in the finished product.
LIGHTS, CAMERAS & ACTION
Video is nothing but light captured on film.
Make sure your church and reception hall
are both well-lit during important events.
Most videographers will rely on on-camera
lights in addition to ambient lighting in
the room. If you think there might be
additional lighting considerations, bring
them up.
Digital video is the new standard in
videography. Look for videographers who
use MINI DV cameras. The technology
allows editing at a lower cost with little
quality lost. High Definition, the rage of
home television, also has made its way into
the camera market and will provide the
best possible picture. Quite new, it also will
be more expensive and harder to find.
You main consideration is one camera or
two. A good videographer can capture
a lot with one camera, but they can’t be
everywhere at once. Two-camera shoots
allow you to capture both the main event
as well as reaction shots. Regardless, make
sure your videographer brings back-up
equipment.
You should expect to spend about as much
on videography as you do on photography,
at least $1,000, but understand that the
high-end price range can get very high:
$10,000 isn’t unheard of, and you’ll be able
to spend more than that if you have more
than that to spend.
© CTW Features
The Fine Points of Video
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