Weddings are becoming more and more expensive. Photography and videography costs also continue to climb.
I'd like to make some suggestions on how you can reduce these costs. I charge $300 to video tape the service and the price goes up if the client wants clips of the bride and groom getting ready and the reception. $500 is the price for all of the above. There is an additional $400 charge for each additional camera. I am not the cheapest or the most expensive. This does not include video editing. The cost of post production varies depending on the media and the manipulation necessary to make a quality product.
So how do you save money? First, do you really need a professional videographer or even a professional photographer? I think you need the photographer more than the videographer. Don’t make your decision based on their equipment. Make your decision based on their knowledge and experience at setting up shots.
If you have three or four friends with digital cameras they can get you some great shots from different perspectives because even the best photographer cannot be every where at once. The knowledge for setting up romantic shots, however, is something your friends may not have … and it is very important.
If you have a Wedding Planner and they are knowledgeable in this area then you may not need that $1500-$2500 photographer. In my opinion, the Wedding Planner is the most important person in making your wedding a success. I am not a Wedding Planner, but I know a good one.
Today, everyone has a digital camera. Even the least expensive digital cameras are so much better than a few years ago. Digital camcorder owners are increasing as the price comes down and the quality improves.
As you plan your wedding, ask friends and family if they will bring their digital cameras and digital camcorders. If you can get at least three people with digital camcorders, three people with digital cameras, and someone to set up the staged pictures, you should be set. Make sure these people do not sit in the same place, but by all means encourage them to shoot as much as they can and to use their imaginations. Out of the box thinking comes easier to amateurs than professionals. Whoever is setting up the posed pictures should also ask the person with the best camcorder to stand near the photographer and video tape a little before and a little after each shot.
After the wedding ask your friends to loan you the picture cards, tapes, mini disks, and whatever media they recorded. You and your spouse should then spend time going through these. The more decisions you make the less money you will spend and the less possibility of being unhappily surprised by the final product.
Pick out the digital shots you like and you have the prints made. Think Costco and Winkflash for example. If you want them tweaked first and you don’t want to spend the time then you will have to find a knowledgeable person to do this for you. We all know people who love to play with paint programs. Decide on a fair price for you and them. It should be much less than what a professional will charge.
Remember to save the original pictures in their unaltered state to a CD for your own self-keeping, (always, always save your favorite pictures in the original, unaltered state) before you return everyone’s media with a gracious thank you card. Later, you might want to invest in a Photoshop pro to do a really nice job on the pictures that have become your favorites. Your favorites may indeed change over time.
As for the video tapes, the more time you invest the better your chances of being happy with the final product. You and your spouse should take notes as you review the tapes, keeping track of the digital numbers where you want a clip to start and where you want it to end. I know videographers who charge between $50 and $75 an hour for editing, but I have heard of folks who charge much more. The less time your videographer has to spend on personal decisions the better. Remember, you are giving them three or four different tapes from different camcorders. This creates all sorts of problems that they would not have had if they had done the wedding, but you’re trying to keep your costs down, have fun, and get the final product you’re expecting, so do your homework.
It should go without saying, but, when you review your tapes don’t do it on the camcorder screen. Plug your camcorder into the largest TV you can use and review them there. There is no hurry! This is supposed to be fun, so take it slow, and have a good time.
So you went through the 400-500 pictures that were taken and you have settled on 50 that you want your editor to use. What do you want done with them? Do you want a collage set to your favorite song? Do you want them inserted into your video at different spots? You need to decide. Save them to a CD at full resolution. Always save, archive at full resolution.
The pictures you are sending to your editor should have names like 001, 002, 003 … 049, 050. The editor does not need to deal with the lady with blonde hair wearing the green dress, but pic 017 in tape 3 at 00:27:06 where the 27 represents minutes, is very clear. The digital numbers on the camcorder you are reviewing may not jive with the numbers on the editor’s timeline, but they should be close enough for the editor to make a good decision.
Finally, choose the music you’d like for background, music video, collage etc. and let the editor know where you’d like a certain song. This is the most important thing to me because the music sets my mood and I do my editing based on the music. A fast song gets a fast clip, a slow romantic song will probably get a lot of slow motion.
I tend to get emotionally involved with the people in the tapes I edit, even if I have never met them or ever will. A lot of this comes from the music. When your grandchild watches this DVD it may be thirty years from the time of the wedding. The music will affect them too.
Make sure you instruct your editor to return all of your original media so you can return it to your friends. Ask what she/he charges for duplicate DVDs. If your editor makes DVD cases for each duplicate then the charge might be $10 or $15 each. If they simply make a duplicate and put it in a paper sleeve then their maximum charge should only be $5. It is easy to make these copies yourself. It would be a nice gesture to give everyone who helped in your wedding a wedding DVD.
I hope this gives you some ideas. I have had clients who simply gave me a box with all their media in it and said, "Do what you do." Depending on the circumstances this might be understandable, especially if you know the editor and the kind of work they produce.
I tend to be sentimental and romantic, but I do have a sense of humor, even when no one else laughs. Telling me to weave my magic may be a mistake. I was recently very concerned about a DVD I produced for a client. The bride told me her favorite song was Sunrise-Sunset. I loved Fiddler on the Roof, so I wove parts of the wedding ceremony from the movie into her own. Fortunately she loved it, but I am sure everyone would not. IMHO, those who share the memories of your DVD today, are not as important as those who love you, but won't remember you when you were young. Obviously I am a grandparent. It grieves me that so many people today do not know that today's old people were yesterday's young people. Each has a story. It is not necessary to be remembered as an old person.
When you are gone, this may be the only connection those you leave behind have of you. I am aware that the DVD I make today may become a priceless family heirloom, long after my client and I am gone. That is humbling. It makes me passionate about doing videos. I love it!