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Much has been said about the advantages of having a
professional video your wedding. Many valid arguments
have been given. Later I will re-hash some of them and
explain more about them.
First I want you to stop and consider the following:
If a relative or family friend offers to video your
wedding, ask yourself one question.
"HOW MUCH DO I VALUE OUR
RELATIONSHIP?"
If they are close to you, they will want to enjoy your
wedding too. Working during the wedding leaves no time
for enjoying it. It puts a great deal of pressure on
that person to perform. If they do a poor job, there
will be bad feelings between you, possibly for years to
come.
Consider both sides of the family. You owe it to both
your families to do your best to provide the best
memories. While no-one can guarantee the future, at
least you can take every precaution.
Let's get technical.
The Camera .
Video equipment varies greatly in quality and price. No
consumer camcorder can come close to the quality of pro
equipment. The real indicator is, 'you get what you pay
for'!
If a relative or family friend offers to tape your
wedding, ask him what he paid for his camera.
A pro will use a hi quality camera. This too can vary
greatly. There are dozens of models to chose from, and
quality will vary here too.
Type of tape matters:
VHS is a low quality format. The picture quality will
suffer on any copies made from a VHS original.
SVHS and Hi-8 are better formats.
3/4", betacam and DV are even better. [considered
broadcast/industrial]
Any format marked S or SP is higher quality then it's
non-S ounterpart. [EX: Betacam SP]
The S-video or broadcast/industrial formats will lend
themselves to editing and subsequent copies will be much
better quality then those made from consumer level
tapes.
Rule Of Thumb: The better your original, the better your
copies will be.
Editing will enhance your viewing pleasure:
A well done video will be edited to include the
important content and, in the case of a multi-camera
ceremony, a good mixture of viewing angles. It may also
include music, titles, and a discrete number of special
effects. Not everyone that owns such equipment knows how
to edit properly. It takes talent, skill, artistic
ability, and the right equipment to produce a video that
is captures your memories.
Location, location, location:
Let's be real for a moment. Location will play a huge
role when choosing your wedding providers. If you live
in a major metropolitan area, you will have a better
selection, be able to obtain higher quality, and most
likely pay more as a result.
If you live in a rural community, you may have to search
longer and harder and
maybe even settle for whoever is available, but usually
find that the prices are lower. Video is no different.
Different strokes:
In major markets, many videographers use broadcast
equipment and charge
comparative rates. There are also many there who use
prosumer/industrial equipment and charge accordingly.
In a small town there may only be one or two
videographers and those usually use prosumer/industrial
equipment. Is this bad? I don't think so. Many brides
couldn't afford a high priced videographer and a
mid-priced videographer can produce a video that you and
your families will enjoy for years to come. It is
important to note here that some videographers that use
broadcast type equipment have a certain amount of
distain for anyone that doesn't and calls the
prosumer/industrial equipment "consumer quality".
Another type of videographer out there is the guy who
has a camcorder, may be fairly good with it [maybe
not!], or may be a photographer, or similar, and thinks
that makes him a good videographer. Be wary and check
out each person you are considering. Usually, one camera
is not sufficient to capture the ceremony properly. The
cameraman will have to start and stop, and move around
too much to get several angles, or stay in one spot,
limiting your view of your wedding. Some even use
consumer camcorders.
The future:
As technology improves, so does video quality on ALL
fronts, What was totally out priced last year will be
readily affordable next year. Digital video is the
biggest boon to the industry in a long time. look for
more videographers to be using this technology as it
improves. right now it is just finding it's nitch in the
wedding market.
In Closing:
If you insist on using a relative or friend, then be
ready to accept whatever you get. Don't put pressure on
them to do more then humanly possible.
If you shop price alone, you stand a good chance of
getting burned too. Many people fancy themselves
videographers. Some by rights, some not. Ask to see a
demo.
If you expect your video to be like a episode of
Friends, go to Holly wood with a few hundred thousand
and hire a crew.
IF however, you want a good video at a good price, I
think you'll find plenty of people that offer a decent
product.
Remember - different equipment, tapes, and video makers
are intended for different purposes. The camcorder you
buy at your discount store is for home videos. prosumer
equipment usually only available at professional
photo-video stores, is specially made for small
non-broadcast productions. The cameras and equipment
made for broadcast/industrial are for just that and
priced out of the reach of small videography companies
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