Within the wedding business, it’s well known that bride’s often establish a relationship of trust with their photographers and look to them for advice on finding other vendors. So here’s some specific advice for our many photographer friends that are helping their brides locate and secure a reputable video company.
First, “Brides – do your homework!” Spend the time to call the videographers/cinematagraphers on the phone and make an appointment to see them! This is just as important as when they booked photo services because it gives both parties a chance to get to know each other, learn more about their work and processes, their style, and establishes an understanding of expectations, which directly translates to the quality of the final video!
Second, “Brides, look at, watch, take home a typical, full length finished sample!” This is so very important because those three minute samples on the website is not enough to know what your finished video REALLY looks like! Believe us (a video company) when we tell you that good work takes time to produce, just like in photography. This has nothing to do with special effects and pre-canned cheesy transitions. We are talking about things like color balance, composition, sound balance, cutting out rough and shaky shots, and incorporating creative and artistic things that make each section more interesting and fun to watch. This also means using shots from different cameras to add reactions and more creative shots that are possible when filming with more than one camera operator. A good video is also about keeping the live sections live – keeping the live audio in tact so the bride can hear her vows, witness her first dance live with the actual song that was used, and hear those toasts as they were made by dear friends and family. Many sub-par video companies will cut this stuff out or cover it with music simply to save time editing!
So what is our overall (humble) advice to our photographer friends? Encourage your brides to be good consumers! Tell them why its important to take the time to see a FULL sample of a real product from any video company and to shop around and compare a few videos so they know what is possible. And please please please, advise them to meet the videographers in person! It’s fundamentally important to see the whole picture – from their presentation, to their organizaation, look and style, creativity, and customer service skills. Remember that all of theses things combined make a customer’s experience and end-product a rewarding and worthwhile one!
Well said? Great information, keep up the great work!
Great advice!
Thanks Kelly – trying to get the message out there since we hear so many stories about brides booking companies sight unseen! We really care about quality of work and perhaps are proud of our hard work. But we are also shocked and dismayed at companies that bait and switch to make a fast buck at the customer’s expense – it perpetuates that ugly sterotype of videography that has gripped the market for years.
VERY well said!!!!
I highly recommend AMC Video. Rob and AnnMarie are truly a pleasure to work with. They are so professional, remaining unobtrusive which allows the bride and groom to enjoy their wedding day. They are also sensitive to the photographer, working hand in hand with the photographer to stay out of each other’s shots. I appreciate this effort as so many videographers are oblivious to where the photographer is standing. My brides and grooms have nothing but nice things to say about AMC and their work!
So true! It is hard to judge quality based on a short sample of the company’s best work. Seeing a full video and paying attention to how it is edited and how the different sections are integrated is very important. Thanks AMC!
@Tonya – thanks very much for the kind compliments! of course the intent here is to encourage our photographer friends to help the brides better shop for the videographer of their choice. It’s about making educated choices vs rolling the dice to hoping for the best.