Wedding Video Advice

[Jchaplin]

Hi there,

I'm after some advice for a client who's getting married at the crypt at St. Pauls in London. From a photography perspective I understand no coverage of the ceremony is allowed, only the signing of the register. Apparently however you can video the ceremony, but I think its only from one fixed location. I'm waiting for further clarification of this but suspect this is correct.

So my question is do I look at renting suitable equipment to cover the recording of the ceremony or do I advise my client to hire someone - and if the later (which is I suspect the sensible option) could anyone give me an idea of rates for a couple of hours of coverage on a Saturday in August?

Any help appreciated,
Thanks.

 

[DaveEP]

Since we provide photo and video for weddings maybe I can help you on this topic.

Filming a ceremony for a couple of hours is only the beginning. You'll need to edit the video (a single location will be pretty boring, you need at least two cameras, preferably more). You'll need to sync the multiple cameras and audio before starting the edit. Then, you'll need colour grading and audio mixing. You will after all be using more than just the on-camera microphone right? You'll want to remove any background hums (almost all churches have them), emergency vehicle sirens (we get them more often than you think) and generally sweeten the audio.

Then you have the export, DVD authoring etc etc.

Expect to spend at least 15-25 man hours on this project - at the very least.

It can be done in less time, but not 'well'.

 

[Phil Young]

Since we provide photo and video for weddings maybe I can help you on this topic.

Filming a ceremony for a couple of hours is only the beginning. You'll need to edit the video (a single location will be pretty boring, you need at least two cameras, preferably more). You'll need to sync the multiple cameras and audio before starting the edit. Then, you'll need colour grading and audio mixing. You will after all be using more than just the on-camera microphone right? You'll want to remove any background hums (almost all churches have them), emergency vehicle sirens (we get them more often than you think) and generally sweeten the audio.

Then you have the export, DVD authoring etc etc.

Expect to spend at least 15-25 man hours on this project - at the very least.

It can be done in less time, but not 'well'.

Second this.

I'd expect to spend 2 days on this at £350 per day. More if a second camera man is required & interviews are needed etc to make the production value higher.

Budget wedding video would be around £700 with a high production value video costing more like £2k.

It's not something you can just shoot and edit without experience...you need directive skills and to be able to storyboard which in itself is probably the most important skill for the end enjoyment factor.

But of course like anything...you'll always get someone that "can" do it for less money...it may not be the best but there are people!

 

[Jchaplin]

Thank you both for replying. Whilst its clear that I need to engage someone with the experience/skills & equipment to cover this, I'm not sure how best to go about finding someone who i can be confident can deliver. I've looked at the listings on the IOV but havent seen anything that fills me with confidence. Any recommendations??

Thanks,
Jeremy.