It's A Wrap!
Autumn Rhea Carpenter
Videos are the new home movie. Amateurs everywhere point and shoot and cross their fingers when filming their niece’s graduation ceremony or their uncle’s comedy routine. Gone are the days of bulky cameras, jittering screens and soundless waving characters. Modern technology now affords people the ability to film, edit and add special effects with a few simple clicks. But for special moments like weddings, people should leave the camera to the videographers. These professionals specialize in capturing important events and are capable of providing a memento that will be cherished for decades.
Past wedding videos were usually stilted and unnatural. Today’s videographers tend to practice the documentary filming style: Telling the couple’s story in an untouched way. With this method, they are able to capture everything from the day to tell the story, starting with when the bride arrives at the venue to the couple’s exit at the end of the night.
Although the documentary method is a popular filming style, videographers will provide the video that the couple requests. Since you are paying for the product, you should have creative control of it. Your videographer should never impose his/her ideas onto you.
The videographer must maintain a careful balance between watcher and participant when filming a wedding.
Experts explain that couples should feel comfortable with their videographer. When the bride and groom transition from considering you ‘hired help’ to thinking of you as a ‘friend,’ that’s when the true magic starts to happen.
Because a videographer’s shooting style inherently affects the finished product, it’s important to understand it before the wedding day. Every couple has a story that goes beyond the day they first met. Telling a wedding story requires an understanding of the people and circumstances that have brought the couple to their wedding day.
Some videographers promise a signature style, while others produce a unique video for each client.
For many couples, the decision to include a videographer is sometimes in addition to a photographer. Videographers and photographers have the same goal, but accomplish it through two very different forms of visual media. While the photographer can isolate a sentiment in time, the videographer can complement that instant with sound and motion. Including both a photographer and a videographer ensures a complete record of the most important day of a couple’s lives…and is very important for documenting your special day “live on tape.”
Video captures a moment more completely than a photo ever can. Pictures are stagnant and video is alive. A picture can grab your attention, but a video can absorb you completely. A picture can communicate to your future children the way that you looked, but a video shares your essence.
Video technology continues to evolve and has changed the services that videographers offer their clients While a VHS tape has a life expectancy of about 20 years, DVD’s should last a lifetime, if cared for properly. One day your grandchildren could be watching the video and it will be vital that the video is viewable.
Cameras and equipment vary with each videographer, and have improved greatly.
Most of them work very well in low-light situations and that really helps with those weddings where the couple doesn’t want to use artificial lights.
The word of the day is digital. Everything's digital, including the camera, the audio, the editing and the viewing equipment. Computers and software are so powerful that one person can do in a week what would have taken ten people a month or more to complete just a decade ago.
Effects are another element that couples should discuss when choosing a videographer. They are a way to enhance the video, though videographers caution they can overpower a video’s story.
Black and white can create a mood for the video when used properly. It can look elegant and emphasize a moment or person. Color can also be emphasized to make things seem surreal. However, effects can be overused – just because an editor can create neat effects - it doesn't mean he (or she) always should.
Finally, viewing a videographer’s portfolio of work is important. Lots of couples like to price shop. Make sure to view the videographer’s demo. Too many times a couple just wants a price list without caring too much about the quality of the work. Make sure you see different demos and find the style that fits you and your wedding day. That way, there won’t be any surprises.