A while back we wrote a little Wedding video FAQ in an attempt to answer a few of our reader’s questions about the often misunderstood area of wedding videography. It’s clear though that this mystic art is still one that a few of you are unsure about so today we thought we’d get back on the case and see if we can clear up a few more of the questions you’ve been asking us and explain a little more about what modern wedding videography is all about!
How long should I expect a videographer to be around for on my wedding day?
Much like with wedding photography this will vary between different videographers. Some videographers will work on the basis of a set number of hours whilst others are happy to be around all day from the bride and groom’s morning preparations through to the first dance and even beyond. Where there is a set hours structure though it’s worth bearing in mind that many videographers have to be particularly strict on their hours as they often hire additional cameramen or crew to help on the day who will usually be paid by the hour. Make sure you talk to your videographer about the timings to make sure you have all of the coverage you’re looking for.
My videographer has asked me if I’d like him to be there for some ‘getting ready shots’ – I’m a shy person and I’m not sure about it, what type of shots are they likely to be looking for?
With getting ready shots it’s entirely up to you what footage you are happy for the videographer to capture – they’re certainly not there to film anything that might make you feel uncomfortable such as actually getting changed into the dress, but lacing up the back of the dress might for example make a nice story-telling shot. Similarly it’s up to you whether you’re happy for them to capture you having your hair and makeup done or whether you’d prefer to look glam right from the off! Generally though it’s not about dressing and undressing and more about capturing the finishing touches and the mood and excitement of the morning so there’s nothing to be worried about!
How is sound recorded on the day? Is absolutely everything I say going to be recorded and included in the film?
Sound tends to be recorded in various ways for weddings and there’s no absolute rule, but generally most videographers have a camera-mounted microphone which may be recording snippets of sound throughout the day and will use a radio mic (usually on the groom and the officiant) to record the really important bits like the vows and the speeches. If the venue already has an audio system in place and people are speaking into microphones in order to amplify themselves across the room then the videographer may choose to record the feed from that sound system rather than add their own mics. Most videographers will also place other recording devices around the room to act as a backup as weddings are most definitely a one-take wonder! Videographers are very careful about the sound they choose to include in the film and as a professional you can be assured of the utmost discretion in any audio they choose to include. They also only tend to record the parts that they think are likely to be included in the film as they have no interest in storing huge audio files unnecessarily!
The videographers I’ve spoken to were talking about using steadicams, glidetracks and cranes – what are these and are they going to be too obtrusive?
There are lots of additional pieces of equipment at the videographer’s disposal which might be used to get a particular type of shot. Not all videographers use all of this additional equipment and some of it can potentially be a little intrusive so it is worth talking to your videographer about this before making your final choice – the equipment is there to produce shots that would otherwise be impossible, but it’s inevitably slightly less discrete than just a videographer with a camera and sometimes may need additional operators. That said though no videographer is looking to turn your wedding into some kind of film set and will always operate as discretely as they can – it really just depends on the size of the wedding and what type of film you’re looking for.
The videographer’s I’ve looked at have talked about producing ‘highlights films’ – will these include the ceremony and speeches in full?
Wedding highlights films tend to be simply the best moments and shots of the day and aim to cover as much of the wedding as they possibly can. The ceremony and speeches are of course an incredibly important part of your wedding and so some coverage is bound to find its way into the finished film, but by their very nature they rarely focus for too long on one specific part of the day. If you’re looking to have your ceremony and speeches included in full many videographers will offer this as a separate film alongside the highlights film.
So there we go, we hope that’s answered some more of your questions but as always if you have a question about choosing or booking a wedding videographer or photographer then please get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer it in a future post!
The post A Videographer’s Thoughts: Wedding Video FAQ…2! appeared first on Bride Vs Groom.